Olivia Humphreys with a model showcasing the device. Image: James Dyson Award
“The genius of Athena isn’t just in increasing access; it’s in taking the patient out of the clinic,” said one of the award judges.
Recent University of Limerick graduate Olivia Humphreys has won the 2024 James Dyson Award for Ireland for an innovative design to help cancer patients suffering hair loss.
The idea for her invention, a mobile scalp-cooling device, came as she witnessed her mother’s struggle with the disease in 2019.
Many cancer patients suffer from chemotherapy-induced hair loss. While many cancer drugs can cause hair thinning and partial hair loss, chemotherapy drugs are the most likely reason a cancer patient suffers from complete hair loss, or alopecia.
Humphrey’s device, called Athena, works by utilising low-cost thermoelectric semiconductors called peltiers that cool a tank of water, which is then circulated around the head in the headpiece. Cooling the blood vessels in the scalp can limit blood flow to the area, reducing the amount of chemotherapy treatment that reaches the patient’s head. This helps protect the hair follicles from drugs.
The Athena device is also portable and battery-operated, making it more cost-effective and efficient than hospital models.
Current hospital products require patients to arrive 30 minutes early and stay for 90 minutes after infusion for pre and post scalp cooling. With Athena, patients can manage this aspect of treatment from the comfort of their own homes.
The hospital models also cost around €40,000 and need to be constantly plugged in. In contrast, Athena costs around €1,000 and, at full battery power, can run for 3.5 hours, allowing the patient to commute to and from the hospital while cooling and move around during infusion.
“Hair is a deeply rooted symbol of our identity. Losing it can be one of the most difficult side effects of chemotherapy,” said James Gilchrist, lead design engineer at Dyson and member of the judging panel.
“Currently, only eight of Ireland’s 26 hospitals offer scalp cooling as a treatment, partly due to the expense of the equipment and the additional time required to deliver the treatment.
“The genius of Athena isn’t just in increasing access; it’s in taking the patient out of the clinic … That’s not just a win for patients but also for clinics, enabling them to treat more patients each day.”
Humphreys has been offered an internship with Galway-based Luminate Medical where she will work on researching and developing Athena further.
As the national winner, she receives €5,800 and will go on to compete in the international competition in November with a prize of €35,000 on offer.
Last year, Piotr Tłuszcz won the international James Dyson Award for the best humanitarian entry with the Life Chariot, a light ambulance that is safer for a casualty to travel in than the boot of a car, to help medical evacuation teams in challenging terrains.
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