Jun 22, 2026 – 5.00amCognitive scientist Celia Harris is stepping outside the world of research and into her first capital raising as an entrepreneur. Her goal is to raise enough capital to bring her innovative home assistance device for dementia patients to a waiting list of more than 500 people.Harris, an associate professor at Western Sydney University’s MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, is the chief executive and co-founder of MemoryAid, a gadget that resembles an old-school telephone atop a tablet. It’s designed to help people with dementia maintain their independence for as long as possible by allowing them to stay connected through video calls and personalised audio reminders.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Tess BennettTechnology reporterTess Bennett was a technology reporter at The Australian Financial Review.Fetching latest articles
With a wealth of talent, the west is Sydney’s medtech capital
From dementia aids to “kidney pyjamas”, the Westmead Innovation Quarter is housing a cluster of start-ups aiming to scale and commercialise medical discoveries.
TL;DRAI
Cognitive scientist Celia Harris is fundraising for MemoryAid, a dementia device with 500+ waitlist users, combining video calls and audio reminders. Elder-care AI signals rising venture interest as demographics and healthcare economics drive B2B/B2C SaaS adoption in medtech.
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