Featured research projects relating to environmental and respiratory health
Quantifying the health effects of bushfires
Bushfires produce vast amounts of airborne particles and gases that are bad for our health.
We performed a health impact assessment of the extraordinarily severe Australian 2019–20 bushfire season and calculated that the smoke was likely responsible for additional cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalisations (>3,000), extra emergency attendances for asthma (>1,500) and excess deaths (>400). These health consequences increased costs by almost $2 billion – 9 times higher than the previous 19 fire seasons.
The subsequent Royal Commission and the Senate, NSW and Victorian parliamentary inquiries used our evidence about health impacts, interventions and appropriate air quality and health communication in their recommendations. These have provided the foundation for ongoing national policy in these areas.
We also developed the AirRater app to provide real-time, accurate, air quality data to help people manage their health and activities as air quality fluctuates and identify which specific airborne hazards trigger their symptoms. AirRater has experienced huge demand across Australia and was downloaded 50,000 times during the 2019–20 Black Summer. Further nationwide service expansion is underway.
Helping pre-term babies breathe
Our work on a decade-long project involving scientists and biomedical engineers led to the development of ground-breaking technology to help preterm babies breathe. It has been commercialised and is now used in hospitals around the world.
The technology is an oxygen controlling device – called the OxyGenie® – and has been licensed to SLE Ltd, a UK-based developer and manufacturer of infant life support devices that are used worldwide.
The ability to breathe normally is often the biggest challenge facing premature babies, many of whom need respiratory support, including oxygen therapy, for weeks or even months. The OxyGenie® automatically controls the concentration of oxygen in the gas delivered to a baby’s lungs while they are receiving breathing support, solving a previously challenging task and freeing staff to care for the baby.