Why former Ramsay boss sees EMVision's portable stroke detection tech as game-changing
Monaghan says EMVision is filling a gap in the market which could improve stroke outcomes
Leading stroke centres in Australia and US taking part in pivotal trial for EMVision's first device, the emu bedside scanner
EMVision's newest high-profile board director Carmel Monaghan believes the company's technology for early detection of stroke has the potential to "transform people's lives".
Monaghan, who has joined the EMVision board as a non-executive director, stepped down this month from Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC) after five years as CEO of Ramsay Australia.
Ramsay is Australia's largest private hospital operator and offers a range of multidisciplinary healthcare services along with extensive operations internationally.
"EMVision is filling a gap in the market, and I've been impressed with the level of research undertaken over the last seven or eight years to bring rapid portable stroke sensing and imaging to point of care, which will really transform people's lives," Monaghan told Stockhead.
"We know that time is brain in stroke diagnostics so getting quick, easy access to that neurodiagnostic solution can lead to a much-improved outcome."
EMVision is currently undertaking a pivotal trial to support US Food and Drug (FDA) de novo (new device) clearance for its first commercial device – the emu bedside scanner – which is designed to rapidly diagnose stroke at the point-of-care.
If granted clearance emu is anticipated to become the predicate device for its second device, First Responder, allowing an expedited 510(k) FDA pathway for the pre-hospital market.
Leading stroke centres in Australia and the US are taking part in the trial including Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, Houston's Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic in Florida.
EMV is also advancing a strategy to drive ongoing device innovation, refine its algorithms and generate data to support potential expansion of indications to include traumatic brain injury (TBI).
This work forms part of EMVision's Continuous Innovation Study, which has received ethics approval to start scanning patients with suspected stroke or TBI at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital and Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital – both high-volume, comprehensive stroke and level-one trauma centres.
Interest in advancing medical innovation
Monaghan brings nearly 30 years of experience across hospital, corporate, and international roles at Ramsay.
Before becoming CEO in 2020, she served as group chief of staff for Ramsay's global operations, gaining deep operational and strategic insight into the healthcare sector in both Australia and overseas.
Monaghan also held the role of group head of marketing and public affairs, where she led the company's marketing, brand and communications strategy during a period of significant global expansion that saw Ramsay become one of the world's leading private healthcare operators.
"I'm passionate about enhancing patient care through emphasising and embedding research and clinical trials into operations," Monaghan said.
"I drove the expansion of clinical trials at Ramsay because I could see how this made a difference to clinical outcomes and people's lives.
"At any one time, we had more than 250 clinical trials being undertaken at Ramsay facilities.
"I am really interested in getting research to implementation and giving people hope and that has been a big passion of mine and what I love about medicine."
Monaghan emphasised that whether it's drugs or devices, the goal is the same – to test and prove their impact, ultimately improving not just mortality rates but quality of life for people living with the burden of disease.
"I've seen it with cancer drugs, robotic technology and that is what attracted me to EMVision.
"It is health innovation with purpose and impact."
World-renowned clinical team
Monaghan noted EMVision's impressive technical, clinical and leadership team. She joins vastly experienced clinicians, medtech and business leaders on the board.
The company's clinical advisory group also includes world-leading clinicians, working to address a strong clinical need.
"EMVision have world-leading neurologists advising them along with huge luminary hospitals in the US like Mayo and Mt Sinnai, which are now scanning and enrolling patients,' she said, noting there are around 12.5 million strokes globally each year with 6.5 million dying annually.
"It is a big burden of disease and one in four people globally over 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime, which has increased 50% over the past 17 years.
"With stroke every minute counts and the outcome is heavily influenced by how quick the treatment is delivered.
"Both the emu and First Responder will fill a gap where CT is just not practical and means the clinician who needs to make a quick treatment decision can do that effectively."
She added that in the future there will also be interest in how the devices could be used to promptly diagnose TBI.
"That is down the track, but it has great potential with studies underway at the John Hunter and the Princess Alexandra Hospital that will allow us to begin evaluating traumatic brain injury using our technology."
Australia's global edge in health innovation
Mongahan said Australia had long punched above its weight in health innovation, producing homegrown companies that have made a global impact.
From hospitals to high-tech medical devices, the nation has cultivated a strong foundation in scientific research and clinical excellence – factors that continue to drive international success.
She pointed to ASX-listed healthcare heavyweights such as Ramsay, blood products leader CSL (ASX:CSL), hearing implant pioneer Cochlear (ASX:COH), diagnostics and imaging specialist Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL), and sleep disorder device manufacturer ResMed (ASX:RMD) as world-class companies.
"I have always admired how fantastic Australia is with healthcare and it's because we have such well-trained doctors and good scientific research," she said.
"They've all been amazing, admirable companies which have been able to successfully transition overseas.
"I think it's exciting how Australia has always performed so strongly in the health field, driven by world-class scientific research and highly trained medical professionals."
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While EMVision is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
- Daily Telegraph
4.3 million Aussies think they can't afford to retire
An alarming number of Austalians fear they won't have enough money in super or other investments to live off once they hit retirement as housing costs chew up a growing share of their income. Polling by comparison group revealed about a fifth of Aussies said they didn't have enough money in their combined assets to fund a retirement. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) recommends $595,000 for singles and $690,000 for couples for a comfortable retirement. In contrast to these figures, Finder states the average Australian has $172,835 in super, with a median much lower at $60,037. MORE: 'Dungeon of stench': Ugly Block snub exposed This comes as much of the population continues to spend a disproportionate amount of their earnings on housing, with about one in five Aussie homeowners directing more than half of their income into mortgage repayments each month. The proportion of homeowners spending more than a third of their income on repayments was even higher, accounting for three quarters of those with a mortgage. The high mortgage expenditure means these homeowners have scant income leftover to store away for retirement. Finder revealed one in five, or 20 per cent of Aussies, believe they will have enough money to get by in retirement but will probably have to cut back on their spending. One in 10 said their super balance was too low but they will have enough in other investments. About one in four, or 27 per cent, said they were not sure if they would have enough money to survive once they they hit retirement. Finder superannuation expert Pascale Helyar-Moray said retirement may be financially out of reach for a large share of Australians. Insufficient super or savings could see millions of Aussies facing financial strain in the later years, she said. 'More and more people are worried that retirement will arrive before the money does, leaving them underprepared,' she said. Ms Helyar-Moray said some Australians assumed they will fall back on the Age Pension, but this wasn't guaranteed. Ms Helyar-Moray urged Aussies to consider playing catch-up by contributing to their super through salary sacrifice to build a bigger safety net. 'You won't be able to access your super until retirement, so it's wise to ease into it – $100 a month may not sound like much, but it can make a real impact over time.' Ms Helyar-Moray added Aussies need to make sure their super fund is not charging them excessive fees and providing good returns. 'Make sure that you aren't stuck in a poorly performing fund and check regularly that your employer is paying your 12 per cent Superannuation Guarantee contributions on time.'

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Dumb way' Australians measure their superannuation balances as expert shares how to hit $1 million by the time you retire
For many Australians, a million in super has been a dream scenario. But it was more than was really necessary. Most Aussies who are retired never even got close and are absolutely fine. But for you? The person who isn't going to retire for ages? It is possible. It's actually even likely, if you are young enough. About half of all people aged 30 will end up with a million in super. But which half? A million dollars in super might be pretty nice to have in the future. Because the cost of living keeps going up. If inflation is high enough, a million dollars might be enough to buy Weet-Bix and keep the lights on! In this story we're going to look at who has what, and who is likely to end up with a million dollars in super. And we are going to look at some amazing graphs. No more averages please When I talk about super, I give the full story. Not just the averages. Averages are, in this context, dumb. Because almost nobody is the average. Super is not like height, where we are all fairly similar and an average is meaningful. When it comes to super, some people are like lego people and some are bigger than giraffes. The following charts break super up by age group. They also break your age group into 20 groups, from the zeroes on the left (no super) to the superheroes on the right (loads of super), and everyone else in the middle, in chunks of 5 per cent. This is useful because it shows you not just the average for your age, but where you stand compared to your peers. You can find yourself in the following charts (there's one for men and one for women) 1. First find your age group, 2. Then find the tallest column that is less than your super balance. That's your column. 3. See where your column stands. If it is the tallest you're in the top 5 per cent, second tallest top 10 per cent, etc. If your bar is near the right side, you're near the top. If your bar is near the left, you're closer to the bottom. Each bar is 5 per cent of that age group. The height of the bar is the minimum dollar amount to be in that group. My super balance is just below the second bar for my age group. Which means I'm in the third group – the top 15 per cent for my age. Not too bad, not amazing. My holidays in retirement might be a week at the coast not a month of cruising the Mediterranean, but at least I should get some holidays! Where will I end up? So … who is likely to end up with a million in super? If we make some simplifying assumptions – say everyone puts in $9000 a year and gets 7 per cent returns, we see the following. The charts are the same as the ones above, but I've coloured red the people who are able to hit a million by age 60. For women, we see about 20 per cent of those aged 35 to 39 will hit a million by age 60. Those whose balances are over $120,000 now are on their way to seven figures. For women under 30, all of them can hit a million. If they put $9000 a year away for 30 more years and get 7 per cent returns the magic of compounding will get them over the line. The following charts are for men. More men aged 35 to 39 will hit a million in super by age 60 – about 30 per cent of them. Again, all men under 30 can hit a million in super by age 60. In reality not everyone under 30 now will get there by 60. People who have no super at age 30 are not likely to start saving $9000 a year. Putting $9000 a year away is a lot for a person making below average income in 2025, so that assumption is a bit dubious, on the other hand some of these people will still be working in 30 years and at that point $9000 a year won't be much. The above charts are best thought of as a simplified model of what's possible. Should you worry about your super? Obviously this is just a projection – a guess, estimate, forecast. If you get promoted to manager or act super frugal you can end up with more than the projection. If someone drops a steel beam on your head or your business goes broke, you end up with less. And if you fall in a fiery volcano the day before your 60th birthday it won't matter at all. Super works only if civilisation still exists at retirement. And the longer the time frame you're looking at the harder it is to predict the future. Eighteen year olds aren't thinking about retirement and honestly good on them. Go have fun. Also, every so often history dishes up a big financial event that crashes markets and destroys wealth. If that arrives in your last five years before retirement, a lot of your good work in saving hard can be undone. The assumption I've made – of 7 per cent returns steadily each year – could come to look ridiculously optimistic. For anyone about to retire and stressing about the cost of living in retirement there is comfort in the knowledge that the pension is going to be there. Politicians have raised the pension age to 67 but no further rises are planned. If you can stretch your working life and savings to age 67 then the pension ($1051 per fortnight for a single) will carry you afterwards, and you needn't worry about super at all!

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Save $284 on this Dyson Airwrap Multi-styler and Dryer
The winter mid-year slump is well and truly here, and if you're feeling a little restless stuck indoors, you're not alone. But if you can't quite afford a Europe getaway with the rest of your Instagram feed, a little self-care goes a long way. And right now, the crazy good Dyson Airwrap multi-styler and dryer is a huge $284 off, down to just $565. What makes this deal even better? The brand new Dyson Airwrap Co-anda 2x is about to launch on July 30 for a whopping $999. While it comes with a few upgraded features, you're essentially saving nearly 50 per cent with this version. The best-selling device dries, curls, shapes, smooths and hides flyaways all with no heat damage. Featuring six different attachments for every style and hair type, it seriously is the hair tool to end all hair tools. checkout editor, Hannah Paine, previously tested the Airwrap and said it's a 'great investment' and '100 per cent worth it'. 'Plus, just the mere fact that the Airwrap can replace a blow dryer, straightening iron and curling tongs makes it worth purchasing, especially if you're someone who styles their hair frequently,' she said. Others also agree. The device has over 41,000 five-star reviews on the Dyson website plus thousands of social videos and posts. 'It was also really simple to use and I picked up the techniques needed for each attachment quite quickly thanks to video tutorials. It's easily the best, most versatile hair tool! Don't know what I'd do without it,' wrote one very impressed customer. Another wrote, 'Brought my Airwrap two weeks ago. Been looking at it for years trying to justify the cost then thought I'd just buy it. Wish I'd done it sooner, easy to use, great attachments, dries my hair so well & smooth. Definitely worth the cost.' So if you've been thinking about it, follow this reviewer's advice and buy now. Sign up to our weekly shopping newsletter to get all the best deals, shopping tips and guides delivered straight to your inbox.