The Australian Health Design Council (AHDC) Research Subcommittee, chaired by Dr Sanaz Memari, is pleased to award this year’s Research Scholarship to Maryke Laubscher.

Jury Statement

Maryke distinguished herself through a comparative analysis of all applications, which were of a consistently high standard. Her submission stood out for its strong interdisciplinary foundation, exemplary supervisor endorsement, and the clarity and rigour of her methodological approach. Her research aligns closely with AHDC’s commitment to advancing design-led inquiry in health facility planning, with a study focus that is both timely and highly innovative.

Maryke Laubscher is a PhD candidate at Monash University’s Design Health Collab, undertaking an industry‑sponsored doctoral project in partnership with Micro‑X. Her professional background spans industrial design, healthcare technology development, and interdisciplinary research across defence, clinical imaging, and design practice. She has contributed to major national and international projects, including deployable imaging systems, mobile CT technologies, and human‑centred medical device design.

Her thesis, “Designing Deployable Healthcare Equipment: In‑Field Surgical Scanner for Austere Environments,” investigates how advanced imaging capabilities can be purpose‑designed for disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and combat operations. This research addresses a critical gap in deployed surgical care, exploring how imaging systems can be configured in real time to respond to changing operational demands, environmental constraints, and clinical workflows. Her work contributes new knowledge to the design of adaptable healthcare technologies and highlights broader implications for future deployed health facilities, models of care, and imaging‑integrated surgical environments.

On behalf of the AHDC, we congratulate Maryke Laubscher on this achievement.

Project

Designing Deployable Healthcare Equipment: In‑Field Surgical Scanner for Austere Environments

Maryke Laubscher’s research investigates how advanced imaging technologies can be purpose-designed for disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and combat operations. Existing intraoperative imaging systems are built for fixed hospital environments and are not suited to the constraints of deployed surgical care, which is often delivered in temporary or tented facilities. Through qualitative research, observational studies, and iterative prototyping, her project explores how imaging systems can be designed for denied conditions and how their introduction reshapes surgical workflows, clinical decision‑making, and the configuration of care facilities. Her work contributes new knowledge to the future design of adaptable healthcare technologies and imaging‑integrated surgical environments.

Bio

Maryke Laubscher is a PhD candidate at Monash University’s Design Health Collab, undertaking an industry‑sponsored doctoral project in partnership with Micro‑X. She is an industrial designer and design researcher whose work spans healthcare technology development, medical imaging innovation, defence‑health collaboration, and interdisciplinary design practice. Her professional experience includes major national and international projects focused on deployable imaging systems, mobile CT technologies, and human‑centred medical device design. Maryke’s research and design work have been recognised through multiple awards, including the MIME Women in STEMM Student Leadership Award, the Good Design Award (Best in Class Design Research), and the MADA Dean’s Award for Excellence in Enterprising Research.