Each year, more than 2.2 million children around the world undergo central venous access procedures, with a thin, flexible catheter placed into a vein near the heart.
But due to the existing designs being for adults not working as effectively for children, up to 40 per cent of these insertions are misplaced, leading to potentially costly delays and complications.
Melbourne-based Navi Medical Technologies is looking to solve this critical gap in medical care with NeoNav, the world’s first ECG-based tip location system designed specifically for neonatal and pediatric patients.
The product uses real-time electrocardiogram signals at the catheter tip to help clinicians during the insertion process, boosting accuracy and allowing for post-procedural surveillance of the tip.
The innovation was developed in collaboration with the Royal Women’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Griffith University and Design + Industry, and has been backed by over $8.3 million in competitive grant funding.
In February this year, NeoNav received FDA 510(k) clearance, and it is now being piloted at leading children’s hospitals in the US.
Navi Medical Technologies is a finalist in the InnovationAus 2025 Awards for Excellence in the Health Tech category. The InnovationAus 2025 Awards for Excellence winners and finalists will be celebrated at a black-tie gala dinner at Sydney Town Hall on Thursday, November 27. You can book your tickets here.
The Health Tech Award honours companies that are tackling global health challenges through new platforms, medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics and biotech innovations.
For Navi Medical Technologies co-founder Mubin Yousuf, the nomination is a recognition of the company’s work so far, and of the broader local medtech sector.
“We’re honoured to be nominated alongside such an impressive field of innovators,” Mr Yousuf said.
“It helps bring more awareness to the needs of these vulnerable patient groups, and how local companies are developing world-first innovations to improve their car.
“For a small company like ours, recognition from the InnovationAus Awards is incredibly valuable. It helps us build credibility, grow our profile and ultimately contributes to our ability to create more local jobs, expand into export markets and deliver wider economic benefit.
“Most importantly, it helps us keep pushing forward in our mission to improve outcomes of the youngest and most vulnerable patients.
Existing offerings rely on magnetic stylets or doppler probes or bulky chest plates, and none offer real-time post-insertion surveillance or support lower extremity insertions like Navi’s solution.
NeoNav transforms standard catheters into “smart” lines, and aims to reduce the length of a procedure by up to an hour, and lower costs by an estimated US$520.
The 2025 InnovationAus Awards for Excellence will be held on November 27 at the magnificent Sydney Town Hall. You can secure individual seats or book a table here. Purchase a table of 10 and have your logo displayed on screens across the venue and in the event programme as a ‘Table Sponsor’.
The InnovationAus 2025 Awards for Excellence are proudly supported by ACS, PEXA Group, the CSIRO ON Program, Griffith Hack, TechnologyOne, Q-CTRL, National AI Centre, University of New South Wales, Investment NSW and IP Australia.
Protecting your great ideas with intellectual property (IP) rights can lead to lasting benefits for your growing business. IP refers to creations of the mind, such as a brand, logo, invention, design or artistic work. Head to the IP Australia website to find out more about IP, and how it might help your business.
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