Restorabite device wins District commercialisation challenge. 

Speech pathologist Dr Emma Charters has won The Big Idea 2023 for Restorabite, an innovation to restore jaw functionality in patients with cancer.  

Restorabite is a 3D-printed rehabilitation device that aims to allow patients to eat, talk, and practice dental care more easily following complex head and neck cancer treatment.  

The judges awarded the idea $65,000 in pre-seed funding and $25,000 in professional support services from the medtech product design firm IDE Group.  

Restorabite also proved to be popular with Dr Charters’ peers in the audience, winning the People’s Choice Award and securing her a further $20,000 in pre-seed funding and $5,000 worth of professional support services.  

The Big Idea is Sydney Local Health District’s annual commercialisation challenge, which supports early-stage ideas, devices, technology, or systems that could transform healthcare delivery.      

Dr Charters’ double win in the competition will help her and her colleagues in the head and neck cancer team at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and the RPA Institute of Academic Surgery continue to develop Restorabite as a commercial product.  

“Our team are so thankful. The funding from The Big Idea will be a game-changing boost for our next clinical trial and commercialisation strategy,” she said. 

“When I started the coaching sessions with the Big Idea crew, they kept bringing us back to our ‘why’.  

“For our team, our ‘why’ is very clear – we have seen our patients struggling for years in our clinical practice, and Restorabite has helped them. The money will help us reach out to more sites, and help more people. Thank you again!” 

Dr Charters was one of five finalists who presented their ideas in the competition, held as part of our Innovation and Research Symposium during Sydney Innovation Week 2023.  

Each finalist worked with tech incubator Cicada Innovations and with our District’s Chief Commercial Officer, Dr Joy Francisco, to hone their pitch ahead of the presentation.  

During The Big Idea, each presenter had five minutes to share their idea before fielding questions from the panel of judges.  

This year’s judges were Dr Joy Francisco, Dr Teresa Anderson AM, District Chief Executive; Professor Robyn Ward AM, Executive Dean and Pro-Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney and Associate Professor Steven Wise, Professor of Cardiovascular Bioengineering, University of Sydney.  

The audience were also reminded of previous winners of The Big Idea, and the success they have gone on to achieve.  

These included Dr Joe Dusseldorp, a specialist plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, whose micro-implant to improve muscle tone in people with muscle spasticity won over the judges in 2022; and Professor Steve Chadban, our District’s Director of Renal Medicine who won in 2019 for the Deluxe Medical Chair, a comfortable and functional chair for dialysis patients.  

“The Big Idea has had a major role in supporting the commercial journeys of some incredible innovations in our District,” said Dr Anderson.  

“Congratulations to Dr Charters and her team. I am looking forward to seeing how they can further develop Restorabite to help to improve care and quality of life for patients.”  

The Big Idea is sponsored by Sydney Local Health District, The University of Sydney, Cicada Innovations and the IDE Group.  

Sydney Innovation Week is the District’s week-long showcase – encouraging staff and the community to Imagine. Transform. Lead.