Seeing Machines Regulatory News (SEE)

14 Aug 2006 10:57

Seeing Machines Limited14 August 2006 14 August 2006 SEEING MACHINES LIMITED ("Seeing Machines" or "the Company") AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES GRANT APPLICATION Seeing Machines Limited (AIM: SEE), a leading developer of advanced computerbased imaging software systems, has been advised by AusIndustry that itsapplication for an Australian Federal Government Commercial Ready Grantsupporting its glaucoma diagnostic device development project has been approved,conditional on finalising normal contractual arrangements. The grant providesmatching funding of up to AUD$2.1 million over 2 years to support the continueddevelopment and commercialization of the glaucoma device. Seeing Machines' glaucoma device is a non-contact objective device designed toreliably and quickly measure a person's functional visual field. Assessingvisual field is crucial in diagnosing a range of human visual system diseases,such as glaucoma. The key advantages the Seeing Machines device has over thoseavailable on the market today are derived from the objectivity of the technique.It is non-contact, fast and greatly enhances the patient experience. Seeing Machines completed an initial research and development project for thedevice in February 2006 and this work was supported by a $250,000 AusIndustryBiotechnology Innovation Fund Grant. The company has successfully completed(June 2006) a $3.2 million R&D Start Grant project aimed at developing SeeingMachines' face and eye tracking technology to a level where deployment in theautomotive domain for the detection of fatigue and distraction is feasible. Seeing Machines CEO Nick Cerneaz said: "the Company was very pleased to beawarded the Commercial Ready Grant. The strong endorsement of our technology, R&D capabilities and the potential for successful commercialisation of thisdevice is very encouraging." He also commented on the importance of governmentprograms supporting innovation for local industry development and noted thestrong support the company had received over the years for its R&D both fromCommonwealth and local government programs. Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane congratulated Seeing Machines on beingoffered the Australian Government Commercial Ready grant to develop the devicethat will make it easier to diagnose diseases affecting vision: "Diseases such as glaucoma afflict millions of people world-wide and it isdifficult to detect. Seeing Machines has a strong track record in developingtechnology in this field and the Government, through the Commercial Readyprogram, is pleased to support projects such as this." Enquiries:Seeing Machines Limited Insinger de Beaufort Parkgreen Communications Nick Cerneaz, CEO Simon Fox Justine Howarth / Victoria Thomas+61 (0) 2 6125 6501 +44 (0) 20 7190 7018 +44 (0) 20 7493 3713www.seeingmachines.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange