On Mothers’ Day many receive flowers, chocolates and cards from their children, keen to express how much they love and appreciated their mothers. The fact is, without mothers we would not exist and the love of a mother is precious. Good mothers are a gift.
Many of the #AUSinnovates and gemaker staff are mothers, so we will have their fair share of gifts and celebrations this weekend. However as people who are very passionate about the future for their children, we will also be celebrating another great gift – the gift of innovation. Particularly the great Australian innovations current and past that help mothers and women better manage their health and their life.
Take a look at some of the top ones:
Life Whisperer
Life Whisperer is a software product that aims to improve fertility outcomes by using artificial intelligence technology to better select healthy embryos during the IVF process.
Inhalable Oxytocin to prevent haemorrhage post birth
The Inhaled Oxytocin Project is bringing a gold standard postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) prevention for women in low resource countries. This is a novel, heat stable and simple to use inhaled delivery system of oxytocin which travels easily and no need to refrigerate.
Gardasil – vaccinating against cervical cancer
When research of Professor Ian Frazer and the late Dr Jian Zhou led to a vaccine for the virus that causes 70 % of cervical cancers, they knew their work would be transformative. Ten years on, the Gardasil® vaccine has led to a 90% reduction in HPV infection rates in countries with high levels of immunisation.
A blood test for breast cancer
Working for a start-up in 2008, Dharmica Mistry made a discovery that led her to file for an international patent. Ten years on, she’s hoping to commercialise this research to address shortcomings in breast cancer detection.
Ultrasound
One product of 1970s Australian research and manufacturing era led to a revolution in pre-natal care: most pregnant women in Australia and other wealthy countries now have at least one ultrasound scan to check on the development of the foetus.
Embryo Freezing
Hundreds of thousands of babies have been born thanks to the wonder of embryo cryopreservation, a technique perfected by a team of researchers at Monash University and the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne.
Baby Safety Capsule
When seatbelts became compulsory in the 1970s adults were protected but not infants. This resulted in the Baby Safety Capsule being born.