Tele-Health Technology to Improve Maternal and Foetal Health in Rural and Remote Regions of Victoria

Six babies are stillborn in Australia every day, while the rates are significantly higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, refugee groups, and women who live in rural and remote regions of Australia, compared to those who live in metropolitan areas. Maternal mortality rate is also the highest in remote areas of Australia, followed by inner regional areas. My research aims to close the equity gaps by developing mobile health technologies which are affordable and accessible to all, towards saving lives of mothers and babies. Over the past couple of years, I have been involved in developing low-cost foetal health monitoring systems to be operated remotely by nonexperts, which have been successfully trialled in rural Guatemala. These study missions provide me with valuable opportunities to visit our international collaborators who have developed and implemented such systems in rural and remote areas, and to closely work with them to implement a pregnancy tele-health system in Victoria. I will also receive mentorship and advice on commercialisation and entrepreneurship from the most successful world leaders in medical technology, to develop and manufacture new mobile and digital health solutions and contribute to shaping the future of healthcare in Victoria, Australia and worldwide.