Woman wins award for invention to help cancer patients prevent hair loss

An woman has won an award for her invention to help patients prevent hair loss during chemotherapy after being inspired by her mother’s cancer battle.

Olivia Humphreys, 24, from Limerick, has won the medical category of the James Dyson Award for Athena, an affordable and portable scalp-cooling device for patients going through chemotherapy. The device is expected to be a fraction of the cost of existing technologies and can be carried around, meaning patients spend less time on hospital wards.

Around 65-99% of patients going through chemotherapy will be affected by chemo-induced hair loss. Cooling the scalp before, during and after chemotherapy can mitigate hair loss and help hair grow back faster and stronger, but it can be painful for patients and is limited due to extremely high costs. Scalp cooling is available in eight hospitals in Ireland, but is expensive and can require additional staff to fit the equipment and keep patients in for longer.

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Ms Humphreys came up with her thermoelectric invention after her mother Vicky, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, began losing her hair during her treatment.

Ms Humphreys said: “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.”

Battery-powered Athena, weighing