Product Design and Technology graduate Olivia Humphreys has scooped the top James Dyson Foundation Design Award for Ireland, winning €5800.
Olivia’s investion, Athena, is a portable, thermoelectric battery-operated scalp cooling device for people undergoing chemotherapy treatment which is more cost effective and timesaving than hospital models without compromising on the quality.
Patients can manage the scalp-cooling process themselves- Athena consists of a carry case and a cooling helmet and aims to provide a more accessible, yet effective option for scalp cooling and enables people to spend less time in the hospital on a chemotherapy infusion day.
Limerick woman Olivia Humphreys (24) witnessed how upsetting it is for patients who face losing their hair during chemotherapy when her mother went through it in 2019.
65-99% of patients going through chemotherapy will be affected by hair loss*. Scalp cooling can help prevent this by shrinking the blood vessels and is done by applying cold temperatures to the scalp during chemotherapy treatment. Scalp cooling is intended to help prevent hair loss, known as chemotherapy-induced alopecia, for people undergoing chemotherapy. It works by limiting blood flow to the scalp. This can reduce the amount of the chemo treatment that reaches your head, protecting your hair follicles from the chemo drugs.
Olivia noticed the shortage of scalp-cooling machines aimed to minimise hair loss in the hospital her mother was in, as well as how limited the existing solutions were.
Current products require the patient 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 themselves and seamlessly integrate into an infusion appointment with no extra time or attention required, using this device from the comfort of their own homes.
Athena works by utilising low-cost thermoelectric semiconductors called peltiers, and these cool a tank of water, which circulates the cold water around the head with the smartly designed headpiece. The battery powered device allows patients to bring the device home and control it themselves, making it more accessible to the consumer market.
The estimated cost for Athena would be around €1000, according to Olivia Humphreys, compared to industry machines which come in at around €40,000 or more. Weighing around 3kg, Athena is more portable than the current leading products on the market, which use refrigeration technology requiring constant plugged in power. Athena, 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 for bathroom visits, etc.
Speaking about Athena, Olivia Humphreys said: “I decided to build a working prototype to test the capabilities of the Peltier semiconductors. Using a Peltier computer cooling fan system, a diaphragm pump, my mum’s old suitcase, and my dad’s plane battery, I was able to create a strong proof of concept to gather valuable feedback to develop the concept. Following this, I focused on the product’s form, creating cardboard and foam models and determining functionality aspects and touchpoints to ensure the best user experience. Ultimately, I arrived at my final model, Athena, which was crafted using SolidWorks 3D CAD modelling.”