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ADVANCES IN MEDICAL BIONICS RESEARCH

29 March 2012

The pacemaker and bionic ear (cochlear implant) were the first medical bionic devices to be used successfully in humans. On the horizon there is the prospect of a neural prosthesis capable of operating prosthetic limbs, a bionic eye, as well as other devices for the restoration of body function. These developments are crucially dependent on successfully connecting the device to cellular tissue. The development of organic conductors (conducting polymers and carbon nanotubes) is contributing to achieving that success. This seminar highlights the medical bionics research being undertaken in our laboratories using organic conducting materials to regenerate damaged nerves and muscle as well as deliver therapeutic drugs. In addition an overview of the world class research facilities available at our the research institute are presented.

Associate Professor Simon Moulton is the Associate Program leader for the Bionic Research Program within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) at the University of Wollongong, and a QEII Fellow of the Australian Research Council. His research area is the development of novel conducting biomaterials for use in tissue engineering applications such as spinal cord and muscle regeneration, as well as drug delivery. His research is focussed on development of the next generation Bionic devices.

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[presentation includes video links]

ADVANCES IN GLOBAL MINING TECHNOLOGY

26 April 2012

Maptek is an Australian high technology company that provides a range of sophisticated products for the global mining industry designed to deliver operational, efficiency, safety and accuracy benefits, including 3D modular visualisation software for geological modelling and mine planning, and highly accurate laser scanner technology for mine survey and measurement. This presentation outlines the technologies underpinning Maptek’s suite of products as well as the engineering, management and cultural foundations which Maptek uses to underpin all of its work. The presentation includes a recent case study on how Maptek’s products were used in the rescue of 33 miners at the San Jose Mine in Chile.

Peter Johnson is a Mechanical Engineer with 13 years experience in designing and delivering technology for mining. In 1999, Peter began developing long range 3D Laser Scanners. He led the award winning R&D team which developed Maptek I-Site Laser Scanning products for 5 years before taking on Global Product Manager for Maptek I-Site hardware and software. I-Site products are manufactured in Australia and sold to mining operations worldwide. In 2006 Peter was appointed General Manager of Maptek, Australia and is responsible for the delivery of all Maptek solutions and services to Australasian markets. Peter has overseen design, delivery and commercialisation of new software and technical solutions.

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Health Informatics to Improve Patient Safety

31 May 2012

Health informatics (or e-health), has significant potential to enhance and accelerate the quality, safety and effectiveness of health services, and is attracting multi-billion dollar investments internationally. While much focus is on the development of generic technology infrastructure, much less attention is being paid to engineering end-user systems that support decision-making in clinical and consumer settings. Yet these e-health implement­ations, while bringing many genuine benefits, are now understood to have their own risks, and there is growing concern about the safety and quality of e-health itself. This presentation will present the current challenges and opportunities in engineering e-health technologies to improve patient safety.

Dr Farah Magrabi is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Informatics within the Australian Institute for Health Innovation at the University of New South Wales. Farah leads the Centre’s research program on Patient Safety Informatics, which focuses on the safe and effective use of information technology. She has a background in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, and is passionate about ensuring the safety of information technology in healthcare through good design and the appropriate application of the technology.

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Advances in Bionic Eye Research

28 June 2012

The development of bionic vision technology aims to restore the sense of vision to people living with blindness and low vision. Work towards an Australian visual prosthesis, including both engineering approaches and results from in vivo and in vitro experiments will be discussed. The implanted components comprise a split system with a behind the ear unit akin to a cochlear device used to receive power and data from a transcutaneous wireless link, and a two-wire connection to a second implant that is located near the eye and which has a 98 electrode array that is surgically implanted behind the retina. This presentation will highlight recent developments in bionic eye research.

Professor Nigel Lovell is currently at the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering University of New South Wales, Sydney where he holds a position of Scientia Professor. He has authored 500+ refereed journals, conference proceedings and abstracts. His research work has covered areas of expertise ranging from cardiac modelling, telehealth technologies, biological signal processing, and visual prosthesis design. He has commercialised a range of telehealth technologies for managing chronic disease and falls in the older population and is also one of the key researchers leading an R&D program to develop an Australian bionic eye.

The Square Kilometre Array Telescope

26 July 2012

The Higgs Particle

30 August 2012

Advances in Prosthetics

27 September 2012

To be arranged

25 October 2012