Nanoarchitectured multifunctional porous superparamagnetic nanoparticles. This project aims to develop a method for the direct detection of biomarkers based on a new class of highly porous superparamagnetic nanoparticles with peroxidase-like activity. The particles will be used as dispersible capture agents for isolating specific targets in biological samples, and electrocatalytic nanozymes for naked-eye evaluation and electrochemical detection. The project is expected to develop simple, low-cos ....Nanoarchitectured multifunctional porous superparamagnetic nanoparticles. This project aims to develop a method for the direct detection of biomarkers based on a new class of highly porous superparamagnetic nanoparticles with peroxidase-like activity. The particles will be used as dispersible capture agents for isolating specific targets in biological samples, and electrocatalytic nanozymes for naked-eye evaluation and electrochemical detection. The project is expected to develop simple, low-cost, portable devices for the analysis of exosomes and exosomal miRNA in biological samples. The future development of this technology into diagnostic devices will improve patient outcomes by enabling earlier disease diagnosis and improved monitoring of treatment.Read moreRead less
Multimodal biomedical imaging probes: development of advanced polymer nanocomposite devices for oncology. Despite significant research being directed toward cancer treatment, 7.6 million people died world wide in 2007. Early detection and treatment is widely recognised as being effective in significantly reducing mortality rates. Biomedical imaging techniques are routinely used for detection and staging of many cancers. However, greater sensitivity is required so that these techniques can be app ....Multimodal biomedical imaging probes: development of advanced polymer nanocomposite devices for oncology. Despite significant research being directed toward cancer treatment, 7.6 million people died world wide in 2007. Early detection and treatment is widely recognised as being effective in significantly reducing mortality rates. Biomedical imaging techniques are routinely used for detection and staging of many cancers. However, greater sensitivity is required so that these techniques can be applied to very early detection of tumours. To overcome this short-coming the next generation of imaging probes will be developed, which will require fundamental investigations in polymer and nanomaterials science to maximise imaging sensitivity and extend probe functionality. Successful outcomes will lead to significant benefits to healthcare in Australia.Read moreRead less
Microwave Head Monitor Using Compressed Sensing and Differential Techniques. The aim of this project is the design and development of a low-cost, non-ionising, and non-invasive microwave technology that can be used to diagnose and localise early brain injuries of premature newborn babies. It proposes to include a switched antenna array and wide-band microwave transceiver. The system aims to use a combination of compressed sensing and differential imaging techniques to produce, within a few secon ....Microwave Head Monitor Using Compressed Sensing and Differential Techniques. The aim of this project is the design and development of a low-cost, non-ionising, and non-invasive microwave technology that can be used to diagnose and localise early brain injuries of premature newborn babies. It proposes to include a switched antenna array and wide-band microwave transceiver. The system aims to use a combination of compressed sensing and differential imaging techniques to produce, within a few seconds, microwave images of the brain making it a real-time monitoring tool. By providing vital information about the brain at the incubator side, the proposed compact technology would avoid the risky move of critically ill babies to the expensive and bulky conventional scanners which, furthermore, cannot operate as frequent monitoring tools.Read moreRead less
Engineering the next generation of portable microwave scanners. This project aims to engineer a disruptive technology based on microwave hybrid imaging for biomedical applications. The project will deliver superfine resolution images using a combination of uniform near-field microwave irradiation and infrared imaging. The project will explore novel microwave antenna design, and engineer a portable platform for diagnostic applications. The proposed low-cost, non-invasive, and safe microwave techn ....Engineering the next generation of portable microwave scanners. This project aims to engineer a disruptive technology based on microwave hybrid imaging for biomedical applications. The project will deliver superfine resolution images using a combination of uniform near-field microwave irradiation and infrared imaging. The project will explore novel microwave antenna design, and engineer a portable platform for diagnostic applications. The proposed low-cost, non-invasive, and safe microwave technology will offer significant advantages over conventional diagnostic platforms. Among many potential applications, this innovation will introduce the first portable microwave scanner that can be used for the early detection of skin cancer.Read moreRead less
Portable Microwave Imaging Technology Using Reconfigurable Radar. The aim of this project is the design and development of a portable microwave imaging system to investigate the viability of microwave techniques for early heart failure detection. It will employ conformal antenna arrays integrated with compact reconfigurable radar to obtain super-resolution images that enable the early detection of heart failure. Because of its low-cost, non-ionising and non-invasive properties, it can be used fr ....Portable Microwave Imaging Technology Using Reconfigurable Radar. The aim of this project is the design and development of a portable microwave imaging system to investigate the viability of microwave techniques for early heart failure detection. It will employ conformal antenna arrays integrated with compact reconfigurable radar to obtain super-resolution images that enable the early detection of heart failure. Because of its low-cost, non-ionising and non-invasive properties, it can be used frequently for real-time monitoring, thus providing a significant advantage over conventional imaging equipment and hence paving the way for its broader applications. Moreover, portability of the technology is expected to enable its use for self-monitoring, leading to a significant reduction in health care costs.Read moreRead less
Magnetofluidic sample handling for enhanced point-of-care diagnosis. This project aims to decipher the mechanism behind recent discovery on the enhancement of mixing and separation with magnetism and to apply it to the rapid and early detection of malaria and cancer. This mechanism provides novel and unique fluid handling capabilities, which allow the development of revolutionary point-of-care diagnostic approaches that integrate magnetic mixing, separation and detection on a single device. The ....Magnetofluidic sample handling for enhanced point-of-care diagnosis. This project aims to decipher the mechanism behind recent discovery on the enhancement of mixing and separation with magnetism and to apply it to the rapid and early detection of malaria and cancer. This mechanism provides novel and unique fluid handling capabilities, which allow the development of revolutionary point-of-care diagnostic approaches that integrate magnetic mixing, separation and detection on a single device. The outcomes of this project are instrumental for the reduction of healthcare cost, promoting good health for Australian and potentially creating new jobs in the niche biomedical industry.Read moreRead less
Non-invasive diagnosis using micropatches that sample biomarkers from skin. We are developing a technology called the micropatch that is laid onto the surface of the skin. When the patch is pulled away, it retains proteins found in the subsurface skin layers. We believe that by analysing these proteins we will be able to diagnose diseases like cancer earlier and therefore have a better chance of treating them successfully. The process is painless, and doctors already use it to give drugs and vac ....Non-invasive diagnosis using micropatches that sample biomarkers from skin. We are developing a technology called the micropatch that is laid onto the surface of the skin. When the patch is pulled away, it retains proteins found in the subsurface skin layers. We believe that by analysing these proteins we will be able to diagnose diseases like cancer earlier and therefore have a better chance of treating them successfully. The process is painless, and doctors already use it to give drugs and vaccines. In the future we hope that our technology will be simple enough for routine diagnosis, even in the Outback where doctors are hundreds of kilometres awayRead moreRead less
New entropy measures of short term signals for smart wearable devices. This project aims to improve reliability and accuracy of wearable devices by developing a new set of computationally efficient algorithms. Wearable devices can be very effective in remote and continuous monitoring to detect short or bursty anomalous events. Present devices are unable to detect such events effectively due to limited capability in processing short length signal. This project will provide computationally efficie ....New entropy measures of short term signals for smart wearable devices. This project aims to improve reliability and accuracy of wearable devices by developing a new set of computationally efficient algorithms. Wearable devices can be very effective in remote and continuous monitoring to detect short or bursty anomalous events. Present devices are unable to detect such events effectively due to limited capability in processing short length signal. This project will provide computationally efficient algorithms for signal quality analysis and enhanced feature extraction methods in resource constrained wearable devices. This will improve the reliability and performance of wearable devices for adoption in intelligent decision-making systems.Read moreRead less
Early-Stage Medical Diagnostics by Plasmon-Mediated Gas Sensing. This project will investigate the use plasmonic absorption of light in metal nanostructures to activate the selective oxidation/reduction of a gas molecule on a semiconductor nanoparticle. This concept will be used with the aim of developing a sensing technique capable of measuring ultra-low concentrations (ppb) of breath markers for lung cancer detection. It is expected that porous sensing films of semiconductor and metal nanopart ....Early-Stage Medical Diagnostics by Plasmon-Mediated Gas Sensing. This project will investigate the use plasmonic absorption of light in metal nanostructures to activate the selective oxidation/reduction of a gas molecule on a semiconductor nanoparticle. This concept will be used with the aim of developing a sensing technique capable of measuring ultra-low concentrations (ppb) of breath markers for lung cancer detection. It is expected that porous sensing films of semiconductor and metal nanoparticles with well-defined light absorption properties will be fabricated. Superior selectivity will be achieved by matching the wavelength of the absorbed light with the required activation energy for oxidation/reduction. Successful outcomes will enable multi-analyte fingerprint identification by on-chip devices with applications ranging from portable medical diagnostics to national security.Read moreRead less
Detection and Quantification of General Fetal Movements from Accelerometer Measurements using Nonstationary Signal Processing Techniques. There are approximately 1,750 fetal deaths per year in Australian with about one-third occurring late in gestation and without an apparent cause. The development of an automated system capable of long-term monitoring of fetal health will result in accurate diagnoses and prediction of future outcome. This will, in turn, allow early intervention by the clinicia ....Detection and Quantification of General Fetal Movements from Accelerometer Measurements using Nonstationary Signal Processing Techniques. There are approximately 1,750 fetal deaths per year in Australian with about one-third occurring late in gestation and without an apparent cause. The development of an automated system capable of long-term monitoring of fetal health will result in accurate diagnoses and prediction of future outcome. This will, in turn, allow early intervention by the clinician to reduce fetal deaths and enhance the chances of good outcomes with resultant savings in social and financial costs to the community. The development of such equipment would spawn future research into intervention treatments and contribute to Australia's position as a world leader in computerised health monitoring systems.Read moreRead less