INTRODUCING WA’S LATEST HEALTH INNOVATORS: PERTH BIODESIGN'S LARGEST SHOWCASE YET

A wearable patch that aims to detect heart failure before symptoms appear took top honours at Perth Biodesign's 2025 Flagship showcase, a sold-out event that drew over 300 attendees, doubling the previous years' attendance and signalling Western Australia's growing momentum in health and medical life sciences innovation. 

After seven months of intensive training in the Stanford Biodesign method, four multidisciplinary teams presented healthcare innovations Monday evening at The University Club of Western Australia, opened by the Hon. Minister Dawson MLC.  

Judging Panel

This year’s judging panel brought together three of Western Australia’s most influential clinical and innovation leaders: 

• Professor Fiona Wood AO — world-renowned burns surgeon and Australian of the Year, recognised globally for her pioneering spray-on skin technology.  

• Dr Marcus Tan — clinician, investor and co-founder of HealthEngine, one of Australia’s leading digital health platforms.  

• Adam James — Director of Innovation at the WA Department of Health, overseeing statewide digital health, commercialisation and strategic innovation initiatives. 

EchoNova won on the night for their approach to heart failure management: development of a patch to provide daily, non-invasive monitoring and detection of acute decompensated heart failure using a gold-standard physiological marker of fluid overload, allowing patients to identify decompensation before symptoms emerge. 

2025 Perth Biodesign Flagship Cohort 

The showcase highlighted innovations across four diverse clinical unmet needs: 

Herova is developing a smart wearable device and companion app designed to monitor and manage Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome symptoms at home, while providing clinicians with objective information to support efficient, high quality, patient-centred care for those undertaking IVF.   

agni.s has created Flare - a personalised, wearable device. Using biomarker monitoring, Flare aims to predict an upcoming asthma attack (exacerbations) within 5-14 days facilitating precision treatment adherence and early intervention. By preventing exacerbations, their device aims to reduce the risk of severe attacks and their related emergency visits, hospitalisations, and mortality. 

reaxa seeks to provide parents and caregivers of children with allergies a better opportunity to intervene early during an allergic reaction and have greater confidence when making the challenging decision to use an EpiPen. They aim to do this with their wearable continuous monitoring device that measures changes in biomarkers to detect an allergic reaction. 

EchoNova has developed a wearable patch that provides daily, non-invasive monitoring and detection of acute decompensated heart failure using a gold-standard physiological marker of fluid overload – allowing patients to identify decompensation before symptoms emerge.  

Learn more about the teams here. 

The ecosystem momentum is quantifiable. In 2025 alone, Perth Biodesign alumni highlights include: 

• VeinTech – US$750k grant to open US office in addition to opening their Herdsman Medtech Hub; co-founder Nik Bappoo wins 2025 New Innovator Prize, one of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science  

• Earflo – TIME Magazine Best Inventions 2025; Best of Innovation at CES in Digital Health; Inaugural Winner at West Tech Fest Pitch 2025 

• VitalTrace – ABC called VitalTrace’s innovation "the biggest breakthrough in fetal monitoring in 50 years", and they have recently received another $500k from the FHRIF’s innovative solutions – precision health program  

• Pretect Devices – $645k to commercialise continuous IV monitoring for critically ill babies, through the FHRIF’s Innovation Seed Fund and Innovation Fellowship, and participated in global accelerator, MedTech Innovator APAC  

• Matilda Health – WA Innovators of the Year finalist; $671k from FHRIF and Commercialisation Bridge Grant  

• Velora – awarded $50k Innovation Booster Grant  

• Diag-Nose – Eldin Rostom's venture raised $6m+ for chronic respiratory disease management  

  
  

These companies collectively employ other Perth Biodesign alumni, mentor current cohorts, and attract international attention to Western Australia's capabilities. 

A Decade of Building 

As Perth Biodesign approaches its 10th anniversary, the numbers tell part of the story: over 900 innovators trained, multiple companies launched, tens of millions raised. But the real measure is the rapidly growing ecosystem those numbers represent. 

Administered by The University of Western Australia, Perth Biodesign is made possible by the support of the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification, WA Department of Health, WALSIH, Harry Perkins Institute, Perron Institute, The Kids Research Institute, City of Joondalup, Curtin University, and WAHTN. The program credits its expert mentors, clinical hosts and speakers for guiding each cohort. 

The 2025 showcase was a proud satellite event of Australia’s largest and longest-running innovation festival, West Tech Fest. 

Join the Next Cohort 

Interested in joining Perth Biodesign 2026? If you're passionate about healthcare innovation submit your expression of interest or refer a potential candidate. Perth Biodesign's 2026 Flagship program information session will be held online at 12pm on Wednesday, February 4th. The program welcomes applicants from all backgrounds, including clinical, technical, business, and research. 

The 10th Anniversary Summit & Gala Dinner is scheduled for May 18, 2026 - a celebration of a decade of innovation, impact, and the community that made it possible.