SpringEdition 2017

BIONIC CONNECTIONS From a bionic ear to a bionic era

Bionic Connections | Spring 2017 6Bionic Connections | Spring 20175

3D printing is now being used for almost anything you can think of across many industries. What makes the 3D printers at the Bionics Institute so incredible is that they have been completely customised by our engineers, to create any tools or components needed for projects the team may be working on.

The unique 3D printers are used for creating small, customised and one-off tools for our researchers and clinicians. They’re also used to help develop our new electrodes. Through an iterative process, designs can be printed and assessed, with changes made and then printed again, greatly reducing the turnaround time compared to traditional methods.

The 3D printer works by “slicing” a computer aided design (CAD) concept into layers. These layers are sent from the computer to the 3D printer, which then builds the part layer by layer. The printing process can take as little as 10 minutes and is also

surprisingly quiet as the product is created layer by layer using our custom-mixed resins.

Purchasing new equipment often comes as a result of donations from Trusts and Foundations as well as from generous donations from the wider community. Funding like this is critical to provide equipment needed for all projects now and in the future to allow our pioneering technology to continue.

Our R&D designer, Ross Thomas, says working with the 3D printers streamlines our research. “It’s really exciting working with the customised printers at the Institute. The future potential for 3D printing in medical research is limitless and I am always in awe watching it quickly turn my CAD design into a tangible item used in surgery or the lab.”

If you wish to know more about how to support the Bionics Institute by funding a project or equipment, please contact 9667 7500.

Manufacturing practical items for the lab has never been so easy thanks to cutting-edge 3D printing technology and the creativity of our innovative engineers.

For editorial enquiries or to receive our eNewsletter, please email PRTeam-Enquiries@bionicsinstitute.org or reception at (03) 9667 7500.

Articles and photographs in this publication are the sole property of the Bionics Institute of Australia and may not be reproduced without written permission. Copyright ©2017.

Proudly supported by www.mmprintworks.com.au

m&mprintworksD E S I G N • P R I N T

Action on Hearing LossColonial FoundationThe Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams

Memorial FoundationGillespie Family FoundationHarold Mitchell FoundationThe Harry Secomb FoundationHilton White EstateNell & Hermon Slade TrustPercy Baxter Charitable TrustPrescott Family FoundationThe Robert C Bulley Charitable FundRotary Club of ElthamVictorian Lions Foundation IncMr Philip AndersonMr Baillieu Myer ACMrs Meg BentleyMr Philip BinnsMrs D.C BourkeMr & Mrs A & R BradeyMr Roy BridgesMiss Joy BucklandMrs J M CassellMs Siew CleelandMr Michael CohnMr & Mrs Wes & Jane DunnDr & Mrs Frank ElsworthMr Tom EvansMr Peter FaulknerMs Val GallahawkMr & Mrs A GardnerMrs Inez GlangerMr Peter GoverMr Bill HendersonMr Peter HorwoodMr Ivor JohnsonMr Robert KlupacsMr & Mrs David and Bindy KoadlowMr Jayant KrishnanMr & Mrs J & Y LewisMs Elizabeth LithgowRotary Club of MorelandMr and Mrs G MoriartyDr Alice MurkiesMrs Pam O’ConnellMrs Jennie PriceMrs Floss ProctorMrs Margaret RaffertyMr & Mrs Michael Robinson AOMr & Mrs A & N RobinsonMr & Mrs Campbell & Judy SinclairDr John SmithMr and Mrs Robert & Beverley SquireMr John StanhopeDr Wes ThevathasanMr & Mrs Peter & Deryn ThomasMrs Katrina TullMr Stephen WargulaMiss B M WebbMr Ian Young

Donor listThe Institute would like to thank the following individuals, organisations, trusts and foundations that have contributed over $200 since February 2017.

This issue

PAGE 1

Engineering new possibilities with 3D printers

PAGE 2

Message from our CEO

In the news

PAGE 3

PhD success with new vision

Cochlear implant recipient flying high

PAGE 4

What do people see through bionic eyes?

International support for Australian-first research

PAGE 5

Can progressive hearing loss be prevented?

Harold Mitchell Foundation supporting our researchers

PAGE 6

Hearing Awareness Week – Hearing Health Expo 2017

Support our open garden event

Donor list

www.bionicsinstitute.org

Can progressive hearing loss be prevented?Laboratory experiments here at the Bionics Institute have shown promising results.

Dr Andrew Wise has demonstrated that nanoparticles loaded with nerve survival factors – called neurotrophins – can be released into the inner ear to help prevent the degeneration of auditory neurons following deafness.

Hearing loss can occur when the sensory cells inside the cochlea – which convert sound waves into signals and convey them to the brain – do not function properly as a result of a congenital abnormality or acquired

trauma (for instance, due to exposure to loud noises).

While drugs that can protect and regenerate inner ear sensory cells have been identified, there is not yet any safe and effective method for delivering these drugs to the inner ear.

Recent nanoengineering advances have made it possible to create particle-based delivery systems that can store large doses of a drug and slowly release them over time.

Led by Dr Andrew Wise, our researchers used cutting-edge techniques to incorporate therapeutic drugs into a nanoengineered delivery system. The system released drugs at therapeutic levels over extended time periods, protecting sensory nerve cells from dying.

Encouraged by these results, we are now investigating how this novel drug delivery system can be used to treat other forms of deafness. Ultimately, our goal is to develop the first clinical treatment for

hearing loss.

Dr Andrew Wise

Harold Mitchell Foundation supporting our researchersWe are very grateful to the Harold Mitchell Foundation, which has awarded 2017 Harold Mitchell Health Travel Fellowships to three of our young researchers.

Nick Sinclair and Joel Villalobos are both members of our team working on improved deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatments for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Each received a fellowship, enabling them to attend the OptoDBS conference and visit the Wyss Centre for Bio and Neuroengineering in Geneva this year.

Nick is an engineer and has recently commenced a PhD project investigating the effects of DBS on brain electrical activity and movement disorder symptoms. The fellowship allowed him to present at the International Neuromodulation Society

(INS) in Edinburgh this year and to visit the Movement Disorders Group at Oxford University. It also allowed Joel to visit the laboratories of Politecnico di Torino and Institut de Neurosciences Grenoble.

Xin Zhou is a PhD student at the Bionics Institute who also received a fellowship. Xin is using brain imaging to reveal differences in the language areas of cochlear implant users who have different levels of speech understanding. The fellowship will allow her to present at the

International Symposium on Auditory and Audiology Research (ISAAR) in Denmark, as well as visit a number of laboratories including the Hearing System Lab in the Technical University of Denmark and Dr Scholkmann’s lab in Zurich.

We would like to thank the Harold Mitchell Foundation for its generous support of our researchers developing better treatments for movement and hearing disorders.

Dr Joel Villalobos

Our fundraisers and ambassadors are fundamental to supporting our research at the Bionics Institute. If you would like to get involved or share your story with us, contact us today.

DONATEYou can donate to a specific theme of research:

TAKE ACTIONGet involved by raising awareness about bionics

research through your club, school or workplace or host an event to raise funds for bionics research

Be a part of the great advances happening in medical bionics right now

VISION

or give to our general appeal via our website

www.bionicsinstitute.org

HEARING NEUROBIONICS

Engineering new possibilities with 3D printers

Hearing Awareness Week – Hearing Health Expo 2017 It was great to participate in the Deafness Foundation’s Hearing Health Expo at Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne on Sunday 20 August.

The expo brought together representatives from organisations that work with hard of hearing Victorians, and have a common interest in preventing hearing loss.

The event marked the beginning of Hearing Awareness Week, which raises awareness of the needs of the one in six people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a chronic ear disorder. It was also an opportunity to explain the risks of hearing loss to all Australians who may be exposed to long-term excessive noise, often in the workplace.

Victoria’s Parliamentary Secretary for Medical Research, Frank McGuire MP, stopped by our stand to say hello after he officially launched Hearing Awareness Week. Frank is a long-time admirer of Bionics Institute founder, Professor Graeme Clark, whose work has had a profound impact for deaf people around the world.

Support our open garden event Each year, cochlear implant recipient Suzanne de Pelsenaire hosts an Open Garden event to raise money and awareness for the Bionics Institute.

Suzanne welcomes people from far and wide into her garden to raise much-needed funding for research. This year’s event will help support our newly-opened infant hearing laboratory, known as the BABILab.

This is the fifth year Suzanne has opened her beautiful garden as a fundraising event and the Institute sincerely thanks her for her ongoing efforts and generosity.

“I am now celebrating nine years since I myself received the gift of hearing again with

a cochlear implant, which has transformed my life. My gratitude is boundless for these wonderful researchers and this marvellous technology,” Suzanne said.

The two-day event will run from 28-29 October, with a donation on entry that goes directly to research at the Bionics Institute. If you wish to receive more information about the event, please visit our website or call 03 9667 7500.

Ross Thomas works with 3D printers in the lab

PhD success with new visionCongratulations to Dr Kerry Halupka on recently completing her PhD with flying colours! Kerry investigated how to improve the resolution of the bionic eye by stimulating many electrodes at once without the unpredictable effects.

Kerry worked with researchers here at the Bionics Institute and at the University of Melbourne on her project which aims to improve the resolution of the bionic eye implant.

As part of her project, Kerry built a computer model that can predict the perceptual outcomes of interactions between electrodes. The software

recommends the best stimulation pattern for the electrodes for improved vision.

This research aims to help those living with retinal conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that affects about one in every 3000 Australians.

Kerry has now joined a team as a post-doc researcher at IBM in Melbourne, working on improving the quality of care in interventional cardiology by leveraging artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies.

Dr Kerry Halupka

Bionic Connections | Spring 20172 Bionic Connections | Spring 2017 3 Bionic Connections | Spring 2017 4

Dear Friends,

In the time I have been leading this organisation, even I have been surprised by the depth and breadth of our work. We are well known for our hearing research and we continue to be known for this, but the range of projects and ideas we are pursuing is much broader. It’s a direct reflection of our ability to “think outside the box” to develop new clinical solutions and provide new hope for patients with some of the most debilitating and refractory conditions.

Having the right equipment enables our scientists and engineers to create tools that have never created before. 3D printing has revolutionised research and development by making it so much easier to make novel concepts a reality. The customised 3D printers are just one example of equipment that has been purchased with the help of donors, trust and foundations. Sometimes even a small amount of money can really make a difference to our ability to maintain and upgrade equipment. If you are interested in supporting our work, this is one area where you can make an impact.

Things are hotting up with our bionic vision work. After much work, we are moving closer to the clinical trial of the second-generation Australian bionic eye. More than 380,000 Australians have blindness or low vision. Vision loss can severely impact a person’s life, and even milder levels can make it difficult to read signs, recognise faces and perform many of the tasks of daily living. We learned much from the clinical trial of the first-generation device that finished in 2014, and we are looking forward to seeing how the next iteration can improve on that.

Our hearing research is multi-faceted and spans everything from drug delivery to the inner ear to restore and protect hearing cells, to new imaging techniques that will help audiologists “tune” cochlear implants for babies too young to speak. You can read about these two projects, and more, in this newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading this issue of Bionic Connections.

Kind regards,

Robert KlupacsBionics Institute CEO

Message from our CEO In the newsMelbourne-designed implant puts miracle eye cure in sightHerald Sun, July 13 2017

The Bionics Institute is working on a tiny, world-first eye implant dubbed MIRA, which stands for “Minimally Invasive Retinal-degeneration Arrestor” (MIRA). MIRA aims to use low-level electrical stimulation to prolong and extend the years of useful vision in patients with degenerative retinal disease.

‘Fitbit for the brain’ that tracks epileptic seizures potential game changer, researchers sayABC News Online, July 8 2017

Steady progress is underway with the world-first epilepsy monitoring device that has been developed here at the Bionics Institute for patients suffering from severe seizures. The device has been likened to a “fitbit for the brain” in recent publicity and will transform the way epilepsy is diagnosed and managed.

Bionic Vision Technologies raises US$18m from State Path Capital, China HuarongAustralian Financial Review, April 3 2017

Bionic Vision Technologies announces a $23.5m (AUD) investment by Hong Kong-based China Huarong International Holdings Ltd and State Path Capital Limited to develop and commercialise the next generation bionic eye.

Baby brain scans hold hearing cluesHerald Sun, September 13 2017

The new BABILab located at the Bionics Institute will use sensors in skull caps to measure areas of brain activity as the babies engage in auditory and language tasks. The scans will be compared with those from infants with normal hearing to provide optimal settings for deaf infants with cochlear implants.

Cochlear implant recipient flying highFor the first few years of life Simon Rodman had fully functioning hearing. He met all his milestones, was developing typically and speaking well for his age.

Shortly after turning three, Simon became very unwell and was taken to hospital. He was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis that – in combination with prescribed ototoxic antibiotics – would cause profound deafness in both ears.

According to the Royal Children’s Hospital, about 20% people who recover from pneumococcal meningitis experience long term effects including deafness in one or both ears. This can happen through the destruction of the tiny hair cells in the inner ear or damage to the cochlea.

As a result of his illness, Simon was fitted with cochlear implants at a young age. But rather than holding him back, Simon has become a trailblazer. He recently became the first Australian with a bionic ear to obtain a commercial pilot’s licence.

Simon was introduced to flying while at school on the Mornington Peninsula. Six flying lessons in Year 9 ignited a passion for aviation that quickly became a career aspiration. After 250 hours in the air Simon was ready to apply for his commercial pilot’s licence.

In order to meet the requirements for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Simon had to complete a few extra activities to receive his award. With a special aviation headset that connects directly into his cochlear implant, Simon is now qualified to fly commercial aircraft.

We wish Simon the very best of luck with his endeavours to fly commercial aircraft in the future.

What do people see through bionic eyes?After much hard work, we are getting closer to clinical trials of the second generation Australian bionic eye. The aim is to provide useful artificial vision to people with degenerative retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa. But what will they actually see?

The vision provided by a bionic eye is not like natural sight. Rather, it is a series of flashing spots and shapes the person uses to interpret their environment. Training is required to do this and the best outcomes rely heavily on patient engagement and rehabilitation. The vision that is gained can be used for tasks such as identifying the location of an object, detecting a person or finding a doorway.

The bionic eye works by helping the brain to form a visual image when cells in the eye have been damaged by disease. It consists of a small video camera that is fitted to spectacles. The camera captures visual scenes in front of the viewer. It then sends these images to a visual processor, which converts the images into a coded pattern and sends them to a stimulator. The stimulator activates an electrode array implanted close to the retina using electrical impulses.

Each electrode stimulates a nearby area of retina and the cells that project to the visual areas of the brain, evoking a

localised flash of light termed a phosphene. Multiple phosphenes are created by stimulating different electrodes in rapid succession and the brain pieces these together to form a visual image.

Dr Mohit Shivdasani, who is one of our senior vision researchers, hopes that future bionic eye devices will provide higher resolution vision. He is exploring different patterns of electrical stimulation to improve detailed vision without the need to add more electrodes to the implant (which comes with several inherent challenges).

International support for Australian-first research Our clinical hearing program leader, Professor Colette McKay, is using a technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy in the first laboratory of its type dedicated to hearing research in Australia.

The Bionics Institute has recently established a brain imaging laboratory that uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Our new facility – known as the BABILab – allows us to identify how the hearing brain changes with deafness.

Colette also recently secured a donation from the hearing care company Sonova to enable her fNIRS research in infants and young children in the BABILab.

Colette’s research has identified certain brain activity patterns associated with poor speech understanding in cochlear implant users. This knowledge will be used to work out how to help these people by devising new therapies and new signal processing strategies for the implant.

The ultimate goal for this research is to help each child reach their full potential by understanding why there is variability in language outcomes, and then apply this knowledge to give each child the best possible access to hearing and language development.

Colette has been recently awarded a substantial grant co-funded by the Oticon Foundation and Oticon Medical. Oticon is one of the world’s largest hearing-instrument companies, with products including advanced hearing aids, cochlear implants, and bone-anchored hearing systems. Like Colette, their interest is in developing projects within the field of hearing – especially research in audiology and alleviation of hearing loss.

Colette McKay was also recently awarded a flexi-grant from Action on Hearing Loss (UK). This grant will support a

pilot study to develop fNIRS as a means to objectively measure tinnitus, a condition where the sufferer hears ringing noises in the ears when no sounds are present.

Simon Rodman

Prof Colette McKay