News, stories & opinions for the world’s healthtech innovators.

PI hosts the design community with expert insights on designing personalized healthcare

Planet Innovation last week hosted a rare opportunity for the design community to go behind the scenes into the world of designing innovative, personalised healthcare products.

Xcellbio announces partnership with Planet Innovation to develop and manufacture world’s first instrument to improve potency for rapid cell therapy manufacturing

PI worked with Xcellbio over the past 2 years to develop and manufacture the AVATAR Foundry instrument. First commercial clinical use will be at Royal Perth Hospital for cutting-edge tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies.

Dena Marrinucci discusses how Truvian Health is reimagining blood testing

Dena Marrinucci, Co-Founder and COO of Truvian covers their remarkable journey in making routine blood testing more affordable, more convenient and more accessible to everybody.

Regulatory strategy: Engaging with the FDA

Krystal Santiago, VP Regulatory Affairs at PI, discusses winning ways to work with the FDA when it comes to developing a new, innovative product.

Winning strategies for developing diagnostic instruments

PI’s team of experts has been developing instruments spanning molecular, immunoassay, hematology, clinical chemistry, microbiology and more, for several decades. While every situation is different, we asked four of our key experts to share some simple strategies that allow you to achieve commercial success with your new product development.

Perspectives from expert roundtable: Strategies to attract funding for C&GT manufacturing tools

Planet Innovation held an exclusive roundtable at Advanced Therapies Week on ‘Strategies to Attract Funding for C&GT Manufacturing Tools’. Here are the highlights

Effective strategies for securing investor funding in cell and gene manufacturing tools development

We share insights from investors on what they prioritize when evaluating funding opportunities for cell and gene therapy tools.

5 critical questions for developing single-use disposables for cell therapy

Single-use disposables are a critical element in any cell and gene therapy manufacturing tool. We look at 5 key questions to consider when developing disposables for cell therapy.

LevitasBio launches LeviCell EOS system for higher throughput cell isolation and enrichment through Levitation Technology

LevitasBio® has partnered with Planet Innovation to design and manufacture its groundbreaking new LeviCell® EOS system for cell isolation and enrichment during sample preparation.

Why creating a successful cell and gene therapy manufacturing tool is about so much more than core tech

Developing an instrument that automates the cell and gene therapy workflow is no easy task. Your core tech, while critical, is only one part of the overall development, there is so much more that determines the success of your product. Brian Hanrahan shares 4 key tips for creating a successful cell therapy manufacturing tool.

What you must get right when developing a complex IVD product

We asked 4 of our key experts what are the most important things to get right when developing complex IVD instruments. This is what they said.

PI's NeoSync™ connectivity solution wins Good Design Award

PI’s Digital team picked up a prestigious Good Design Award Winner Accolade in the Digital Design category at the 2022 Australian Good Design Awards, for its NeoSync: Transforming Point-of-Care Testing connectivity solution.

Clinician advisors: The who, why, how and when of a successful partnership

The role of a clinician advisor in your organization can be determined by clarifying some fundamental questions. Why do you want a clinician advisor? What do you need them to do? Is there an actual clinical need for your product or service; or are you just seeking clinical validation?

How your medtech manufacturer can help you drive product innovation

How COVID has changed the game for medtech design and manufacturing

Michael Robards recently moderated an insightful panel discussion at BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley on what it’s been like getting in-vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVD) to market over the last few years.

3 ways to accelerate your product development program and get to market faster

When developing new products, you want to get a product to market ASAP. But how do you do that without cutting corners on quality, performance and safety?

PI partners with ASP Health to develop and manufacture an automated sample preparation platform to enhance cancer diagnostics

PI has partnered with Chicago-based company ASP Health to help them develop and manufacture an innovative sample preparation instrument to enhance cancer diagnostics through more consistent, high quality patient samples.

Why your manufacturer should be helping you drive product innovation

Colin Potter shares how Planet Innovation's manufacturing partnership with TOMI Environmental Solutions led to the development of a backpack version of its SteraMist decontamination product.

COVID has lit a fire under diagnostic testing – here is what point-of-care companies must do to step up in time

As demand for diagnostic and point-of-care (POC) testing grows, new products are coming to life faster than ever. Ben Druce, VP Strategic Design, shares insights from an expert panel discussion he hosted at the MD&M and BIOMEDigital event.

Stuart Elliott’s 3 Laws of Commercialization

Inventing a great product is pointless if nobody buys it. In my years in the medtech industry, I’ve discovered there are three fundamental laws of commercialization that you need to consider early in the product development process if you are to be successful.

How a virtual innovation workshop can be better than in-person

Over the past nine months, I’ve run multiple innovation workshops for clients entirely online. Here are some tips to ensure your virtual workshop is as engaging and productive as an in-person workshop.

LevitasBio partners with PI to develop and manufacture the world’s first label-free cell separation platform

Silicon Valley start-up LevitasBio has launched the world’s first label-free cell separation platform, the LeviCell™.

PI and Lumos pick up top Medical Design and Engineering Awards for rapid diagnostic development platform

Planet Innovation and Lumos Diagnostics have won two awards at the 2020 Good Design Awards, including a Good Design Award Gold accolade for Lumos’s Leelu Reader.

Cole-Parmer puts user experience at the forefront with new peristaltic pump series

Cole-Parmer's new Masterflex® Ismatec® Reglo Digital Pump series, is not so much an evolution, but a revolution of the popular peristaltic pump range.

IDEX Health & Science launches Tridex™ Protein Analyzer for bioprocessing

IDEX Health & Science has launched the Tridex™ Protein Analyzer, which Planet Innovation helped develop, to measure protein titer directly from a bioreactor in real time.

PI to manufacture Scinogy’s new cell processing system for cell therapy manufacture

Planet Innovation is partnering with Melbourne-based start-up Scinogy to manufacture a revolutionary new cell processing system that is being commercialized by global biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific.

PI wins top medical design award and digital app award

Planet Innovation took home the Good Design Awards’ top gong for medical design for our work on Clever Culture Systems’ APAS Independence instrument, along with a digital design award for Uniting NSW’s Mosaic app.

6 surprising ways eLearning could be the secret weapon of your next product launch

From training your team to empowering your customers, here are six reasons why you should consider including an online training package in your product launch strategy.

Imagion Biosystems teams with PI to develop MagSense™ instrument for early cancer detection

PI has entered into an agreement with Imagion Biosystems, a company dedicated to improving healthcare through the earlier detection of cancer, to develop Imagion's MagSense instrument technology.

APAS Independence wins global accolades at Medical Design Excellence Awards

Clever Culture Systems has collected silver at the prestigious Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEAs) for its innovative APAS Independence instrument, which Planet Innovation helped develop.

PI and Preora Healthcare partner to bring novel detection technology to cancer diagnostic market

Planet Innovation today announced a partnership with Preora Healthcare Inc., pioneers in the detection of early-stage cancers, to bring to market a series of novel, low-cost, minimally invasive, highly accurate and easy-to-use cancer screening tests.

PI launches new development and manufacturing center for medical and hi-tech products

At a formal ceremony attended by Australian Federal Assistant Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, Planet Innovation (PI) has officially revealed its all new centre for Product Development and Manufacturing.

Strange technology allows us all to train like champions

Entrepreneur Will Strange has teamed up with Planet Innovation to launch a highly accurate, contact sport GPS system, GameTraka©, at a price point that amateur and junior clubs can afford.

World first imaging incubator uses unconventional approach to monitor embryos

Genea Biomedx has created an incubation instrument with time lapse photography, which allows scientists and potential parents to watch their embryos grow in their first crucial few days.

Genea CEO: From idea to Product of the Year

Tomas Stojanov has been an integral part of an extremely successful network of invitro-fertilisation (IVF) clinics in his role as the CEO of fertility group Genea, but his personal dream is to do more. He wanted to change the world of IVF to benefit his company, his industry and most importantly his patients.

Are you designing a Product Ecosystem that engages the heart and mind?

Companies that think in terms of a ‘product ecosystem’ will trounce rivals that come to the market with a more myopic view of success, says Francois Nguyen, principal designer at Frog, a global product strategy and design firm that has become internationally recognised for its innovation.

6 principles that deliver commercially successful products

The product development journey can be exciting but harrowing for even the most experienced company let alone the first time innovator. Here are a six principles that successful companies follow.

How Genea changed the world of IVF through automation

Despite 30 years of IVF practice the process of freezing human embryos, known as vitrification, has remained extremely manual and susceptible to errors and inconsistencies by embryologists. In 2009, Genea Biomedx teamed up with Planet Innovation to solve this challenge by automating IVF vitrification and finally making the process consistent and standardised for labs around the world.

Design is more than skin deep

What makes a product great? Iconic? Whatever the quality, the decision is made, neither by the team that created it nor the marketer who sold it, but by the people who use  it. So that is where we start when we design a new product – with people. And that design must be more than skin deep.

Ingeni: a smart idea that puts consumers in control of their energy usage

PI's innovation team developed an inexpensive in home energy display that not only allows you to understand and reduce your energy usage, it also allows you to browse every available energy plan on the market.

Dumb problems demand attention

With rising energy prices, and a move towards time-of-use tariffs, PI’s innovation team thought that what was needed was an intelligent hot water system for consumers that was a one-size fits all, stand-alone solution to simplify installation for plumbers.

How to transform software from the villain to the hero of your next product

On paper, all software requirements look achievable. But for anyone who has been involved in developing new products, software is often the villain causing overruns and budget blow outs. Here are five strategies that I use to ensure the software team are seen as super heroes on your product development team.

The secret behind the consumable ‘pod’ that pioneered IVF automation

PI Executive Director Eduardo Vom reveals the details to the microfluidic pod that was developed for the Gavi instrument to enable automated IVF vitrification for the first time in the world.