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Groundbreaking cancer treatment may allow sufferers to keep their hair at little expense
By John Smith •
Updated: 13 Nov 2024 • 17:53 • 2 minutes read
Cancer can affect anyone and whilst in many cases it can be controlled or even cured, one of the main way of fighting it is by long periods of sometime debilitating chemotherapy, which often involves in the loss of hair by the patient.
Irish designer and inventor wins James Dyson International Award for creating a cheap way of fighting hair loss through chemotherapy
This year, one of the most exciting ways of fighting hair loss has been chosen by the James Dyson Awards and Irish designer and inventor will receive €36,000 for her creation Athena which helps patients prevent hair loss.
The 24-year-old Irish student from Limerick Olivia Humphreys came up with the concept in order to try to help her mother from losing her hair whilst being treated for cancer using chemotherapy and won the Irish Award, before moving on to win the International Award in November.
Up until now, cooling the scalp before, during and after chemotherapy can control 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 with just eight hospitals in Ireland currently offering this service.
Athena tackles the problem in a completely different way, using pieces of equipment found at home for the prototype she was able to demonstrate that this concept could work.
Mobile cooling system for different head sizes at 1/20th of current cost for less effective method
Now it has been sophisticated to offer a safe and generally successful option consisting of a cooling system, carry case, special helmet that fits different head shapes.
It weighs around three kilos and is portable, with batteries lasting around 3.5 hours which is a massive advance, but equally importantly this version should cost around €1,000 compared to bulky alternatives that start at €20,000.
James Dyson praised winner Olivia Humphreys for Athena s potential
James Dyson praised the winner saying “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.
“You can freeze your scalp, which you have to do in special facilities, but these aren’t always available, are costly and it’s very painful.
“You can wear it while you travel, you can wear it in the car to and from hospital, you can use it at home – it’s a low-cost alternative available to everybody, with the potential to make a real difference.”
Ms Humphreys is of course delighted with this important recognition which she has dedicated to her mother.
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Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica.
Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene.
Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development.
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