Does anyone know what Pia spoke about or if any transcripts are available? Have not seen to much posted unless I am going blind which could be true. Was she at the event on behalf on BRN?
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FYI: On the conference website, the session to which Pia Turcinov had been invited as a speaker, is missing the first and last panellist from your screenshot and also lists a different moderator. Unfortunately there was nothing else to find out, even when clicking that unmistakeable red Find Out More button.
spaceandearthconference.com
Despite ending up in that cul-de-sac, I was still in dot-joining mood, so I had a closer look at Fund WA instead, where Pia Turcinov is a General Partner. They describe themselves as a “Seed To Series-A venture fund in Western Australia” and their mission statement is “to back the state’s innovative, high growth and scalable opportunities at the early commercialisation stages.”
So far, Fund WA has invested in two local start-ups (in August 2023 resp Sept 2023). The second one, medtech and biosensor company VitalTrace (
www.vitaltrace.com.au), looks as if it was right up our alley, even though there is no specific mention of neuromorphic technology.
The people behind this innovative start-up based in Perth are hoping to commercialise their continuous scalp lactate monitoring DelivAssure biosensor, a real-time fetal distress monitoring device to detect hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in babies during labour, which they claim is superior to cardiotocography (CTG), the current gold standard of intrapartum (during childbirth) fetal monitoring. According to VitalTrace, DelivAssure will help clinicians to easily identify fetal distress during labour, allowing them to take early action to prevent complications such as brain damage, and at the same time reduce unnecessary C-sections.
Perth cardiologist A/Prof Dr Michael Nguyen, another General Partner of Fund WA, recently posted a short clip (worth watching) of VitalTrace being featured on Seven Network.
Thank you Seven network for promoting such a great company and the efforts of its founders. Thanks FundWA for supporting this innovation ecosystem.
www.linkedin.com
I subsequently searched for ‘VitalTrace’ here on TSE, which yielded one result:
@Fact Finder had already come across this Perth start-up about 1.5 years ago.
Even if VitalTrace did not yet know about Akida back then, they would have found out about Brainchip’s disruptive tech by now through Pia Turcinov. Whether they are actually implementing it or not remains to be seen.
There is of course also the possibility that Fund WA invested in VitalTrace for the very reason the team behind the start-up plans on implementing Akida into their DelivAssure biosensor, on their mission “to create a new global standard of care for keeping mothers and babies safe during childbirth” and that Pia Turcinov and her investment partners are convinced that the resulting tech is going to be a winning combination, enabling the start-up founders’ vision for the novel biosensor to become an indispensable device for obstetricians and midwives around the globe, saving lives and helping to prevent birth complications due to hypoxia and avoiding unnecessary emergency C-sections. And all of this resulting in a massive decrease in healthcare costs, too.
While Brainchip is not (or not yet? another company behind an NDA?) listed as one of VitalTrace’s partners, I noticed both the University of Western Australia as well as the Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science in Perth are, and we have connections to both institutions through the three members on our Scientific Advisory Board: Prof Adam Osseiran, Professor Barry Marshall as well as Prof Alan Harvey. Of course there are also countless other potential (non BRN-related) connections between VitalTrace and the Perron Institute resp UWA. Unfortunately, I couldn’t spot any of our SAB member names on the university project pages I found (eg
https://research-repository.uwa.edu...el-monitoring-device-to-detect-hypoxia-during and more links to collaborations with UTS and Monash over a three year period from 01/01/2022-31/12/2024), but they could still have put VitalTrace in touch with Brainchip or vice versa.
And even if Brainchip is not involved, I sincerely hope this innovative Perth start-up will be successful in commercialising their invention.
FundWA announces 2nd investment, in VitalTrace
By
Pankaj Sharma
-
21 September 2023
0
422
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FUND WA (Left to Right Fund WA's Glenn Butcher, Pia Turcinov, Dr Michael Nguyen, Trent Rachow. Absent are Asheesh Malaney General Partner and Glenn Murray Venture Partner. Photo supplied.
WA-based venture fund
Fund WA has announced its second investment from its first fund in backing Perth-based medtech and biosensor company
VitalTrace.
The former WA Innovator of the Year winners (
2021, Wesfamers Wellbeing Award) co-founders
Dr Arjun Kaushik and
Dr Michael Challenor are leading cutting-edge research and developing manufacturing capability, all focused on solving a serious problem that is worth $3b per annum.
A recent event hosted by
VitalTrace to celebrate the investment was an opportunity for FundWA investors to meet some of the team and hear about the most recent milestones reached in commercialising their world-first
DelivAssurebiosensor.
VitalTrace team. Image supplied.
Support from our latest investment round allows us to accelerate towards our first clinical trials, build out our nation-first biosensor manufacturing plant and lay the foundations for a global biosensor company. Having a local team of investors like FundWA who are completely aligned with our mission to make childbirth safer for everyone around the globe is priceless.
Dr Arjun Kaushik, CEO of VitalTrace
Glenn Butcher, CEO and one of the four General Partners of Fund WA said he was happy to support an investment to create a new global standard of care for keeping mothers and babies safe during childbirth
.
“This is a WA startup, based here, manufacturing from here and taking this ground-breaking technology to the world, from WA,” he said.
“Our investment in
VitalTrace is a commitment to supporting transformative West Australian innovation that can enhance the lives of countless individuals. Our focus is on high growth potential and is not limited to any specific industry sectors. We firmly believe investable talent can come from anywhere.”
VitalTrace product suite – including the DelivAssure biosensor (on the table). Image supplied
Earlier this year
FundWA received support through the WA State Government’s New Industries Fund, from the
Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation which has provided some operational funding for the first three years to assist in the establishment of the fund under the WA Ventures Support (WAVES) pilot program.
To date, FundWA has vetted over 160 startup companies in WA and is actively encouraging early conversations with founders looking to scale through venture capital funding.
~~
For further information visit
www.fundwa.com.au