Leading AI Med-Tech Start-up Finds New Home at Cohort Innovation Space

One of Australia’s leading medical device start-ups, Laronix have officially found a new home at Cohort Innovation Space, the coworking, innovation and laboratory space in the heart of the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.

The world-renown clinical and engineering team of experts at Laronix have created ‘Bionic Voice’ – the world’s first smart, wearable (non-invasive), electronic voice box that gives people who have lost their larynx, their natural sounding voice back.

Bionic Voice substitutes and regenerates the missing ‘voice source’ for laryngectomees. It is naturally controlled by respiration and has an exceptionally high voice-quality. The Bionic Voice is generated by a smart algorithm and can be trained in its future generation to reach a voice quality resembling the patient’s own.

A pressure sensing module sits over the patients’ stoma to monitor their respiration. Similar to the vocal folds, these readings then drive a software model of human vocal folds which mimics the patients’ natural voice generation function in response to respiration. As part of Bionic Voice design, Laronix has developed a cutting-edge (Artificial Intelligence) AI software that learns and mimic the natural voice of the patients.

To date, CEO and Founder Dr Farzaneh Ahmadi has raised over $1.4 million for Bionic Voice, and has led the technology from inception to preclinical trials.

Laronix was recently announced as 1 of 8 successful applicants from around Australia who were awarded the federal Accelerating Commercialisation grant from the Morrison Government. Laronix were awarded $551,100 to help commercialise their innovation and assist them in breaking into new domestic and international markets.

Local Member for Moncrieff, Angie Bell said she is pleased to see the growing cluster of AI-based startups that are moving to the Gold Coast and that there are many benefits to co-locating with likeminded inventors and commercial collaborators, including those at the Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast Private Hospital and Griffith University.

“Cohort businesses benefit from the substantial investment made in health, education and transport infrastructure at the very unique Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, including light rail stations, Griffith University, Gold Coast University Hospital and the Gold Coast Private Hospital” Ms Bell said.

“I’m delighted that the Morrison Government has provided $551,100 to Gold Coast based start-up business, Laronix, that will have a real impact on improving the lives of larynx amputees (laryngectomees).” Ms Bell said.

Laronix Founder Dr. Farzaneh Ahmadi is passionate about using Bionic Voice to empower voice-loss people with natural voice and said Laronix is now partnering with two prominent university hospitals in the US and Australia to perform the clinical trials of the solution before moving on to scaled manufactory.

“Laronix has a team of world-renown clinical and artificial intelligence voice cloning advisors working to launch the world’s first and only wearable high-quality non-invasive alternative to existing invasive voice prostheses and improve patient outcomes,”

“Our mission is to stay at the forefront of bionic voice design and AI-based voice cloning technology for people who need it most” said Dr Ahmadi.

Laronix joins a growing cluster of AI and Health tech businesses located at Cohort Innovation Space, including ASX listed SenSen, Silverpond AI and local success story Datarwe.