Features

Meet Elif Kuecuektas, a Rehabilitation Engineer. Elif discusses her approach of blending technology and empathy for a genuine impact, as well as her skill in nurturing successful partnerships while co-designing with clients. Discover her insights for a fulfilling career (along with some sun-smart tips) in the full interview.

We introduce Prof. Arcot Sowmya, the latest addition to the Tyree IHealthE Steering Committee. As Head of School, Computer Science and Engineering, she brings extensive expertise and insights; this issue she shares her reflections on successful innovative research.

Demee Rheinberger is undertaking a PhD in Psychiatry through UNSW and the Black Dog Institute. Demee's research aims to understand the experiences of families accompanying an adolescent child, in a suicide crisis, to the Emergency Department, and to co-design a tool that helps support them.

Tangyou Liu is a PhD candidate in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. Tangyou's research aims to develop a micro-size haptic sensor and integrate it into a minimally invasive robotic surgical system to address challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer.

Jack Harley is a PhD candidate in aging and epigenetics, at UNSW. Using bioinformatics and AI, Jack's research project focuses on developing aging clocks that can accurately track aging and health metrics across the lifespan.

Professor Gary Housley is the Medical Lead of the Bionics and Bio-robotics pillar. Professor Housley has spent decades exploring the neural development of the auditory senses and brain injury and repair processes. The Bionic array Directed Gene Electrotransfer (BaDGE®) is now a flagship project for Tyree IHealthE.

Professor Daniel Moses has been appointed the Medical Lead of the Image Analytics pillar. As someone with both clinical and computing expertise, he is especially well suited to support collaborations between clinicians and engineers.

A/Prof Beena Ahmed, IHealthE Connected Health Pillar Lead, was recognised for her outstanding achievements and contributions in digital health in the 2022 Telstra Health Brilliant Women in Digital Health Awards. The awards profile the careers and stories of women who inspire future leaders in the health and aged care sectors, and contribute to greater gender diversity in digital health.

Associate Professor Lauren Kark is the Associate Head (Education) at the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering and the academic lead of the Assistive Tech Hub. We asked Lauren what makes health engineering projects and innovations succeed and about the impact of the Assistive Tech Hub.

Dr Ian Goon is Head of Strategy and Innovation at Tyree IHealthE. Ian has a truly multi-disciplinary skill set developed through experience in research, technology, management consulting, and healthcare. We asked Ian to tell us a little bit more about his expertise, interests, and plans for Tyree IHealthE.

Professor Oya Reside Demirbilek is the Co-Lead of Education Development at Tyree IHealthE. Oya is a designer-educator-researcher and a Professor of Industrial Design at UNSW. She is passionate about how industrial design can enhance life for everyone, and in particular, an ageing population. Her interests lie in co-designing with end-users and working with design research methods to create processes that help industrial designers define real problems, be more empathic, and identify genuine needs for their products.

Professor Erik Meijering is the Technology Lead for the new Image Analytics Research Pillar. With academic roots in electrical engineering and computational medical image analysis, Erik joined UNSW as a Professor of Biomedical Image Computing in the School of Computer Science and Engineering in 2019. You can read all about Erik's work and research and what it means to be a part of the Image Analytics Research Pillar. 

Working across the three pillars of her South Eastern Sydney LHD directorate, Lisa Altman oversees everything from the development of real-time patient data dashboards for clinicians to the investigation and implementation of research-driven clinical improvements to improve patient outcomes. She also represents the South Eastern Sydney LHD in the ongoing development of the Randwick Health and Innovation Precinct. It’s that aspect of her role that sees her working closely with the Tyree IHealthE team.

For close to a decade, cardiologist A/Prof Sze-Yuan Ooi was responsible for implanting cardiac devices in as many as 300 patients a year. He was also responsible for tracking the performance of those devices, typically via a remote monitoring device that flashed intermittently on patients’ bedside tables while feeding information back to the clinical team. The device was hugely beneficial from a clinical standpoint, but often a source of stress for patients who worried about the possible significance of every flash. Now, Sze-Yuan aims to help bridge the gap between the patient experience and the technical solutions put forward by ‘awesome engineering’ through his contributions to the IHealthE Connected Health program.

Kristen Overton was involved in establishing COVID-19 testing clinics at the start of the pandemic in 2020, and is currently Acting Clinical Director of the South Eastern Sydney LHD Community Management Centre where she oversees a district-wide model of assessment and care for COVID-positive patients, aided by TCC-COVID.