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The HP-OCT Takes Out Engineering Australia’s Highest Honour

A world-first ocular instrument, the Cylite HP-OCT has won the 2020 Sir William Hudson Award; the highest accolade an engineering project can receive from Engineers Australia.  The award was announced at the recent national Pinnacles Award Ceremony, where finalist projects, including major infrastructure, mining and transport projects from across Australia were judged.

Designed, engineered, and manufactured in Australia, the HP-OCT is a cutting-edge ophthalmological instrument that overcomes issues of motion artefacts or data error resulting from patient eye movement during OCT imaging. Cobalt’s development team worked closely with Cylite to characterise the typical product usage and to develop a deep understanding of both the user’s (patient) and operator’s (clinician) needs. According to Cobalt’s project leader for this project, Kynan Taylor “ from our initial user and industrial design direction, Cobalt then engineered the device exterior through prototyping and tooling support stages, to ensure all the instrument’s touch points delivered a consistent, user-focused experience”.

Cylite’s CEO Dr Steve Frisken was excited Cylite had been awarded the national prize against a field of strong 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,” he said.

“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.”

Steve Frisken - Cylite Founder and CEO 

The Engineering Australia judges also praised the HP-OCT as a “remarkable piece of equipment [that] demonstrates the profound impact biomedical engineering can have on society. 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.”

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