Brisbane health-tech unveils multimillion-dollar advanced manufacturing facility
Brisbane health-tech company WearOptimo has unveiled the initial $7m phase of its Advanced Manufacturing Facility (AMF), paving the way towards releasing its first Microwearable sensor.
Custom-built in Brisbane, the AMF is the first facility in the southern hemisphere, pioneering the use of Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL) for health-tech.
Its unveiling marks a major milestone along the company’s journey to having its first product – a hydration Microwearable sensor – on shelves, opening up global markets with a potential value of more than $5bn.
“WearOptimo’s vision is to create global healthcare solutions that are accessible and affordable, and this new manufacturing capacity is central to that ambition,” said founder and CEO Professor Mark Kendall.
“The AMF’s use of NIL will allow us to rapidly advance our Microwearable technology towards the release of on-the-shelf sensors that are scalable for widespread deployment, at a low cost per unit.
“When operating at full capacity it will allow production of up to 30 million sensors annually, which will be used by everyone from elite athletes to aged-care residents and in industries ranging from the military to resources.”
It’s also technology that bolsters Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capacity.
But it wasn’t always in the plan.
Pre-COVID-19, WearOptimo had been looking for an established manufacturing centre offshore. But as the challenges of the pandemic intensified, the company decided to reshore manufacturing and create a custom-designed production facility in Australia.
Securing almost $1m from the federal government’s Modernisation Manufacturing Fund, on top of its own capital, WearOptimo bought a cutting-edge Nanoimprint Lithography system from Europe.
The 10 tonnes of equipment were built to specification and flown to Australia, where they have been installed as the centrepiece of the AMF, which was also supported by a state government grant.
WearOptimo Chief Technology Officer Dr Anthony Brewer said the company’s decision to use NIL took it beyond more common industry usages such as semi-conductors, and optics and displays.
“In identifying and pioneering health tech as a novel application for Nanoimprint Lithography, we have created a unique facility in the southern hemisphere,” Dr Brewer said.
“Our pilot manufacturing line is the only installation of its kind in Australia, and likely the only one in the world dedicated specifically to health-tech.”
It’s a theme of innovation inherent in WearOptimo’s Microwearable technology, advancing the next generation of wearable technology.
“Unlike today’s typical wearables, which sit on the skin’s surface, WearOptimo’s Microwearable sticker-like sensors have microelectrodes that reach just a hair’s width into it,” Professor Kendall said.
“This creates access to biosignals that allow for improved monitoring and intervention where time is critical.”
While the technology has myriad applications, first cab off the rank is a hydration Microwearable sensor, which has completed validation trials and will next focus on usability studies and field trials with elite athletes.
“While the Microwearable sensor platform has applications across many markets, we have chosen first to focus on the critical issue of hydration monitoring,” Professor Kendall explained.
“What a lot of people don’t realise is less-than-optimal hydration can have severe, even fatal, health consequences but often goes undetected, especially given the crudeness of traditional measurements such as the colour of urine.
“Our Microwearable sensor provides continuous, non-invasive monitoring, allowing for timely intervention. This gives it significant global relevance.”