Professor David Grayden is in the department of biomedical engineering at the University of Melbourne. He has undertaken successful innovation and a commercialisation journey, providing practical insights into how he navigates through this research pathway.
Video transcript
[Music plays and an image of a Professor David Grayden leaning against a glass wall and smiling at the camera appears on screen]
[Image changes to show Professor David Grayden and a male seated at a table and looking over a model of a human head]
Professor David Grayden: Bionics is at the forefront of science because it deals with ways that we can directly interface machines to the brain and with other parts of the nervous system.
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We’ve shown in the past that this is very possible with the bionic ear, which is very successful and pacemakers as well.
[Image changes to show Professor David Grayden and a female standing together and looking over a model of a human heart]
We’re looking to transform the lives of people who have epilepsy, vision disorders and spinal cord injury, and for bionic devices that’s primarily done through commercialising new devices,
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but in between the research findings and then getting it through to commercialisation there is what’s known as the Valley of Death.
[Image changes to show Professor David Grayden walking over to pick up a model of a human head and neck]
And this is where there is more difficulty in obtaining the funding that’s needed to do the development.
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There are a lot of regularity requirements around medical devices and we need to ensure that not only are we developing something that has a strong scientific basis, but will also meet all the regularity requirements in order for it to be available to people.
It’s important to consider not just the science when you want to commercialise your research. You also need to consider the regularity environment. You also even need to consider the business plan behind what you’re developing.
[Image changes to show Professor David Grayden and applying a medical device to a males head]
If there isn’t a commercial possibility for what you want to do, the possibility of actually making a profit from it then it’s very unlikely it will actually ever be implemented.
[Image changes to show Professor David Grayden securing the medical device on the males head under his chin]
The NHMRC have a scheme called Development Grants, which are specifically designed to help take basic research findings through to commercialisation. The NHMRC have been very important in funding some of the initial ideas that we’ve had, but then also the development of these ideas.
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What’s exciting for me is to see the lives of people transformed who are in desperate situations.
[Music plays and NHMRC logo appears on screen with text beside it: Building a Healthier Australia]
End of transcript.