Development of an ultrasensitive assay for human prion proteins. The aim of this work is to enable the detection of prion proteins in human blood and other tissues. The assay system to be developed will detect much lower levels of these disease-causing proteins than is possible at present; it will be more rapid and will measure prion protein levels more accurately than existing assays. The outcome of the work is expected to facilitate the production and certification of prion-free blood and bl ....Development of an ultrasensitive assay for human prion proteins. The aim of this work is to enable the detection of prion proteins in human blood and other tissues. The assay system to be developed will detect much lower levels of these disease-causing proteins than is possible at present; it will be more rapid and will measure prion protein levels more accurately than existing assays. The outcome of the work is expected to facilitate the production and certification of prion-free blood and blood products. Prions cause Bovine Spongiform Encaphalopathy and Creutzfeld Jacob Disease and attempts to control of these diseases would be greatly abetted by an optimal test for the disease-causing agent.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
Development of the PD GeneChip: a research and diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease. The PD GeneChip will provide both social and economic benefits to Australia. It will be a key research platform for Australian scientists, and will facilitate collaboration both within Australia and overseas. It will assist with health care management of PD (Parkinson's disease) patients by providing a cost-effective diagnostic tool and the possibility of predicting the clinical course of disease. This inform ....Development of the PD GeneChip: a research and diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease. The PD GeneChip will provide both social and economic benefits to Australia. It will be a key research platform for Australian scientists, and will facilitate collaboration both within Australia and overseas. It will assist with health care management of PD (Parkinson's disease) patients by providing a cost-effective diagnostic tool and the possibility of predicting the clinical course of disease. This information will provide the basis for tailoring treatment to a patients needs. It is anticipated that marketing of the PD GeneChip within Australia and overseas may produce revenue of at least $40 million annually.Read moreRead less
A high throughput Grid based environment for real time bio-medical imaging. Together with Leica, we will build a virtual microscope facility that will provide substantial functionality not currently available in Australia. This facility will have major national and international impact on bio-medical imaging. The software solutions and infrastructure, developed as part of this program will have considerable commercial and strategic value in their own right. One guaranteed avenue for exploitation ....A high throughput Grid based environment for real time bio-medical imaging. Together with Leica, we will build a virtual microscope facility that will provide substantial functionality not currently available in Australia. This facility will have major national and international impact on bio-medical imaging. The software solutions and infrastructure, developed as part of this program will have considerable commercial and strategic value in their own right. One guaranteed avenue for exploitation of the software will clearly be through our industry partner, Leica. Importantly, our proposal consolidates a critical mass of expertise connecting biomedical with computer science, thereby addressing a well-recognised constraint that to date has limited their national and international impact.Read moreRead less
Phase Contrast X-ray Imaging of the Lung. Lung diseases are a major cause of death in adults, children and newborn infants. Currently, the diagnosis of lung disease is based on clinical symptoms, which usually do not manifest until the disease is well advanced. This project will develop a novel X-ray imaging technique, known as phase contrast imaging, to study the lung, and to potentially detect changes in lung tissue before symptoms arise. This may lead to improved strategies for managing newbo ....Phase Contrast X-ray Imaging of the Lung. Lung diseases are a major cause of death in adults, children and newborn infants. Currently, the diagnosis of lung disease is based on clinical symptoms, which usually do not manifest until the disease is well advanced. This project will develop a novel X-ray imaging technique, known as phase contrast imaging, to study the lung, and to potentially detect changes in lung tissue before symptoms arise. This may lead to improved strategies for managing newborn infants, as well as improving the management of lung diseases in adults.Read moreRead less
DEEP DRILLING OF THE HUMAN PLASMA PROTEOME. Like turning out city lights lets you see the faint stars more clearly - removal of high abundance proteins from human biofluids allows quantum leaps in biomarker discovery. This project will develop products that remove the biggest obstacle in proteomics - high abundance proteins (city lights). Cheap, efficient and routine removal of abundant proteins will amplify the power of ?cutting edge? proteomic technologies in the discovery of novel biomarkers ....DEEP DRILLING OF THE HUMAN PLASMA PROTEOME. Like turning out city lights lets you see the faint stars more clearly - removal of high abundance proteins from human biofluids allows quantum leaps in biomarker discovery. This project will develop products that remove the biggest obstacle in proteomics - high abundance proteins (city lights). Cheap, efficient and routine removal of abundant proteins will amplify the power of ?cutting edge? proteomic technologies in the discovery of novel biomarkers. This is possible because undiscovered low copy number biomarkers (faint stars) exist in human diagnostic fluids at levels far lower than current proteomic array detection limits.Read moreRead less