Technology known as Cardihab — a method to help improve recovery after a heart attack — developed by the Australian eHealth Research Centre, has been spun off from Australia's national science and technology accelerator programme, known as ON.
The Australian eHealth Research Centre is a joint venture between the CSIRO and the Queensland Government.
Venture capital of $1.35 million was raised for the technology to be commercialised. Of this, $500,000 was from Uniseed, a venture fund operating at the Universities of Melbourne, New South Wales, Sydney, Queensland and CSIRO.
The remaining money came from an unnamed private cardiology group and existing Cardihab shareholder, Artesian Capital.
{loadposition sam08}CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said: “Establishing ON was about creating a pathway to help our scientists turn their ideas into real-world solutions for the big problems facing Australia now and in the future.
“Cardihab exemplifies the combination of public good and economic outcomes that makes ON so unique.
“Since completing the ON programme, the Cardihab team have taken their excellent science and translated it into a breakthrough innovation that will save lives, and dollars to the Australian healthcare system.”
A CSIRO statement said someone in Australia experienced a heart attack every nine minutes. But less than a third of survivors followed through with cardiac rehabilitation which often led to complications and repeat attacks.
"Heart attack survivors who complete rehabilitation are 40% less likely to experience another attack. Making rehabilitation more convenient for people, Cardihab trials were shown to more than double the completion rates for rehabilitation," the organisation said.
Cardihab’s model of care is backed by a randomised control trial conducted by CSIRO and the Metro North Brisbane Health and Hospital Service.
The results of this trial were published in the international journal Heart. The trial demonstrated that although the Cardihab model of care was clinically equivalent to normal care, it significantly improved patient uptake, adherence and completion of cardiac rehabilitation.
Subsequent implementations continued to confirm its efficacy, the CSIRO claimed.
Cardihab chief technology officer Simon McBride said: “Cardihab makes cardiac rehabilitation more convenient meaning that clinicians are able to get more patients to complete the programme.
“Today’s investment gives us the platform on which to build the company and make a difference to the lives of millions of Australians.”