November 15, 2022

Building industry-research connections: Seer welcomes Dr Cathal O’Connell (RMIT) under Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative

As part of the Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative, Seer extends a warm welcome to Dr Cathal O’Connell, a Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow from RMIT University who will undertake a 12-month project embedded within the team.

Dr O’Connell was awarded a REDI Fellowship through MTPConnect’s Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative, funded by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). The REDI Fellowship Program provides industry partners like Seer with the opportunity to access deep academic and research expertise to apply to distinct medical research projects focused on discovery, translation and commercialisation.

During his time at Seer, Dr O’Connell will work within the technology group and will focus on the development of Seer’s WaterTabs® – an advanced, conductive material for adhering electrodes to the patient’s head. This project will contribute to improvements in the materials science of the WaterTabs®, further simplifying the process for monitoring the brain’s electrical activity, a crucial step in diagnosis of epilepsy.

WaterTabs deliver a step-change in patient comfort while undergoing multi-day monitoring, and are critical to Seer’s ability to capture more accurate patient data, explains Chief Technology Officer, Josh Reich.

“Seer is relentless in its pursuit of novel solutions to major healthcare challenges. The support from the Medical Research Future Fund as part of the REDI initiative means that we can fast track development and dedicate a new, specialist resource to the WaterTabs.”

“Seer has already dramatically improved patient experience by replacing the use of collodion to adhere electrodes with our more patient-friendly, water-soluble WaterTabs. This partnership will enable us to innovate further, to explore new avenues, and continue to advance both patient experience and signal integrity. These developments will be driven by Dr O’Connell’s deep understanding of material science, in collaboration with Seer’s expertise in product design and manufacturing.”

We look forward to sharing updates on the progress of this work. Read more about the REDI initiative from MTPConnect here.