When one door closes, another opens, as the saying goes. While the business door to automotive OEMs is far from shut for SMR Technologies (Adelaide, Australia), which reportedly has 24% of global market share for passenger car rearview mirrors and develops camera- based sensing technologies, the decline of auto manufacturing in the land down under led the company to seek opportunities in medical technology. SMR has just announced that it is developing a device that could dramatically simplify bladder cancer testing.
The non-invasive device incorporates a polymer compound developed at the University of South Australia’s Future Industries Institute that binds to cancer-specific antibodies in urine. The compound is converted into a nano-structured coating and combined with point-of-care biosensors in a portable urine test. SMR Technologies is leading the project with the participation of the University of South Australia and Flinders Medical Centre, where the device is being prepared for hospital trials.