Cylite Pty Ltd, the developer and manufacturer of 4th Generation OCT systems for ophthalmology and optometry, has been awarded the Sir William Hudson Award.
The judges citation read, “this is a remarkable piece of equipment and demonstrates the profound impact biomedical engineering can have on society. By using 1000’s of light waves to create an accurate and almost instantaneous 3D image of the eye, the equipment streamlines the screening process that currently requires several individual diagnostic devices to build a clinical picture of the patient. This enables more health professionals to routinely screen more patients across the five areas of eye conditions effecting Australians which allows for earlier diagnosis it also enables the earlier intervention and has the significant potential to mitigate the impact of the emotion and financial burden on society that results from many of these mostly avoidable eye conditions. The judges also praised the equipment for its ability to incorporate the modern principals of health and safety, ethical operations, and environmental outcomes to benefit the user”.
By engaging at the boundary of what is possible in eye measurement, we are involved in something truly meaningful
Engineering Australia’s National Pinnacles Awards ceremony took a different approach this year, like many other events, and was broadcasted live on the evening of Monday 9 November. Adam Spencer was the Master of Ceremonies with President Chris Champion and Chief Executive Office Dr Bronwyn Evans presenting the National Engineer of the Year Award winners, the President’s Prize, the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal, and the Sir William Hudson Award – the highest accolade which an engineering project can receive from Engineers Australia.
“I’d like to thank Engineers Australia for putting on these awards which really showcases the range of engineering talent here in Australia. It is a huge honour for Cylite to be selected from such an amazing group of projects. I’d also like to thank the outstanding team of optical, electronic, mechanical and software engineers at Cylite who have brought an extremely complex technology from a concept right through to commercial realisation,” said Grant Frisken, Cylite’s CTO.
Every two years, finalists from the pool of Australian Engineering Excellence Award winners are selected to compete at the national level for the Sir Willian Hudson Award. This year the winners ranged from an innovative, self-sufficient, containerised water treatment plant servicing remote communities in Northern Territory to slope stability radar technology used for monitoring and detecting movement and potential collapses across open-cut mines and tailings dams.
Cylite’s CEO, Steve Frisken commented, “I am genuinely excited and surprised that Cylite has now been awarded this national prize, against a field of fantastic Engineering projects. I would like to personally thank each of our extraordinary team for their creativity and dedication in delivering excellence in engineering across so many fields. We are also grateful to Cobalt design for their industrial design support and the wonderful look and feel of this innovative clinical diagnostic instrument. These innovations will, I believe, truly have a lasting impact on global eye health, which is a legacy that will provide ongoing pride to all those involved.”
Andrew Parkinson, Cylite’s VP of Engineering said, “What a thrilling moment it was for my family and I to hear Adam Spencer announce that our instrument had been judged the best Engineering project of 2020 and that we had won the Sir William Hudson award. I feel immense pride in this achievement for our team at Cylite; the win will assuredly stand as a career highlight for us all. From the foundational ideas that underpin the technology, through to the product realisation, this result recognises the dedication and effort made by many brilliant individuals and by a group that is so much more than the sum of its parts. By engaging at the boundary of what is possible in eye measurement, we are involved in something truly meaningful – both for ourselves as a technology company and for Engineering excellence in Australia. Our instrument significantly extends upon current measurement capabilities in the eye health community worldwide and lays a firm foundation for us to make even further advancements in the field.”
To watch a replay of the Pinnacles Awards Ceremony, click here.