Posted: 31 July 2025
What happens when engineers, clinicians and entrepreneurs reimagine healthcare together? This article summarises BioMelbourne Network’s latest BioForum, where speakers from RMIT, Kali Healthcare, Nutromics, and Proton Intelligence revealed how wearable tech and smart diagnostics are reshaping care and what challenges remain left to tackle. (5 mins read)
What happens when a room full of scientists, engineers, clinicians, designers, investors, manufacturers, and policymakers come together to ask: “How do we rewire care?”
At the BioForum ‘The smart health revolution: Rewiring care pathways’ hosted by BioMelbourne Network and proudly supported by the Victorian Government, the answer was clear: the future of care isn’t just smarter. It’s more connected, personalised, and collaborative than ever before.
Held at the Science Gallery Melbourne in Carlton and livestreamed across the country and beyond, over 110 attendees explored how advances in wearable technologies, biosensors, digital diagnostics and AI are fundamentally shifting how and where healthcare is delivered – from reactive to anticipatory, from delayed to real-time, and from one-size-fits-all to individually tailored.
From lab to life: innovation with purpose
Opening the session, BioMelbourne Network CEO Karen Parr reminded the audience that innovation is only as powerful as its impact on people’s lives.
“Innovation isn’t just a lab outcome. It’s a lived one.”
She described the story of Ava – a fictional teenager in Mildura who has spent years travelling hundreds of kilometres for routine testing. In the future, it could be possible for Ava to collect data from home and receive real-time feedback from her care team. Less travel, faster answers, and more freedom.
Yet, the CEO reminded the room that smart health isn’t one-size-fits-all and the promise of technology must be matched by inclusive, thoughtful implementation.
“How do we balance safety with privacy and autonomy? Simplicity with sophistication?” she asked.
Parr also pointed to the growing pressure on hospitals and the need to rewire not just devices, but entire systems and ways of thinking.
Patients are ready – now the sector must be
The first speaker, Professor Madhu Bhaskaran FTSE (RMIT University), shared how her team is designing wearables and skin-based biosensors that can monitor conditions non-invasively and in real time, helping close gaps in patient monitoring without burdening clinicians. “The patients are ready for this. They want it. They don’t want to keep going back to the hospital,” she said. But moving from prototype to production isn’t simple. “Designing is easy. Making one is easy. [Scaling up] manufacturing is hard.”
Peter Vranes (CEO, Nutromics) spoke about the company’s continuous molecular monitoring platform in the form of a wearable patch that provides real-time data on drug levels to reduce adverse events and enable more personalised care. “We’re building a platform technology that’s capable of measuring multiple targets continuously in real time,” he explained.
Associate Professor Fiona Brownfoot (Kali Healthcare) brought a clinician’s perspective, speaking about her team’s development of a new foetal monitoring device. As both an obstetrician and medtech founder, she underscored the power of collaboration. “Our team combines engineers, clinicians, and scientists,” she said. “The challenge is getting it from a prototype to a regulatory-approved medical-grade device.”
Dr Victor Cadarso (Proton Intelligence) highlighted the dangers of potassium imbalance in patients with kidney and cardiac conditions, and the need for real-time monitoring to prevent life-threatening complications. “We’re trying to close the loop. Right now, it takes hours for [the results of] a lab test. We are working to make that real time.” His team’s wearable potassium sensor, currently undergoing clinical trials, aims to give patients greater control and faster feedback.
Implementation, trust and the human element
The panel discussion, led by Alex Barty (ANDHealth), tackled the broader challenges of smart health implementation – from data integration and regulation to public trust and system reform. A recurring theme was the gap between innovation and adoption. Speakers acknowledged the difficulty of navigating procurement pathways, validating technologies across diverse populations, and creating business models that reward prevention over treatment.
There was also a strong call to design with empathy and inclusion. As Professor Bhaskaran put it: “If people don’t feel proud to wear it, they won’t. These devices should be beautiful — something you want to wear.”
Hands went up across the room during the Q&A session, and the conversation didn’t stop there. Attendees continued lively discussions over networking after the session, sharing ideas, building connections, and exploring opportunities for collaboration well into the evening.
A new resource for the future workforce
The event also included the exciting launch of the BioMelbourne Network Careers Hub – a publicly accessible platform that helps people explore career pathways across our health technology sector.
“Careers don’t have to be linear,” said Parr. “We’ve captured real stories from professionals in this room, showing how their careers evolved — and how fulfilling that can be.”
Developed with funding from the Victorian Government, the hub is hosted on Wilam and features:
- Interactive career maps
- A sector-specific jobs board
- A pilot mentoring program
- A growing library of career videos
The response to the mentoring program has already been overwhelming – particularly from mentees – highlighting the appetite for accessible support, inspiration and guidance across the sector.
BioMelbourne Network’s CEO encouraged attendees to explore the Hub, share it with young people in their lives, and post job opportunities to help strengthen the sector’s talent pipeline.
A stronger future – together
One message rang loud and clear throughout the evening: technology alone won’t transform healthcare – people, partnerships, and purpose-driven leadership will.
BioMelbourne Network extends its sincere thanks to:
- The Victorian State Government for their generous support
- All speakers, panellists, and contributors
- The volunteer team, members, and the wider community for making the event a success.
To continue the conversation:
- Ask your outstanding questions on Wilam, the digital home for Australia’s life sciences
- Explore the Careers Hub on Wilam
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- Follow BioMelbourne Network on LinkedIn
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