News Summary 2000
| Jul 2000 | New deal sees Flinders team conduct trials for Taiwanese company | 
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| Apr 2000 | Jaundice research offers boon for babies | |
News Articles 2000
New deal sees Flinders team conduct trials for Taiwanese company
On Campus: July 17 - July 30, 2000
An agreement with a therapeutic company Hsin Ten Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd, a branch of Hsin Ten International Inc, Taiwan, was signed recently by Flinders Consulting on behalf of the university.
Hsin Ten International was established in 1990 with headquarters in Taipei and branches in USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc. The company specialises in the direct-selling of therapeutic products to consumers and already has technical co-operations with a Japanese business. The Australian branch, Hsin Ten Enterprise, was established in Sydney in 1995. The company specialises in products to treat and prevent conditions derived from life-style factors such as inappropriate exercise, poor posture and diet.
The agreement with Flinders researchers will initially concentrate on an evaluation of equipment originally designed in Japan and shown to improve tissue oxygen levels in patients. Researchers from the departments of Public Health and Biomedical Engineering and the Lymphoedema Assessment Clinic will assess and investigate modifications to the equipment with the view to improving its performance. The Lymphoedema Assessment Clinic at Flinders Medical Centre has a large local and national case-load of men and women with lymphoedema and oedemas of the legs, and so was a suitable venue to evaluate the equipment. A Flinders team comprising Professor Neil Piller, Dr Colin Carati, Dr Stephen Birrell, Ms Jan Rice and Mr Brian Bridger will spend the next year working with the company's engineering staff.
Professor Neil Piller, who will lead the trial team, said that the equipment has been shown to have good indications for improving patient comfort and prognosis, but a more objective approach is required to investigate options for modifications to enhance its effect. "The Hsin Ten company has recognised this and has sought the advice of Flinders specialists," he said. The Chair of Flinders Consulting, Ms Louise Hicks, said the work will start immediately. "This project is one of several contracts entered into by the company in recent times on behalf of the University. The company's activities continue to cover all areas of the university," Ms Hicks said.
Jaundice research offers boon for babies
FMC News: Apr 2000
Researchers at Flinders Medical Centre are developing a non-invasive test for jaundice in infants. If successful, the optical-style test is expected to be exported to the world. "And from a theoretical perspective there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to do it," John Robson, the Director of Biomedical Engineering said.
Jaundice, with its distinctive yellowing of the skin, occurs in about six out of ten newborn infants. While in the womb, the baby produces more red blood cells than it will need after birth, and as the extra blood cells are broken down, a chemical called bilirubin is produced. If levels of bilirubin rise high enough in the blood, it can cause brain damage and deafness. Treatment usually involves putting the baby under blue light, which converts the bilirubin into a soluble fonn the body can get rid of quickly, Currently, doctors measure the level of bilirubin in the blood by taking a blood sample from the baby and sending it to tile laboratory for analysis, "Then, there's a time delay while the tests are carried out and the doctors and parents wait for the results which will tell them how that treatment is going," Mr Robson said.
However, Mr Robson hopes that the new, non-invasive test being investigated at Flinders Medical Centre will eventually see the current test phased out. A partnership trio of Mr Robson, Dr Karen Reynolds from the Flinders University of South Australia's School of Informatics and Engineering, and industry partner, Helicon Medical Pty Ltd, has been awarded a Strategic Partnerships With Industry Research and Training Scheme (SPIRT) grant to investigate the possibility of developing a non- invasive test to measure the build-up of bilirubin in the blood. The three-year grant also allows the funding of two research students to be appointed, including Masters student, Rachel McDonald.
Mr Robson said while there were some non-invasive bilirubin monitors in the marketplace, current versions only measured the build-up of bilirubin in the skin, not the blood. He said while the partnership was unable to reveal too many details of the test at this stage, it was based on optical technology and involved placing a device directly onto the infant to measure bilirubin levels in the blood. "There's no discomfort to the patients and the results are instant," Mr Robson said.
 Researching a non invasive test for jaundice; Masters student, Rachel McDonald with baby Cloe. |