Faster, smarter, better: ASX innovators drive efficiency in healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturing

• Maximising efficiency in healthcare, pharmaceutical development and manufacturing has become a top priority
• Nanosonics’ flagship Trophon system becomes standard of care for cleaning ultrasound probes in several countries
• Optiscan transforming pathology from slow multi-step manual process with its live, digital imaging at cellular level

As in any industry, improving and maximising efficiency in healthcare – including in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing  – has become a top priority and a key driver of progress.

Efficiency enables organisations to maximise output while minimising wasted time, resources, and costs – in turn boosting competitiveness and profitability.

In healthcare, efficiency isn’t only about business performance but rather about improving patient outcomes. It can mean:

• Faster diagnosis and treatment – early intervention often leads to better health outcomes
• Lower operational costs – enabling healthcare providers to reinvest in staff, equipment, and patient care
• Improved accuracy – reducing the risk of errors, which can have significant outcomes

In pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, efficiency can accelerate innovation and mean potentially-life saving drugs reach patients sooner, all while maintaining strict regulatory standards.

On the ASX, companies such as Nanosonics (ASX:NAN), Optiscan (ASX:OIL) and Clever Culture Systems (ASX:CC5) are advancing efficiency through innovative devices and solutions that support healthcare, pharmaceutical development and manufacturing.

Leader in infection control

Nanosonics is a leader in infection prevention with its flagship Trophon system becoming standard of care for high-level disinfection of ultrasound probes in several countries, including Australia.

Trophon is an automated ultrasound probe cleaner that uses sonically-activated hydrogen peroxide mist and was first commercialised in 2009.

Offering a groundbreaking approach to ultrasound probe disinfection, the Trophon system cleans ultrasound probes much more safely and reliably than traditional manual techniques. The company has a strong market share of more than 50% in its target market of the US as well as Australia.

Nanosonics was recently granted US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its latest Trophon innovation, enabling the commercial launch of Trophon3 and Trophon2 Plus, a software upgrade package for existing Trophon2 users, in the US.

The latest innovation is more than 40% faster than previous generations. It has expanded digital  integration capabilities and includes new digital traceability through customer’s DICOM imaging database systems, the international standard for medical imaging data.

In March, Nanosonics also received FDA de novo clearance for its second device Coris – the world’s first automated system specifically designed to clean the internal channels of flexible endoscopes.

Speeding up diagnostics in pathology

Melbourne-based Optiscan is transforming the field of pathology from a slow multi-step manual process with its live, digital, on-the-spot imaging at the cellular level.

The company is a global leader in developing, manufacturing, and commercialising confocal endomicroscopic imaging technologies for medical, research, and pre-clinical applications.

At the heart of Optiscan’s product is a pen-sized digital microscope that uses confocal laser technology to capture detailed, high-resolution images of tissue directly during medical procedures.

Unlike traditional pathology, which requires removing tissue samples to send to a lab and waiting for results, Optiscan’s technology provides instant microscopic images of the tissue without delay in turn:

• Enabling pathologists to assess tissue health and detect abnormalities immediately, accelerating diagnosis
• Reducing need for repeat surgeries by allowing surgeons to confirm cancer margins in real time
• Minimising reliance on lengthy lab sample preparation and analysis

Earlier this year Optiscan unveiled InForm, a digital pathology device, poised to challenge the status quo of traditional analogue workflows in the sector to speed up diagnosis.

InForm is a first-in-class microscopic medical imaging device delivering real-time digital insights across the full workflow from the very point of contact with a tissue sample.

Optiscan said its tech has potential to address a growing global shortage of pathologists. By enabling remote review, labs could distribute workload more efficiently across a wider pool of pathologists, regardless of location.

Optiscan and its Canadian tech partner Prolucid Technologies have also developed a cloud-based telepathology application, which brings together a surgeon and pathologist remotely during an operation, in real time.

The software has reached the minimum viable product (MVP) stage, meaning it meets essential functional requirements while allowing for further refinement.

This platform enables pathologists to securely review high-resolution images, generate reports, and collaborate remotely, in real time.

It is considered a potential game changer for regional, rural and remote healthcare settings where access to pathology expertise is limited.

CEO and managing director Dr Camile Farah said Optiscan saw efficiency as a form of care.

“The faster and smarter we work, the sooner patients get the treatment they need,” he said.

“The real breakthrough isn’t just in the device itself – it’s in how efficiently we can get it from R&D to the patient’s bedside.

“If we can build smarter and deliver smarter, then we’re not just making devices – we’re making time, savings, and better outcomes for everyone in the healthcare chain.”

Improving efficiency in pharmaceutical manufacturing

Pharmaceutical manufacturing is also not without its challenges including also a shortage of microbiologists, with the problem coming to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Time-consuming microbiology practices for environmental monitoring are also costly for pharmaceutical drug manufacturers with counting colonies on culture plates remaining a manual and repetitive task, open to human error.

However, Adelaide-based Clever Culture Systems is developing a solution for these problems with its APAS (automated plate assessment system) Independence instruments.

The only US FDA-cleared AI technology for automated culture plate reading, APAS automatically analyses culture plates, detects microbial contamination and classifies growth as significant or non-significant.

CEO and managing director Brent Barnes told Stockhead pharmaceutical drugs were manufactured in clean rooms, which were aseptically clean environments meaning there’s techniques and practices to prevent contamination by microorganisms.

“In sterile drug manufacturing, culture plates are used inside cleanrooms to constantly monitor the environment for any contamination,” he said.

“These plates are manually read by two microbiologists after incubation, where those results are critical in releasing safe and effective drugs into the market.

“The costs of mistakes are high, and mistakes do happen, which is why two microbiologists look at all of the plates (a second check), even though over 99% of plates have no growth.”

With their technology replacing manual reading of agar plates, Clever Culture has a strong value proposition, with its customers now including big pharma companies such as Astra Zeneca and Nova Nordisk.

“Plates are bulk loaded into the instrument and are then automatically imaged, an algorithm interprets any growth, counts the colonies if they are present, then digitally reports the results to the laboratory information management system and physically sorts the plates,” he said.

Barnes said APAS improves quality by capturing permanent digital images of culture plates and ensures traceability by digitally transmitting data without manual transcription mistakes.

He said the system boosts efficiency by automating reading and reporting, freeing microbiologists to focus on plates showing growth that require their expertise.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Optiscan and Clever Culture Systems are Stockhead advertisers, the companies did not sponsor this article.