Tech-Quity in
Cardiac Imaging
A Three-Tiered Education and Innovation Program to establish the Perich Centre as Australia's national hub for advanced cardiac imaging, training, and health technology equity.
Led by Dr Sharon Kay in partnership with Mayo Clinic, St Bartholomew's, and the University of Minnesota Visible Heart Lab.
Rural & Remote Australia
Specialist visits can cost patients up to $10,000 in travel costs
A Nation Divided by
Geography
Australia faces a structural cardiac health crisis. An extreme shortage of cardiac sonographers and physiologists — concentrated almost entirely in metropolitan centres — leaves rural, regional, and remote communities dangerously underserved. The result is a widening health equity gap that costs lives.
Time-critical cardiac conditions — acute cardiomyopathies, decompensated valvular disease, and paediatric heart defects — demand rapid, expert imaging. Without local capability, patients face delays measured not in hours but in days, and travel costs that can exceed $10,000 per specialist visit.
FIFO (fly-in-fly-out) physicians create burnout and zero continuity of care
No standardisation of physician training in cardiac imaging and advanced cardiac physiology practitioners
Rural clinicians lack accredited remote supervision and upskilling pathways
A Three-Tiered Platform
for Tech-Quity
Three complementary programs that together create a distributed learning network connecting metropolitan expertise with rural, regional, and remote communities — ensuring every clinician, regardless of location, can access world-class cardiac training.
Expert Supervision,
Anywhere
RemoteUS is not a concept — it is a proven, operating platform. After 9 years of international deployment and 12 months as an active Australian pilot, it is ready to scale. The platform enables real-time remote mentoring with HIC accreditation, AI-assisted image acquisition guidance, and structured training pathways for regional clinicians.
By training a local workforce to proctor remotely, the Perich Centre will permanently reduce Australia's dependence on the FIFO physician model — eliminating the burnout, discontinuity of care, and inequity that define the current status quo.
The National
Training Standard
Australia has no standardisation of physician training in cardiac imaging and advanced cardiac physiology practitioners. This program fills that gap with short, stackable micro-credentials that align with the UK, Germany, France, and USA — delivered through a hybrid model that removes the barrier of geography.
Trained advanced physiologists can acquire salient datasets in rural clinic settings, transmitting them to tertiary hospitals for remote analysis — eliminating costly patient transfers and enabling same-quality diagnostic outcomes regardless of location.
Hold the Heart
in Your Hands
The Visual Heart Lab will develop a library of over 300 3D-printed cardiac pathologies — allowing clinicians, trainees, surgeons, and patients to physically interact with complex anatomical models. In collaboration with the University of Minnesota Visible Heart Lab, this will be the most comprehensive cardiac model library in the Southern Hemisphere.
Spatial computing, VR/AR/XR technologies, and immersive displays will unify extended reality visualisation with AI — accelerating skill acquisition, improving surgical planning, and creating tangible demonstrations of research impact for donors and stakeholders.
Why This. Why Now.
Why Perich.
This program does not just align with the Perich Centre's strategy — it advances two of its four Board-approved Flagship Programs simultaneously, while complementing existing Ingham Institute research platforms.
The Advanced Skills program delivers exactly what the Perich Centre's micro-credentialling flagship envisions: flexible, stackable professional education for time-poor clinicians, with a scalable digital footprint and revenue stream.
RemoteUS and the Visual Heart Lab create direct MedTech development opportunities: robotic ultrasound systems, AI-assisted imaging guidance, simulation-based training via VR/AR/XR, and 3D printing of complex cardiac pathologies.
Upcoming Milestones — 2026
Announcing the new micro-credentials program at Australia's premier echocardiography conference
Full-day didactic and hands-on workshop with Dr Paul A. Iaizzo, founder of the University of Minnesota Visible Heart Lab
Advanced Heart Failure Devices program day with Mayo Clinic — hybrid co-funded with industry sponsorship
A World-Class
Collaboration
Program Director Dr Sharon Kay has spent years building an international network of clinical and academic partners across Australia, New Zealand, North America, Europe, and Asia. The Perich Centre will become a recognised portal to world experts across a multitude of cardiac subspecialty fields.
Dr Sharon Kay
Cardiac Sonographer, Educator & Program Director — Perich Centre, Ingham Institute
Certificate of Appreciation for Educational Excellence — Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN
Awarded for selfless contributions to the training of critical care fellows and residents at Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN. Recognised for dedication to establishing foundational educational content in Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS), significantly enhancing program skills and patient care standards.
Why This Matters for the Proposal
Dr Kay's methods have already been validated at Mayo Clinic — one of the world's top-ranked medical institutions. This is not an untested concept; it is an approach endorsed by global leaders in cardiac care.
The same Point-of-Care Ultrasound training framework that earned Mayo Clinic recognition is the foundation of the RemoteUS and Micro-Credentials programs proposed for the Perich Centre.
Bringing this internationally recognised expertise home to South Western Sydney creates a direct pipeline from global best practice to Australia's most underserved communities.
The Opportunity
Is Now
Housing this program within the Perich Centre is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish a national and international hub for advanced cardiac imaging training, innovation, and tech-enabled health equity — with a modest investment and a clear path to sustainable revenue.
It is recommended that Ingham Institute:
Confirm Perich Centre as the approved site for a national — and later international — hub for advanced imaging training and innovation.
Dedicate program management and administration resources under Perich Centre to support establishment and initial delivery, and set up of the Visual Heart Lab.
Create a designated home hub for the existing RemoteUS training program.
Work with Dr Sharon Kay and team to operationalise the program in Q2 of 2026.
"With a modest initial investment, this program has the potential to deliver significant educational impact, international collaboration, and sustainable revenue — while advancing the Perich Centre's mission of technology-enabled health equity."
— Tech-Quity in Cardiac Imaging Proposal, Ingham Institute