$50 million for Bionic Eye Development Awarded

17 Dec 09

The Government has announced that two research teams will share $50 million to develop a bionic eye.

The first research team will receive $42 million, and comprises The Universities of Melbourne, New South Wales, Western Sydney and The Australian National University. Collaborators include the National ICT Australia (NICTA), the Bionic Ear Institute and the Centre for Eye Research Australia.

The second successful team involves MonashUniversity and the AlfredHospital, and will receive $8 million.

“Both research teams submitted leading edge, innovative bionic eye concepts that include significant collaboration and show an exceptional ability to deliver health and economic benefits,” Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, at the announcement.

“Team one will utilise a technology that implants a device in the rear of the eye (the retina) to enable vision to blind patients suffering from degenerative retinal conditions. The second team aims to develop a device that is implanted directly on the region of the brain that processes vision signals (the visual cortex). This will provide treatment for progressive blindness.

Funding is being awarded under the Australian Research Council’s Research in Bionic Vision Science and Technology Initiative, which was developed in response to the Australia 2020 Summit.

ManufactureLink was involved in assisting the University of NSW with their bid for the project by locating niche micro-manufacturing and medical device manufacturing expertise needed to support the project. ManufactureLink's work will ensure a large Australian manufacturing contribution to the development of the bionic eye.

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