New health sensor research facility opened at UNSW

A new centre that will help “build a national end-to-end ecosystem for the design, manufacturing and commercialisation” of health sensors was launched this week.

The ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health is led by University of NSW and has 26 industry partners – 24 Australian companies and one each from the USA and India – as well as 37 Chief Investigators and 26 Partner Investigators. Partner universities include University of Wollongong, RMIT, and Queensland University of Technology.

Professor Chun Wang, the newly-launched hub’s Director and Head of UNSW’s School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, said it would integrate existing strengths in sensors, security, software systems, data analytics, and digital health.

Wang said that industrial partners would successfully certify, manufacture, and commercialise new sensors and export them.

“Connected health sensors are emerging as a transformational technology to address a wide range of pressing issues, such as remote health management of chronical diseases for at-risk populations, rehabilitation and chronic disease management of frail and older people, monitoring acute pain and blood lactate level in athletes, and smart rehabilitation and treatment of neurological diseases,” said Wang in a statement.

The hub was one of eight funded through the 2021 round of the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Program, with the Australian Research Council investing $5 million over five years. A further $13.04 million in cash and in-kind support is being provided by industry and research members.

 “The Hub positions Australia at the forefront of connected health, with new products made locally in Australia, creating new jobs in design, testing, evaluation, and manufacturing,” said federal assistant manufacturing minister Tim Ayres.  

“It’s developments like these that will help push Australian products up the global value chain, broadening our economic complexity and securing our supply chains.”

Picture: credit UNSW