Olivia Humphreys fitting her device, Athena, on a model. Image: James Dyson Award
The winning product dramatically reduces the price and increases the portability of scalp cooling technology for cancer patients.
Olivia Humphreys has become the first Irish global winner of the James Dyson Award for the ‘medical devices’ category for her product Athena – a mobile scalp-cooling invention for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Humphreys, a University of Limerick graduate, qualified for the international leg of the student design competition after winning its national segment in September of this year.
Walking away with a €38,000 prize, Humphreys said that her mother inspired this journey, adding that this win opens up new opportunities for her as an innovator.
“I’m incredibly proud of the hard work, ambition and commitment that went into creating Athena,” said Humphreys.
“The recognition from the James Dyson Award validates not just my efforts, but also the stories and insights shared by people who’ve experienced cancer treatment.”
The idea for Athena came as Humphreys witnessed her mother’s struggle with cancer in 2019.
An estimated 65pc cancer patients suffer from chemotherapy-induced hair loss as the drugs reach the patient’s head through blood vessels.
Cooling the blood vessels in the scalp can limit blood flow to the area. However, the treatment is expensive and sparsely available in Ireland.
Senator Pauline O’Reilly, in a motion last year asked the Government to extend scalp cooling technology to more hospitals. She said that 19 hospitals in the country have no facility for hair-loss treatment caps.
Humphreys, in conversation with SiliconRepublic.com, said that “Athena addresses a significant need in Ireland, where scalp cooling is available in only seven hospitals,”
Using inexpensive thermoelectric components, Athena circulates cold water through a lightweight silicone headpiece – helping protect hair follicles from drugs.
The device is approximately 40 times more cost-effective than hospital models, while being portable and battery-operated, allowing patients to cool their scalp at home or during their commute to the hospital, saving time.
Currently, hospitals require patients to arrive 30 minutes early and stay for 90 minutes after infusion for pre and post scalp cooling.
Athena will allow patients “more freedom, reclaiming some of their day, and also free up valuable chemotherapy chair time for other patients to receive treatment,” said Prof Mark Beresford, a consultant oncologist at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.
Sir James Dyson, the inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner and the founder of Dyson Award, said: “I haven’t had cancer, but members of my family have had cancer and hair loss is a particularly depressing and debilitating part of chemotherapy treatment.
Athena is “a low-cost alternative available to everybody, with the potential to make a real difference,” he said.
Liz Yeates, CEO of the Marie Keating Foundation, and a cancer survivor herself said: “When I went through cancer, there was no option for me to use a scalp cooling device.
“This device offers new hope, and it could make a real difference for those facing chemotherapy in the future.”
After her regional win earlier this year, Humphreys was offered an internship with Galway-based Luminate Medical, where she is working on researching and developing Athena further.
A team of two from the Singapore University of Technology and Design won this year’s James Dyson Award for the sustainability category with an eco-friendly, nature-inspired weather forecasting sensor.
Shane Kyi Hla Win and Danial Sufiyan Bin Shaiful created AirXeed Radiosonde as a response to the almost 48 tonnes of e-waste created by 1,300 upper-air weather stations, or weather balloons around the world.
Radiosondes are single-use instruments that measure temperature and water vapour vertically through the atmosphere. However, when weather balloons reach significant heights surrounded by low pressure – they burst, causing the radiosondes to descend onto Earth with atmospheric data.
It is estimated that weather stations release at least two single-use radiosondes per day – or a million radiosondes a year, creating costs of around $190m.
The team used the natural autorotation of maple seeds in their design to allow for a spiral descent, reducing speed and increasing the likelihood of the radiosonde landing in an accessible location.
The AirXeed sensor also aims to increase the amount of atmospheric data these devices collect, improving quality of forecasting.
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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