2019 Judges’ Award 

One-80^o Pronosupinator 

Brodwen McBain APAM 

Brodwen McBain won the Judge's Award in 2019 for the One80o Pronosupinator.

What is your background and how did you end up developing an innovative product? 

I’m a physiotherapist working in hand therapy. 

I worked alongside Jeff Sanderson, an occupational therapist and hand therapist, to develop the One-80° Pronosupinator. 

Regaining supination and pronation after an injury can be challenging. 

For people with stiffness, a gentle stretch over a longer period of time (hours rather than seconds) is needed to make long-lasting changes to range of motion. 

Previously, the available options to achieve this were hard to make and difficult for patients to wear. 

We noticed this was negatively affecting patient outcomes, so we started working on a solution. 

What was the product you entered into Pitchfest? 

The One-80° Pronosupinator is a brace that helps provide a stretch into supination and pronation. 

We designed it to be simple for a clinician to fit, low profile, easy for a patient to wear and, most importantly, hold a patient at end-of-range for an effective, prolonged stretch. 

Where is that product now—are you still developing it, is it on the market and, if so, how is it doing? 

The One-80° Pronosupinator is on the market. It is available in Australia, through Performance Health, and in Europe. 

We aim to have it available in the United States by the end of 2025. 

We also have plans to add the patented elbow extension/flexion to the existing design, which may benefit people with neurological conditions that affect upper limb positioning. 

How did winning a Pitchfest award help you to progress your product? 

Winning Pitchfest helped us gain visibility and credibility. 

The prize money also helped us pay for the early international patent. 

Click here for more information about the Pronosupinator. 

2019 People’s Choice Award 

Researcher Screener Associate Professor 

Leo Ng APAM 

What is your background and how did you end up developing an innovative product? 

I am a physiotherapist and an academic, currently working at Swinburne University. 

While I was working at Curtin University in Western Australia, I developed a platform called Research Screener. 

What was the product you entered into Pitchfest? 

Research Screener is a software tool that uses machine learning and natural language processing to semi-automate the process of screening research articles when preparing to do a systematic review. 

Researchers often have to read thousands of abstracts to find the most relevant articles— this tool can significantly streamline the screening process. 

Where is that product now—are you still developing it, is it on the market and, if so, how is it doing? 

Six years down the road, Researcher Screener has been spun out into a startup company and is being used by researchers (not just physiotherapists) around the world. 

We are continuing to develop and refine the product, looking for ways to improve it using newer artificial intelligence technology. 

We are currently looking at better ways to market the product and promote its benefits to researchers everywhere. 

How did winning a Pitchfest award help you to progress your product? 

Pitching Research Screener in front of 1700 people at the first Physio Pitchfest event at the APA’s 2019 Transform national conference was a priceless opportunity to get the word out about the tool, which we launched a couple of weeks later. 

Even though we didn’t get a cash prize, it gave me a lot of confidence to keep going with the development as we had such positive feedback and a lot of interest in using it. 

Click here for more information about Research Screener.

2022 Judges’ Award 

SummaRise app 

Daniel Hug APAM 

What is your background and how did you end up developing an innovative product? 

Three years ago, I was working in a residential aged care facility and was asked to review a resident after a fall on the weekend. 

Unfortunately, a fracture was missed during the initial assessment and the resident was left in bed for two days with a pelvic fracture. 

I was inspired to find out how this could have happened and to stop it from ever happening again. 

From this, the idea for SummaRise was born. 

What was the product you entered into Pitchfest? 

SummaRise was an app that allowed users to assess, document and manage falls occurring in residential aged care. 

Where is that product now—are you still developing it, is it on the market and, if so, how is it doing? 

Last year we made the decision to discontinue further development of the SummaRise app. 

While the product itself was useful, there wasn’t a clear way forward with it. 

But I learned a lot from the process of starting up a company and developing the app, and I have put that knowledge towards starting my own mobile physiotherapy practice. 

How did winning a Pitchfest award help you to progress your product? 

The award helped us to transform our idea into a functional platform that was implemented in eight aged care facilities. 

The funding underpinned development costs, allowing the app to evolve from a prototype to a program that not only helped with assessment and documentation but also looked for patterns to assist with the management and prediction of falls. 

Some of the funding also went towards completing and publishing a pilot project, which validated the use of the app to document and manage falls in aged care facilities. 

2022 People’s Choice Award 

STIC® magnetic walking aid holder 

Alexander Roberts APAM 

Physiotherapist Alexander Roberts won the 2022 People's Choice award for his magnetic walking aid.

What is your background and how did you end up developing an innovative product? 

I am a physiotherapist currently working in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service and the founder of Pragnetics. 

Retrieving a walking aid that has fallen to the floor—something that is commonplace in my line of work—can be frustrating and risky for the user. 

As I was driving home from work one day, I attached my phone to a hands-free magnetic holder and it occurred to me that a similar product could be made for walking aids for easy and secure access. 

Where is that product now—are you still developing it, is it on the market and, if so, how is it doing? 

STIC has been on the market for about two years now. 

Patient Care Products, a large mobility supplier, distributes the attachment to pharmacies and home health equipment stores across Australia. 

Last year we started selling the product through Amazon UK as well. 

STIC was also recently featured on Channel 10’s Australia by Design, a TV show about innovative Australian products. 

We are looking at opportunities to expand the market for the STIC and increase the product range. 

How did winning a Pitchfest award help you to progress your product? 

Pitchfest gave me a launch pad to keep developing the STIC from a prototype to a manufactured product. 

After Pitchfest I joined an incubator program at the University of New South Wales that helped me refine the product so that we could get it manufactured. 

Click here for more information about the STIC magnetic walking aid. 

2023 Judges’ Award 

Spasticity app: a guide to the modified Tardieu Scale 

Professor Gavin Williams FACP (Fellow by Original Contribution), APA Titled Research Physiotherapist Dr Michelle Kahn MACP and team 

Professor Gavin Williams and his team adapted their spasticity manual to a digital format.

What is your background and how did you end up developing an innovative product? 

We are a team of clinicians involved in the treatment of spasticity and spasticity research. In 2019 we published a manual titled A Guide to the Modified Tardieu Scale. 

The manual was highly successful and widely adopted in Australia and New Zealand, so we decided to develop this resource into an app for wider and easier use. 

What was the product you entered into Pitchfest? 

We entered the Spasticity app to guide clinicians on how to assess spasticity in the major muscles in the arm and leg. 

This app includes easy viewing with written, photo and video content to demonstrate muscle anatomy as well as actions, testing positions and protocols for measurement procedures and case presentations.

Where is that product now—are you still developing it, is it on the market and, if so, how is it doing? 

The prototype of the app was released on 28 January 2025. 

We have had a lot of traction for this and received positive feedback already. 

The app has a tool for viewers to provide feedback and we plan to incorporate this feedback into the final version of the app, which we plan to release at the end of 2025. 

How did winning a Pitchfest award help you to progress your product? 

The money from Pitchfest was used to develop the digital content for the app. 

The original manual included photographs of testing positions, but the digital nature of the app allowed us to create videos featuring individuals with a range of movement abilities, including those with spasticity. 

This enabled us to demonstrate how to perform the tests on the 40 most commonly problematic arm and leg muscles. 

The funding from the app allowed us to access professional videography services to ensure a high-quality end product. 

Click here to access the Spasticity Asessment app. 

2023 People’s Choice Award 

‘U-Beach: Beach Accessibility Manual Handling Training’ program 

Sasha Job APAM 

Physio researcher Sasha Job has developed a training program for beach accessibility.

What is your background and how did you end up developing an innovative product? 

I am a physiotherapist and PhD student at CQUniversity Australia, with a focus on enhancing beach accessibility for people with a disability or mobility limitations. 

My journey began with research into the benefits and barriers of beach access, which highlighted a significant need for structured training to ensure safe and inclusive beach experiences. 

This led to the development of our ‘U-BEACH: Beach Accessibility Manual Handling Training’ program. 

What was the product you entered into Pitchfest? 

I entered the ‘U-BEACH: Beach Accessibility Manual Handling Training’ program into Pitchfest. 

This program was intended to address the challenges associated with manual handling on the beach, providing comprehensive training on the safe use of beach mobility equipment, effective communication strategies and safety considerations to facilitate inclusive beach access. 

Where is that product now—are you still developing it, is it on the market and, if so, how is it doing? 

The U-BEACH program has been successfully developed and is now available as a micro-credential course through CQUniversity Australia. 

Initially focused on manual handling, the program has expanded into ‘U-BEACH: Introduction to Beach Accessibility’, a more comprehensive training course covering a wider range of topics based on significant community demand for training. 

This expansion reflects the growing recognition of the need for structured education in beach accessibility. 

The course has attracted interest from people with a disability, health professionals, disability service providers and carers, surf lifesavers, local government and community organisations, reinforcing its impact in promoting inclusive beach access. 

How did winning a Pitchfest award help you to progress your product? 

Winning the Physiotherapy Research Foundation Physio Pitchfest 2023 People’s Choice Award provided both financial support and valuable mentorship. 

The award facilitated the development of the U-BEACH training program by funding the creation of some resources and enabling collaboration between experts in the field, thereby enhancing the program’s quality and reach. 

Being the People’s Choice winner was particularly meaningful, as it validated the need for this training and reinforced that there is strong interest and demand for improving beach accessibility. 

This recognition helped build momentum, strengthen stakeholder engagement and further refine the program to meet community needs. 

Click here for more information about the U-BEACH training program. 

2023 Rising Star Award 

Matilda Health 

Kevin Wernli APAM and Joanna Morris APAM 

What is your background and how did you end up developing an innovative product? 

We are both physiotherapists in Western Australia—Jo is a Pelvic Health Physio with expertise in pelvic pain and endometriosis, and Kevin is a musculoskeletal physio with a PhD in persistent pain. 

After many catch-ups discussing the shortcomings of endometriosis (and persistent pain) care, we decided to stop talking and start doing, entering (and winning) Perth Biodesign for Digital Health in 2022. 

What was the product you entered into Pitchfest? 

The previous version of our endometriosis app, Matilda. 

This app enabled users to track symptoms and lifestyle habits, access educational resources, join clinician-led classes, and connect with a like-minded community. 

Co-designed by endometriosis experts and individuals with lived experience, the platform was built to truly meet users’ needs. 

Where is that product now—are you still developing it, is it on the market and, if so, how is it doing? 

Over the last 12 months, we’ve pivoted our approach to focus specifically on supporting patients pre- and post-surgery, providing eight weeks (four before and four after) of guided education modules, exercise classes and support for people who are undergoing laparoscopic surgery for the condition. 

We recently received a $421,300 grant from the Western Australian Future Health Research & Innovation Fund to support continued development and validation of the program. 

We’ve been well supported by gynaecologists and have helped people across Australia and the US. 

Our previous app had been downloaded in 28 countries and had thousands of users. 

How did winning a Pitchfest award help you to progress your product? 

It was great to receive that validation—it has helped our visibility in the pelvic physiotherapy and gynaecology space, and every little bit of funding helps us progress. 

Click here for more information about Matilda Health. 

2025 Physio Pitchfest ready to welcome new ideas 

Physio Pitchfest offers physiotherapists a chance to show off their bright ideas and innovative products and services. 

This will be the fourth time that the PRF will hold Pitchfest, which aims to identify innovative ideas and concepts addressing unmet clinical needs that can advance physiotherapy practice and improve patient wellbeing. 

The recipient of the Pitchfest Judges’ Award takes home $15,000 to put towards further development and marketing of their product or service, and the People’s Choice Award winner will receive $4000. 

Pitchfest will be held at the APA’s Scientific Conference, APASC25, in Adelaide in October. 

Applications close on 31 May so it’s time to get started on yours. 

Click here for further details and application material.