MTPConnect Grants ARIA Research $800,000 in Funding under BioMedTech Horizons 4 Programme

In September 2021, MTPConnect and the Minister for Health and Aged Care, The Hon. Greg Hunt MP,  announced the grant of $800,000 in  funding for ARIA Research Pty Ltd (NSW) $800,000 to support the development of prototypes of ARIA’s non-invasive bionic vision medical wearable for blind and vision impaired people.  This grant was made under BMTH Round 4 which is focused predominantly on the development of pre-commercial prototypes that are entering human clinical trials.

ARIA Research Pty Ltd has developed a world-first solution to the chronic burdens of blindness and vision-impairment, which impact 687,000 Australians and over 338 million people worldwide.

In February 2021, the ARIA MVP system exceeded the real-world performance of bionic eye systems. The ARIA device provides a vision-analogous sense to its blind users via their natural sense of hearing. ARIA enables blind users, within seconds of putting on the ARIA glasses, to experience an intuitive, detailed, real-time 3D perception of the layout of a space, identifying, locating, moving among, and reaching/grasping objects within it.

ARIA is a type IIa medical device, an Electronic Vision Aid, that delivers benefit to users, regardless of the underlying pathology of their vision loss.  ARIA is non-surgical and non-invasive, providing immediate benefit with minimal training, and is non-fatiguing, able to be worn as an all-day, every-day device.

ARIA is Australian conceived, developed, and owned, with a roadmap to manufacture, clinical trial, and launch to NDIS participants within 3 years.

BMTH Project Round: Four

State: New South Wales

Project Partners:

• Manufacturing partner: Genesys Designs Pty Ltd
• Research Partners: Guide Dogs NSW & ACT, University of Sydney, World Access for the Blind Australia Limited, UTS

Funding:

• MTPConnect Grant: $800,000
• Industry Contribution: $818,000

Duration: October 2021 - May 2023

Website: ARIA Research   |   Email: contact@ariaresearch.com.au

Podcast: ARIA Research: bionic glasses giving vision via sound

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