8 game-changing Australian medical breakthroughs
From an app for predicting epileptic seizures to a tablet alternative to needles, here are eight Australian medical marvels you need to know about.
The last few years have seen a rise in technology that is changing the way we live.
Between apps that help boost our wellbeing and a smart scanner that can provide digital health checks at home, there is no denying the positive impact of technology.
Pair technological advances with findings from some of Australia’s greatest scientific minds, and you’ve got medical marvels that could change millions of lives around the world.
Here are eight game-changing Australian medical breakthroughs you need to know about.
Targeted treatment for autoimmune skin disorders
There is new hope for autoimmune skin disorder sufferers, with recent immunotherapy findings pointing towards more targeted treatments.
“T cells are a specialised type of immune cells that can fight infections and cancers and, in our research, we found that there were almost two flavours of T cells in the skin — pathogenic and protective,” University of Melbourne senior research officer Dr Susan Christo says.
The research team found that pathogenic T cells can play a role in autoimmune disorders.
When it comes to the treatment of conditions such as psoriasis, vitiligo and alopecia, T cells were viewed as a whole population rather than two distinct types.
Now, with knowledge of the two cell types, Dr Christo says autoimmune treatment could be more targeted and effective.
A tablet alternative to needles
Dread injections? Charles Darwin University pharmaceutical scientist Dr Nazim Nassar and RMIT University biophysicist Professor Stefan Kasapi have developed an alternative to needles.
This new technology involves a gel-like casing in an oral tablet form, which can deliver naturally occuring therapeutic proteins and vaccines.
Not only for those with a fear of needles, it is also a practical and more pleasant option, Dr Nassar says.
“For example, patients who are being treated for blindness caused by proliferative diabetic retinopathy currently have to have an injection into their eye, which certainly isn’t the most tolerable experience,” Dr Nassar explains.
“So, this method of drug delivery is more specific and more effective.
“It can handle high temperatures and acidities, cause fewer side effects, and doesn’t break down as quickly.”
An app to predict epileptic seizures
A new app allows those with epilepsy to predict and manage their otherwise unpredictable seizures. By analysing the brain activity, heart rates and seizure diaries of thousands of patients, University of Melbourne biomedical engineer Dr Pip Karoly has found that seizures can follow a pattern.
“Seizure cycles are very common for people with epilepsy … they’re very individual and specific to each person and you need personalised data to generate a pattern,” Dr Karoly says.
The Seer Epilepsy Management app combines Dr Karoly’s research with the user’s recorded events and data to uncover their personal seizure cycles and patterns.
Based on these cycles, the app produces a personalised “seizure risk forecast”, determining when individuals are more or less likely to have a seizure.
“The involvement of heart rate suggests there’s some stress that plays an important role, but many other factors from sleep to diet to hormones may also affect longer cycles,” Dr Karoly says.
Through the app, a visualised seizure forecast can predict weeks or months in advance, and identify low- and high-risk periods.
Low-dose aspirin — risks and benefits research
Low-dose aspirin was widely used to help prevent stroke, particularly in the elderly, until results from the Monash University-led ASPREE trial (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) suggested that the risks of this drug outweigh its benefits.
Royal Melbourne Hospital professor of neurology Geoffrey Donnan says the trial compared benefit and risk.
“We wanted to look at the risk benefit — we know there is a potential benefit, but we also know there’s a potential risk,” Prof Donnan says.
The world-first study involved 19,000 people and found that the risk of bleeding outweighed the benefit of preventing stroke.
“We found that aspirin wasn’t preventing stroke,” Prof Donnan notes.
“If you’re over 70 and otherwise healthy, there’s no real evidence that you should take aspirin.”
People with previous and serious heart conditions should still take aspirin; however, Prof Donnan says those aged over 70 and otherwise healthy should modify lifestyle risk factors to reduce their stroke risk.
These findings have prompted further research into the potential risks and benefits of taking aspirin.
Artificial skin to treat type 1 diabetes
Two Royal Adelaide Hospital clinicians, Burns Unit director Dr John Greenwood and Kidney and Islet Transplantation director Professor Toby Coates have developed an artificial skin that could help end daily insulin injections for people with type 1 diabetes.
The treatment involves inserting a piece of artificial skin into the upper arm of a diabetes patient.
This skin, which is then injected with insulin-producing cells, stimulates a high blood flow and gives a similar environment to a person’s pancreas.
Once refined, the process could put a permanent end to daily insulin injections.
“This could be done easily in a GP practice under local anaesthetic,” Dr Greenwood says.
“We’re trying to create something that’s easy to do, easy to monitor, but leaving a hopefully lifelong treatment for type 1 diabetes.”
In 2023, Alec Tibbitts became the first to undergo the new treatment — Dr Greenwood and Prof Coates consider it the successful first step towards a widespread and effective treatment.
Genomic sequencing to help treat childhood cancer
Approximately 1000 Australian kids are diagnosed with cancer each year.
The Zero Childhood Cancer Program (ZERO), a world-leading precision medicine program, helps to achieve better outcomes for children with cancer.
The program uses genomic sequencing to determine the specific cancer-causing genetic alterations in each child to inform more effective treatments and therapies.
“We want to find the right drug for the right form of disease for the right child, and that’s not simple,” RCH Children’s Cancer Centre director Professor David Eisenstat says.
“But with these technologies it’s not only feasible, but it’s happening.”
The scheme, which will be rolled out this year to all children’s hospitals across Australia, can be accessed by children under 18 years old with any type of cancer.
“Every childhood diagnosis of cancer will have the tumour sequence, their blood sequence and we’ll learn of potential risk factors for not responding to standard therapy or identify actionable targets for which we can select drugs — it’s a fantastic opportunity,” Prof Eisenstat says.
3D imaging for early skin cancer detection
A world-first study is using 3D skin imaging technology and AI to improve the early detection of melanoma.
The 3D imaging of up to 15,000 Australians will create a melanoma database that can be used to develop next-generation diagnostic and prognostic algorithms for the early detection of skin cancer.
“The 3D imaging, undertaken by our Vectra machine, is an advanced system that allows us to easily capture and monitor pigmented skin legions (sic) over time,” research lead and Victorian Melanoma Service director Associate Professor Victoria Mar says.
Assoc Prof Mar says this technology can track existing lesions and help predict future lesions.
“(This) means we can use the data to ‘train’ new algorithms to detect melanoma earlier in patients across the country and predict which melanomas are more likely to become life-threatening,” she says.
Endometriosis app
The Endo45 app offers a missing link for those experiencing endometriosis symptoms and struggling to get help.
Designed by engineer Juliet Oliver who drew on her own experience of endometriosis, the app uses the latest science and research to inform personalised recommendations for each user depending on their specific goal, such as reducing pain, enhancing fertility or improving mental health.
“For many women, there may not be a cure, but it is possible to make changes to gain some control over how to manage the disease and its effects on day-to-day living,” general obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Katie Taylor says.
“This app does a great job of providing sufferers with the knowledge and guidance they need to get relief and get on with their lives.”
More scientific and medical breakthroughs:
- 5 amazing health innovations that could change your life
- 3 remarkable Aussie women leading the charge in science
- How genetic testing can help you make important health choices
- The blood cancer treatment that has got scientists all exited
Written by Hayley Hinze.
