Atomo wins Engineering Excellence Award

We are delighted to congratulate our client Atomo Diagnostics Pty Ltd, and its development partner, design firm IDE, as winners of the Sydney Engineering Excellence Awards for 2012 for their MicroRapid Integrated Rapid Blood Test Device, the world’s first hand held integrated rapid diagnostic device.


MicroRapid won the Small Business Award, received a highly commended in the Innovations & Inventions category, and was also presented with the prestigious Bradfield Award. The Bradfield Award is the highest award across all categories and "recognises an accomplishment of exceptional engineering merit which makes a major contribution to the community".

Atomo aims to bring the detection of a range of diseases out of the laboratory and into homes and outreach clinics across the globe. A test for the rapid detection of HIV is the first clinical application being commercialised using the device and is due to be launched later this year.

The integrated design runs the complete test in a single device. This makes it ideal for clinicians to use away from the laboratory as well as enabling individuals to conduct their own blood tests at home. Current blood tests using similar formats require the use of a kit containing five or six items making them quite complex to use and resulting in high error rates.

"Our device makes rapid blood testing easier, more reliable and much more user friendly. This allows testing to be performed by anyone in any setting" said John Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of Atomo Diagnostics.

MicroRapid can be used for a variety of clinical testing including the detection of cardiac and cancer markers, a wide range of infectious diseases as well as consumer focused self screening for common conditions such as Celiac, Allergy, Thyroid imbalances and Anaemia.

The Engineering Excellence Awards Sydney (EEAS) recognise the expertise of both individuals and engineering organisations in the community. Their aim is to create wider recognition for the valuable input of engineers in our lives. Atomo’s MicroRapid device will now go on display in the Powerhouse Museum for twelve months. This display is expected to be seen by over a half a million Museum visitors throughout the year.


Franke Hyland are proud to represent Atomo and assist them in the strategic development of their IP portfolio internationally.