A neuromorphic binaural hearing sensor. A neuromorphic binaural hearing sensor will be created. The system includes two cochleae and targeted processing pathways in the auditory brainstem that aid in solving the Cocktail Party Problem: i.e. foreground-background sound separation, sound localisation, and sound recognition. The VLSI circuits will enable real-time implementation of complex auditory models. As we develop our VLSI binaural ear, we will experiment with afferent (feed forward) and ....A neuromorphic binaural hearing sensor. A neuromorphic binaural hearing sensor will be created. The system includes two cochleae and targeted processing pathways in the auditory brainstem that aid in solving the Cocktail Party Problem: i.e. foreground-background sound separation, sound localisation, and sound recognition. The VLSI circuits will enable real-time implementation of complex auditory models. As we develop our VLSI binaural ear, we will experiment with afferent (feed forward) and efferent (feed back) auditory signal processing that is similar to real auditory systems and that demonstrate efficient, effective, and low-power signal processing algorithms for binaural (two-sensor) hearing systems.Read moreRead less
Silk Fibroin Optofluidic Chips. Unlike any other material, even any other biologically occurring material, silk is unique in being very transparent, able to be shaped on a very small scale and can keep natural chemicals like proteins and enzymes active. This project will use silk to make optical devices and sensors. Optics made from silk will have all these properties, which means that they can be used as sensors and devices in biochemistry applications that have never been possible before. Thes ....Silk Fibroin Optofluidic Chips. Unlike any other material, even any other biologically occurring material, silk is unique in being very transparent, able to be shaped on a very small scale and can keep natural chemicals like proteins and enzymes active. This project will use silk to make optical devices and sensors. Optics made from silk will have all these properties, which means that they can be used as sensors and devices in biochemistry applications that have never been possible before. These cost-effective devices will have the potential to enhance healthcare, emergency medicine and assist early medical diagnosis.Read moreRead less
Novel Carbon Nanotube Composite Materials: Elucidation of key properties for device development. As the former co-director of CSIRO Nanotechnology indicated to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003, 'Nanotechnology will lead us into a very different future.' The proposed research on nanomaterial interactions and biomolecular incorporation protocols will provide a foundation for future bioelectronic devices. Imagine healthcare of human diseases when nanocomponents enable the design of new platforms f ....Novel Carbon Nanotube Composite Materials: Elucidation of key properties for device development. As the former co-director of CSIRO Nanotechnology indicated to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003, 'Nanotechnology will lead us into a very different future.' The proposed research on nanomaterial interactions and biomolecular incorporation protocols will provide a foundation for future bioelectronic devices. Imagine healthcare of human diseases when nanocomponents enable the design of new platforms for devices that give point-of-care diagnosis, or the impact on the semiconductor industry with the creation of flexible electronics. Educational outreach is an important aim of the project, providing effective research training for early career researchers.Read moreRead less
Novel coding and decoding in suspension arrays for accelerated biomolecular discovery and personalised medicine. This project will establish an advanced multiplexing technique to rapidly analyse complex biological mixtures, such as cell lysates, food samples or body fluids. It will enable the analysis of not tens, but thousands or more distinctive molecular targets in a single test. This will build the foundations for future generation bioassays, paving the way to emerging personalised medicine. ....Novel coding and decoding in suspension arrays for accelerated biomolecular discovery and personalised medicine. This project will establish an advanced multiplexing technique to rapidly analyse complex biological mixtures, such as cell lysates, food samples or body fluids. It will enable the analysis of not tens, but thousands or more distinctive molecular targets in a single test. This will build the foundations for future generation bioassays, paving the way to emerging personalised medicine. This will lead to new personal diagnostics tools for rapid genotype profiling, to better tailor therapy to the individual patient's specific characteristics. As well as the potential to improve health outcomes, the project will generate significant intellectual property and the opportunity for development of new diagnostic instrumentation in Australia.Read moreRead less
Ultra-sensitivity through resonances in photonic bandgap fibres. The project will develop innovative biochemical sensors with extreme sensitivity using recently discovered physical processes in novel holey optical fibres. These sensors will be able to detect biological molecules, toxins or dangerous chemicals in minute concentrations, in very small sample sizes. The sensors can be mass-produced cheaply with current fabrication facilities within Australia, enabling their widespread use for water ....Ultra-sensitivity through resonances in photonic bandgap fibres. The project will develop innovative biochemical sensors with extreme sensitivity using recently discovered physical processes in novel holey optical fibres. These sensors will be able to detect biological molecules, toxins or dangerous chemicals in minute concentrations, in very small sample sizes. The sensors can be mass-produced cheaply with current fabrication facilities within Australia, enabling their widespread use for water quality monitoring, environmental monitoring, threat detection, and rapid and reliable diagnosis in medicine.Read moreRead less
Biomolecular films on silicon substrates. Construction of hybrid carbon-silicon devices in which molecular organic molecular films are covalently linked to silicon wafers. Biomolecular nanostructures on silicon wafers can be studied using unique impedance spectroscopy instrumentation that we have developed as well as X-ray and neutron reflectometry. The system will be used to study a variety of molecular films as well as molecularly tethered lipid bilayer membranes that mimic aspects of cell mem ....Biomolecular films on silicon substrates. Construction of hybrid carbon-silicon devices in which molecular organic molecular films are covalently linked to silicon wafers. Biomolecular nanostructures on silicon wafers can be studied using unique impedance spectroscopy instrumentation that we have developed as well as X-ray and neutron reflectometry. The system will be used to study a variety of molecular films as well as molecularly tethered lipid bilayer membranes that mimic aspects of cell membranes and these will be used to investigate the effect of sterols on such membranes.Read moreRead less
Enabling Technologies for Motion Corrected Positron Emission Tomography (PET) of Unanaesthetized Laboratory Animals. Small animal molecular imaging is a powerful tool in biological research and drug discovery. Anaesthesia is routinely used to avoid motion distortion, but can profoundly alter the biological process studied. This research will enable quantitative imaging of neurobiological phenomena in awake laboratory animals. It will create new opportunities for Australian basic researchers to ....Enabling Technologies for Motion Corrected Positron Emission Tomography (PET) of Unanaesthetized Laboratory Animals. Small animal molecular imaging is a powerful tool in biological research and drug discovery. Anaesthesia is routinely used to avoid motion distortion, but can profoundly alter the biological process studied. This research will enable quantitative imaging of neurobiological phenomena in awake laboratory animals. It will create new opportunities for Australian basic researchers to use innovative technology with expected high economic potential, and benefit small biotech companies by facilitating pre-clinical and clinical development of new pharmaceuticals. The new motion tracking and image reconstruction technologies developed will strengthen Australia's leading position in engineering and biomedical systems development.Read moreRead less
Lattice Boltzmann method based simulation of complex microchannels and mixing at micro-scales. The proposed study explores fundamental aspects of microfluidics using new tools, which will enhance the country's database of knowledge. It will lead to the development of a low-cost versatile software package, an important tool for solving microfluidics problems of interest to industries and academics, and will facilitate development and optimization of future microdevices. Further, it will improve A ....Lattice Boltzmann method based simulation of complex microchannels and mixing at micro-scales. The proposed study explores fundamental aspects of microfluidics using new tools, which will enhance the country's database of knowledge. It will lead to the development of a low-cost versatile software package, an important tool for solving microfluidics problems of interest to industries and academics, and will facilitate development and optimization of future microdevices. Further, it will improve Australia's competitiveness in the areas of LBM and MEMS both of which are new techniques with promising applications in their respective areas. The project falls under the National Research Priorities areas of Breakthrough Science and Frontier Technology. The potential applications of the technology encompass several key areas.Read moreRead less
Control of Protein Attachment and its Optical Detection. Protein array technologies have applications in the rapid diagnosis of disease. Biosensors can detect traces of biohazards. Before widespread implementation of these technologies can occur however, a rapid, sensitive and convenient readout method for the control and readout of attachment of proteins to antibodies is needed. I will use electric fields, combined with array imaging at surface plasmon resonance to achieve this aim. This protei ....Control of Protein Attachment and its Optical Detection. Protein array technologies have applications in the rapid diagnosis of disease. Biosensors can detect traces of biohazards. Before widespread implementation of these technologies can occur however, a rapid, sensitive and convenient readout method for the control and readout of attachment of proteins to antibodies is needed. I will use electric fields, combined with array imaging at surface plasmon resonance to achieve this aim. This protein diagnostic array technology will enable accurate and rapid diagnosis of disease, generating savings on health costs and improving public health. Manufacture in Australia will bring further economic benefits.Read moreRead less