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The second Bionics Institute Preview Event showcasing our vagus nerve stimulation research
On 25 March 2025, we held the second Bionics Institute Preview Event showcasing our vagus nerve stimulation research, kindly hosted by NAB and officially opened by the Victorian Minister for Health, The Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas.
Bionics Institute Chief Technology Officer, Prof James Fallon, described our researchers’ journey from the call by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2014 for new ways to treat Crohn’s disease, and how their funding combined with Australian funding led to the development of our groundbreaking vagus nerve stimulation device.
Prof Fallon updated the audience of Bionics Institute supporters, collaborators and Board members on the progress of research into use of the vagus nerve stimulation device as a treatment for Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and epilepsy, and announced the establishment of a Vagus Nerve Stimulation Centre of Excellence at the Bionics Institute.
Watch the video below to find out more about this exciting initiative, which will enable our researchers to investigate the viability of vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for a wide range of conditions including other gastrointestinal disorders, neurological disorders, mental health conditions, and even cancer.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation Centre of Excellence at the Bionics Institute
Gastroenterologist and Director of the Austin Hospital IBD Service Prof Peter De Cruz is leading the clinical trial into vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment of Crohn’s disease. He gave a fascinating presentation about why a new treatment for Crohn’s disease is so important, and gave an update on how the clinical trial is progressing following implantation of the device in the first patient in 2023.
Bionics Institute CEO Robert Klupacs summed up the impact of researchers, clinicians and Bionics Institute supporters combining to change the future of medicine.
At the Bionics Institute, we have some of the very best researchers in the world, the cutting-edge technology, and the determination to change lives. We believe the future of medicine isn’t just about drugs. It’s about harnessing the power of the human body using nerve stimulation techniques. Robert Klupacs
