John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One thing that makes me particularly proud of Bennelong is our innovative spirit. I'm often here talking about the innovations of our big companies, but underneath these behemoths are hundreds of engineers, scientists and developers who are all working hard to change the way we live. Many of these are housed at the Macquarie Park innovation hub, a home for start-ups to find their feet as they develop their new products.

One such start-up is GLIA Diagnostics, a game-changer in the emerging and urgent area of concussion treatment. GLIA uses a blood test to identify if a biomarker associated with brain injury is present. With a simple, handheld finger-prick test, it can determine if the effects of concussion are over or if the body is at risk of further, more damaging, secondary concussion. Concussion tests to date have been subjective, haphazard and lengthy. A simple finger-prick test that can return results cheaply and instantly could have a huge impact for professional sports and also for community sports, which, often, would not normally have tests at all. The impact this could have on armed forces and on triaging at hospitals is also immense. Congratulations to Edmond and his growing team for this breakthrough, which will revolutionise so many parts of our society. We wish you all the best for the future and generally look forward to seeing this device in the marketplace, changing and saving lives.