> Appointment of Dr Justin Vaughan as Chief Executive Officer of BrainZ

Technology New Zealand Invests $1 Million in Developing Brain Monitor for Babies

Medical technology company BrainZ Instruments Limited has been granted nearly $1 million by the Government’s research and development funding agency Technology New Zealand, to complete development of its brain monitor for new born babies.

BrainZ, a wholly owned subsidiary of agritech giant Tru-Test, specialises in developing safe, non-invasive bedside devices to detect human brain injury. The first version of the BrainZ monitor has been completed, comprising a touch screen monitor with a microcomputer, a data acquisition unit and a mobile cart, allowing the system to be easily transferred from patient to patient.

BrainZ is now moving into the last phase of the R & D project that involves early detection of brain injury in premature babies with low birth weight, who are a high risk category for brain injury.

The Technology New Zealand funding will assist with researching and developing sensors that can be safely used on neonates, in addition to developing algorithms to detect brain injury and seizure-like events in babies of all ages.

The project includes in-depth clinical trials by world renowned experts in neonatal neurology at Harvard University in Boston, USA, Melbourne Children’s Hospital and Brisbane Hospital in Australia.

BrainZ CEO Justin Vaughan says BrainZ has reached agreement in principle with a United States company, which is one of the world’s largest distributors of neonatal equipment. It is expected that this company will become the global distributor for BrainZ’s products and will distribute in all markets except New Zealand and Australia, which BrainZ will service directly in the interim.

Justin Vaughan says having the brain monitor trialled by leading medical clinicians overseas will effectively mean BrainZ has input from world experts to refine its technology.

The knowledge gained during the project will be used to develop new brain monitoring applications suitable for full-term babies, older children and adults, such as heart by-pass patients who are at risk of brain damage during surgery.