Local health technology manufacturers looking to fast-track the development of their digital or connected products can now access a dedicated innovation centre, with support from the Australian Government.

Minister for Industry and Innovation Ben Carroll recently opened the $2.4 million Victorian Connected Health Innovation and Commercialisation Centre (CHICC) in Melbourne’s central business district (CBD).

Delivered by digital health commercialisation experts ANDHealth, the centre will support up to 500 people from Victorian companies per year and connect them with healthcare organisations, innovators and investors who can help develop their products from idea to being market ready.

The centre will offer skills training, an international expert in residence programme, concierge services to connect businesses with investors and community networks to test digital health solutions. It will also offer an accelerator programme, which received a $1.4 million funding last year from the Government’s startup agency LaunchVic.

Local digital health companies expected to benefit from the centre’s resources include Macuject and Atmo Biosciences.

Macuject’s clinical support software is being developed to help deliver more effective treatments for patients suffering from macular degeneration – the most common cause of preventable blindness, affecting four per cent of people over 50.

On the other hand, Atmo Biosciences’ ingestible Atmo Gas Capsule detects gases from known locations in the human gut and wirelessly transmits data to help medical professionals better diagnose functional gastrointestinal disorders.