QUEENSLAND INVENTORS WIN SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY AWARD

A team of Queensland researchers has been recognised in an international competition calling for the best, most commercially viable ideas in satellite navigation technology.

Natural Resources and Water Minister Craig Wallace today congratulated Queensland University of Technology and Gold Coast-based Alive Technology for winning the Australian section of the prestigious European Satellite Navigation Competition.

Minister Wallace said that the winning innovation, CardioMobile, was a system that allows recovering cardiac patients who are unable to attend conventional hospital programs to participate in supervised exercise – all from the comfort of their homes.

"This team has developed an innovative and practical system that has the potential to help many people who are recovering from heart attacks," Mr Wallace said.

"This groundbreaking innovation is a great achievement and worthy of national and international recognition."

Minister Wallace said the technology targeted up to 80 per cent of recovering cardiac patients who never started or didn’t complete rehabilitation programs because of problems of access, distance and travel time to hospitals, or work commitments.

The CardioMobile is a result of a close collaboration between QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and medical technology company Alive Technologies.

It works by linking global positioning with heart function monitoring via mobile phone.

Before exercising, patients attach a small heart and activity monitor to their chest and wear a cap with a lightweight global positioning system receiver, both connected to a mobile phone via Bluetooth. The patient’s position, speed and heart function data are transmitted via mobile to QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation labs.

An exercise physiologist at QUT’s lab can monitor the heart response to exercise and adjust the program based on the person’s progress. Paramedics can be rapidly notified about the patient’s location and status in an emergency.

Queensland is the first location outside of Europe to host the European Satellite Navigation Competition, an innovative competition aimed at finding new uses for satellite technologies.

Minister Wallace said the Queensland Government's Geospatial Technology Applications Centre had developed close ties with similar European facilities and had world-class knowledge and experience in the collection and use of spatial information.

“Queensland's Department of Natural Resources and Water has been using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) technology in a range of applications such as locating problem areas of salinity or acid sulphate soils,” Mr Wallace said.

“Satellite technology has also become a vital tool for key Queensland industries and activities such as transport, agriculture, mining, construction, emergency services, natural resource management, travel and tourism."

Media contact: Minister Wallace’s office, 3896 3688.