Neo-Bionica: Taking Medtech from Ideas to Reality

Image: Jason Lemaire (Neo-Bionica, Project Director) and Dr Robyn Stokes (Bionics Gamechangers Australia, CEO) at the world-class Neo-Bionica facilities in Melbourne

Follow the flowing timber waves of a wall within the floors of St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, and you will find the home of Neo-Bionica: a purpose-built facility advancing medical device prototype manufacturing in our own backyard.

Established in 2021, the space comprises of early prototyping workshops, two independent ISO 7 cleanrooms, and the latest in precision engineering technology and 3D printers.

A joint initiative of the Bionics Institute and the University of Melbourne, Neo-Bionica’s team of designers, engineers and regulatory experts have worked across projects including the cochlear implant, the bionic eye and the Epi-Minder epilepsy monitoring system.

Having recently toured its facilities with Neo-Bionica Project Director, Jason Lemaire, Bionics Gamechangers Australia CEO, Dr Robyn Stokes said having such world-class facilities available in Australia clearly benefitted innovators and patients alike.

“Where in the past innovators have had to contract companies oversees to create a device prototype for use in clinical trials, creating extraordinary delays, it was fascinating to see firsthand how Neo-Bionica combines both the technical engineering knowledge together with as the cutting-edge facilities required to bring life-changing medical devices from concept through to first-in-human prototypes.”

Image: Neo-Bionica facilities in Melbourne

For more information, refer to the Neo-Bionica website.