The anatomy of a fatigue-related motor vehicle crash or near-crash. The anatomy of a fatigue-related motor vehicle crash or near-crash. This project aims to investigate the time course of multiple physiological and behavioural signals that lead to fall-asleep (on-road) driving events, to inform the next generation of driver state monitoring technologies. Falling asleep at the wheel remains a major cause of road crashes worldwide. Although technologies to monitor driver sleepiness are integral to ....The anatomy of a fatigue-related motor vehicle crash or near-crash. The anatomy of a fatigue-related motor vehicle crash or near-crash. This project aims to investigate the time course of multiple physiological and behavioural signals that lead to fall-asleep (on-road) driving events, to inform the next generation of driver state monitoring technologies. Falling asleep at the wheel remains a major cause of road crashes worldwide. Although technologies to monitor driver sleepiness are integral to the rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle industry, such technologies are limited because they measure the end-state of falling asleep, rather than the physiological and behavioural precursors, thus providing little opportunity for intervention. This project is expected to lead to new driver monitoring systems that reduce fall-asleep crashes.Read moreRead less
Decoding neuronal populations for visually-guided decision and action. This project aims to investigate how the cerebral decodes visual information in order to guide sensory-guided actions. Using a high resolution technique, capable of monitoring the activity of many cells in real time, it will study how sensory signals about the motion of visual patterns interact with noise (fluctuations in neuronal activity that are not directly related to the sensation being encoded) in order to determine dec ....Decoding neuronal populations for visually-guided decision and action. This project aims to investigate how the cerebral decodes visual information in order to guide sensory-guided actions. Using a high resolution technique, capable of monitoring the activity of many cells in real time, it will study how sensory signals about the motion of visual patterns interact with noise (fluctuations in neuronal activity that are not directly related to the sensation being encoded) in order to determine decisions made by an animal. Expected outcomes include new knowledge about the cellular circuits responsible for vision, and new technologies for decoding brain activity from physiological measurements, which may in the future guide the development of improved bionic devices such as brain-computer interfaces. Read moreRead less
Multimodal retinal imaging provides "insight" into cerebrovascular ageing. Multimodal retinal imaging provides "insight" into cerebrovascular ageing. This project aims to develop a multi-modal imaging technology platform to simultaneously measure amyloid beta and its neurovascular sequelae to identify novel early biomarkers of ageing in the eye and brain. The growing ageing population is an increasing socioeconomic burden. The central nervous system is particularly susceptible to ageing, which i ....Multimodal retinal imaging provides "insight" into cerebrovascular ageing. Multimodal retinal imaging provides "insight" into cerebrovascular ageing. This project aims to develop a multi-modal imaging technology platform to simultaneously measure amyloid beta and its neurovascular sequelae to identify novel early biomarkers of ageing in the eye and brain. The growing ageing population is an increasing socioeconomic burden. The central nervous system is particularly susceptible to ageing, which is difficult to measure at its onset. Critically, as the eye is an easily accessible extension of the cortex, retinal imaging may be a non-invasive surrogate to assess ageing changes in the brain. Anticipated outcomes are a sensitive detector of neural ageing, improved preventative measures, reducing the socioeconomic burden of ageing, and improved quality of life.Read moreRead less
Improved effectiveness of cochlear implants through new simultaneous stimulation techniques. Cochlear implants have brought the gift of hearing to 250,000 people worldwide and are an excellent example of Australian innovation. This project will examine an improved "high fidelity" stimulation strategy with the objective of defining a safe stimulus range for clinical use and providing a commercial advantage for Cochlear Ltd.
Pattern recognition in animals and machines: using machine learning to reveal cues central to the identification of individuals. The power to recognise individuals of a species requires significant image and pattern discrimination abilities. Yet, individual recognition has been found in a huge range of species, from humans to invertebrates demonstrating its importance for social interactions. The project will investigate this ability in lower vertebrates (fish, with no visual cortex), so as to u ....Pattern recognition in animals and machines: using machine learning to reveal cues central to the identification of individuals. The power to recognise individuals of a species requires significant image and pattern discrimination abilities. Yet, individual recognition has been found in a huge range of species, from humans to invertebrates demonstrating its importance for social interactions. The project will investigate this ability in lower vertebrates (fish, with no visual cortex), so as to understand the underlying mechanisms of pattern discrimination. The project will also test how robust this ability is during changes in water quality (elevated carbon dioxide levels and increased turbidity). The outcomes will further our knowledge base in lower vertebrate vision and evolution, and also have implications for human vision, image analysis, and artificial vision.Read moreRead less