$1.3 million awarded to Western researchers for innovative medical device

More than $1.3 million has been awarded through the NSW Government's Medical Devices Fund (MDF) to Dr Jerry Zhou from the School of Medicine and his Amazing Gut Pty Ltd. team. The funds will support commercialisation of the team’s Ins&Outs device developed at Western Sydney University.

Dr Zhou, CEO and Founder of Amazing Gut Pty Ltd, a Western spin-out company, was awarded $1,347,810 (excluding GST) through the highly competitive and prestigious fund to scale up manufacturing, sales and distribution of Ins&Outs, a portable device that allows patients with functional bowel disorder – a common condition impacting more than 4.5 million – to complete physiotherapy for bowel muscles privately and comfortably in their own home.

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Professor Ian Anderson congratulated Dr Zhou and his team on securing this highly competitive funding.

“Securing such a prestigious grant is an exceptional achievement. It reflects the team’s research excellence and success in co-designing solutions with patients and clinicians to improve health outcomes. It also reiterates Western as a world leading research-intensive university able to support life changing projects from inception through to commercialisation,” said Professor Anderson.

The team behind Ins&Outs have been long supported by Western, with Western Ventures providing $100,000 proof of concept funding to support clinical trials of the device in 2024, and Western’s Factory of the Future set to assist in the scaling of local manufacturing.

In clinical trials, patients using Ins&Outs at home achieved the same outcomes as hospital-based therapy. Treatment was also 50 per cent faster, with potential savings of over $180 million annually to the Australian healthcare system and patients.

Dr Zhou said he was delighted with the team’s funding success, which will enable more patients to have access to the innovative treatment.

“While this treatment has proven very successful, it is only currently available in a handful of specialised clinics, meaning fewer than 1 per cent of patients with the condition have access. This funding will help us get the device in the hands of more clinicians and more patients, helping our team achieve our vision of turning world-leading research into life-changing products,” said Dr Zhou.

The Amazing Gut Pty Ltd. team, which developed Ins&Outs includes Western’s Professor Bahman Javadi from School of Computer, Data and Mathematical Sciences, Associate Professor Vincent Ho from the School of Medicine and Professor Paul Breen from the MARCS Institute.

The Medical Devices Fund is awarded by the Office for Health and Medical Research, a part of NSW Health. The Fund provides grants to drive the commercialisation of highly innovative new devices and technologies in NSW, addressing gaps in the product life cycle between early-stage research and mature investment opportunities.

ENDS.

1 June 2026
Media Unit