Tyree IHealthE

Morning tea with IHealthE

SmartAssistive: Co-design in practice

Published on the 19 July 2022

Identifying unmet needs and co-designing solutions are critical steps in developing impactful healthcare innovations. At the July Morning Tea with IHealthE, Dr Ian Goon, Head of Strategy and Innovation at Tyree IHealthE, hosted a conversation with Genevieve Murphy and Scott Hebenton, founders of SmartAssistive and recipients of the Peter Farrell Cup Early Stage and People’s Choice Awards, as well as the Faculty of Engineering Dean's Award.

SmartAssistive is an integrated pressure sensing technology designed to address the serious issue of bed sores in hospital patients. Developed through the Assistive Tech Hub initiative led by A/Prof Lauren Kark, the product exemplifies the power of co-design in healthcare innovation.

The session explored how SmartAssistive applied co-design principles throughout their development journey, how the Assistive Tech Hub course supported this process, and how co-design contributed to more effective and translatable technology outcomes.

As always, the morning tea provided a relaxed setting for attendees to learn from real-world experiences, ask questions, and engage in meaningful discussion—with a cup of tea in hand and morning tea provided.
Date

19 July 2022

Venue

UNSW Sydney Atrium Space, Level 2 Biological Sciences Building Sydney, NSW 2052

Format

In person

Speakers

Gen Murphy graduated from UNSW in 2021, with a B.Chemical Eng and a M.Biomedical Eng. Gen currently works as a business and commercial analyst for a CleanTech company, Licella. Most recently, alongside the SmartAssistive team, she was awarded first place in the Peter Farrell Cup, as well as People’s Choice and the Deans award for Engineering, for a device that acts to prevent the unnecessary pressure injuries experienced by hospital and aged care patients. Gen hopes to use her background in engineering, as well as her business development skills, to improve the translation of ideas within the industry.

Scott Hebenton is co-founder of Smart Assistive, a start-up aimed at preventing pressure injuries and recent winners of the Peter Farrell Cup. Prior to completing a Masters in Biomedical Engineering at UNSW, he spent several years working as a mechanical and project engineer in the oil and gas industry. He is interested in exploring the start-up ecosystem and excited to improve health outcomes.

A/Prof Lauren Kark | Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, and Academic Director for the Student Projects and Social Impact pillars, ChallENG program.
Lauren is committed to creating programs that inspire and empower students to make positive social impact. She established the Engineering World Health Summer Institute at UNSW in 2015 and since then, more than 180 students have repaired more than 1,000 pieces of medical equipment in rural and regional hospitals throughout Uganda and Cambodia. She is currently working on a new initiative that will facilitate equitable participation for all.

Dr Ian Goon | Head of Strategy and Innovation, Tyree IHealthE
Ian has a background in scientific research, developing nano-materials for biosensing applications and subsequently spent 4 years in a commercially focused-role as a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in Southeast Asia. Ian co-founded a health technology startup focused on building digital tools for healthcare research projects, prior to joining Tyree IHealthE. His work included leading the development and implementation of technology platforms for the South Asia Biobank (South Asia and UK) and the SG100K population health study in Singapore. Ian holds a BEng (Chemical) and Ph.D from UNSW and obtained an MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise from the University of Cambridge as a Chevening scholar.