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Great ideas lead to great innovation
Donate nowWe’re researching tests and treatments to improve the lives of people like Scarlett. All gifts over $2 are tax deductible.
Scarlett’s Story
Scarlett has had to cope with the distressing impacts of epilepsy her entire adult life.
“I had my first seizure while I was at the supermarket with Mum,” she says. “Neither of us knew what was happening, or what to do. I got this sick, déjà vu sensation, and I lost feeling in my left side. I couldn’t control what I was saying. It was really scary.
“It took six months for me to get a correct diagnosis. In that time, I had hundreds of seizures, and I was tested for everything from breast cancer to diabetes.”
Despite everything Scarlett has been through, living with epilepsy remains a daily struggle.
Our innovative early-stage research projects are laying the groundwork for future treatments that has the potential to help people like Scarlett.
Help fund pioneering research
Innovation lies at the heart of the Bionics Institute and early-stage ideation is strongly supported through the Bionics Incubator Fund (BIF).
Ideas funded by the BIF have led to several projects, including:
Investigating a new electrical stimulation treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy
Adapting a vagus nerve stimulation device to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Will you help turn cutting edge research into the lifechanging treatments and therapies of the future?
Your donation can help speed up research from a seed of an idea into a fully developed research projects and be a catalyst for innovation.
Great ideas lead to great innovations
There are many groundbreaking research projects being supported by early-stage funding, including:
A new electrical stimulation treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy
With positive preliminary findings and thanks to significant early-stage funding from a generous foundation, lead researcher Dr Tomoko Hyakumura is now able to move forward with evaluating the effectiveness of abdominal vagus nerve stimulation to reduce the frequency and severity of seizures without the side effects caused by current treatments.
A drug free approach to relieve chronic pain
Thanks to seed funding from The CASS Foundation, Associate Professor Rachael Richardson and her team have started developing a treatment that uses a combination of electricity and light to provide drug-free management of chronic pain. It works by selectively stimulating nerve activity to mask the pain and provide desperately needed relief.
Without this vital support, many promising solutions might never get off the ground, delaying the development of life-saving treatments and innovations to improve patient outcomes.
Want to support the future of research like this?
Early-stage research for life-changing devices & treatments like this is made possible by donations from our supporters.
Your support today could turn the seed of an idea into a new treatment in the future.
Find out how you can support research innovation here.
