This year's WA Innovator of the Year finalists announced

Seventeen companies have been selected over five categories for the WA Innovator of the Year Awards 2023, with winners to be announced in November and share in a prize pool worth over $200,000.

In the running (a full list of finalists is reproduced below) are makers of the first prosthetic eardrum, a same-day antimicrobial susceptibility test and autonomous solar cleaning robotics.

Each finalist in the awards receives training in pitching, mentoring, digital and social media strategy, and legal, intellectual property and accountancy advice.

“The WA Innovator of the Year awards continue to showcase the State’s innovation talent and each nominee should be very proud of what they’ve achieved,” said state innovation minister Stephen Dawson in a statement on Monday.

“It is fantastic to see local companies coming up with solutions that will appeal to the global market.“

Picture: the ClearDrum device (credit Ear Science Institute Australia)

Rio Tinto Emerging Innovation Category (Pre-Revenue)

Name	Project Title
ClearDrum Pty Ltd	ClearDrum – the first prosthetic eardrum on the market
Virex Pharma	An inhaled nanoemulsion for treatment of viral respiratory infections
Cytophenix Pty Ltd	Same-day antimicrobial susceptibility tests to optimise treatment for bloodstream infections
OMNI Industry Pty Ltd	Non-invasive hydration tracking
Earflo (EarBuddy Pty Ltd)	EarFlo device to treat chronic ear infections at home
LubDub Technologies	Lubdub Technologies – heart health on demand

Rio Tinto Growth Category (Post-Revenue)

Name	Description
Innovation Energy Solutions	Autonomous Solar Cleaning Robotics
Leisure Technologies Pty Ltd	WiTi – the world’s most advanced wireless towing and anti-theft system
Portable PPB Pty Ltd	detectORE(TM) – in-field low level gold results by pXRF, anywhere
Camp Connect Pty Ltd	Co Connect Workforce app
Digital Matter	The Hawk – IoT Datalogger
SpaceDraft	SpaceDraft – visual logistics software

Business News ‘Great For the State’ Platinum Award

Name	Description
Earflo (EarBuddy Pty Ltd)	EarFlo device to treat chronic ear infections at home
Reliis	Aqueous Quetiapine solution
Cytophenix Pty Ltd	Same-day antimicrobial susceptibility tests to optimise treatment for bloodstream infections
Koodaideri Innovation & Technology Pty Ltd	Hydratune Remote Industrial System Maintenance

Wesfarmers Wellbeing Platinum Award

Name	Description
Earflo (EarBuddy Pty Ltd)	EarFlo device to treat chronic ear infections at home
Inspiring Holdings Pty Ltd	Novel Universal Spacer System
ClearDrum Pty Ltd	ClearDrum – the first prosthetic eardrum on the market
Customa Pty Ltd	CustomaSEAL: a customised stomal seal to eliminate uncontrollable effluent leaks
Virex Pharma	An inhaled nanoemulsion for treatment of viral respiratory infections

Woodside Energy Platinum Award for Energy Innovation

Name	Description
Innovation Energy Solutions	Autonomous solar cleaning robotics
OMNI Industry Pty Ltd	Non-invasive hydration Tracking
SpaceDraft	SpaceDraft – visual logistics software
Clear Carbon Pty Ltd	Carbon Reality: real time, entire value chain, GHG emissions accounting