A device developed by Clemson University bioengineering students that enables diabetics to check their blood sugar at a reduced cost is among this year’s US winners of the James Dyson Award.
The competition, which operates in 20 countries around the world, asks entrants to design something that solves a problem.
GlucoSense is a low-cost blood sugar monitoring device that uses strips made in an inkjet printer for people who can’t afford conventional test strips.
The device began as a research project but grew into a business called Accessible Diagnotics supported by Greenville businessmen John Warner and Brian McSharry.
The Clemson students – Kayla Gainey Wilson, Tyler Ovington and Alex Devon – came up with the idea while working on a project to improve conditions for people in Tanzania. It was supported by Clemson’s Creative Inquiry program.
The Dyson Award judges, Andrew Liszewski of Gizmodo and Kent Frankovich, a past US winner and cofounder of Revolights Inc. to increase night-time bicycle safety, called the GlucoSense concept “cool.”
“Storing enzymes in developing countries isn’t easy,” they wrote. “North American people would love it too. Size of problem is huge.”
Wilson, a type 1 diabetic who is a PhD student at Clemson and chief technology officer of the new company, said she understands how critical glucose readings are to treating diabetes.
Controlling blood sugar is important because uncontrolled diabetes can lead to complications such as kidney disease, blindness, stroke and amputations, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Wilson said she was excited to be in the among the US winners, especially because the competition is so general and not health-care specific.
“It’s nice to be honored when you’re competing against so many different fields,” she told The Greenville News. “The fact that this is getting so much attention shows there’s a really big need and a lot of people around the world with diabetes who need help. I’m honored to be part of that solution.”
GlucoSense has already won a number of awards, including a $2,500 prize at the SC BIO Annual Conference in Greenville.
The Dyson Award is an international design competition open to all university students majoring in engineering.
First place in the US went to students at Western Michigan University who developed a low-cost neonatal ventilator. GlucoSense was a runner-up, along with a hand splint for burn victims designed by Stanford University students.
The US winners are now eligible for the international competition, whose winners will be announced Nov. 10. That brings a $45,000 prize as well as $7,500 for their schools
ref:greenvilleonline
