Matching the internal electrical stimulation and electronics to be able to improve people’s lives

When you think of companies leading the world in their field, the Bionics Institute is one that instantly comes to mind.

From developing medical devices and therapies that will change the lives of people living with conditions such as Alzheimer’s, to helping to create the bionic ear, the organisation has been at the forefront of medical technologies for over 30 years.

The organisation has grown so quickly – and so successfully – that it has given rise to three spin-off companies in the past six years.

“It’s a long process, you need to have very good research,” CEO Robert Klupacs told Ticker News Insight, detailing the process of how an idea goes from concept to reality.

“Once you get to the research phase, then it needs to be moved up the chain, you need to think about how you manufacture it, how to develop it, how you test it, it takes a lot of money.

“And it takes a lot of time. So research, for one of our companies was nine years of research before we could get to the commercialisation stage.

“And then it took another year to put it all together and put a company together.

“And six years later, it’s still a couple of years away from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.”

The organisation’s Chief Technological Officer and Head of Research Operations, Professor James Fallon, believes a culture of ‘failing safely’ needs to be adopted, as it is the correct approach for innovation.

“The real key is that we’ve got to be brave enough to fail,” Fallon detailed. “As with any innovation, there’s a risk of failing, I think we tend to be too conservative.

“We want to get devices into trial quickly – see if they work, and if and if they do, fantastic.

“And if they don’t, we turn around and we go again, bringing that experience back from industry in academia.”

The Bionics Institute recently completed a white paper, which revealed several key areas Australia could be doing better in order to achieve remarkable results on a world stage.

“We need to bring like-minded people together in clusters,” Klupacs continued. “Countries such as Israel, Germany, Sweden, Finland – they really support the young people from PhDs into their next phase of industry.

“In terms of the industry link with academia, people think Universities do research; Industry makes things. Actually, they should be much closer together, like in other parts of the world.

“And lastly, it’s how do we fund these things,” he said.

The Bionics Institute is holding an Innovation Lecture in Melbourne on Wednesday 17 May, 2023, bringing together med tech leaders to explore how Australia can accurately measure innovation, boost the med tech ecosystem and strengthen connections.

You can register via this link.