Bangalore-based engineering students win national round of James Dyson Award 2022

NEW DELHI: James Dyson Award 2022 has named Bangalore-based engineering students, Arjun B S and Ajay Krishnan A as "National Winners" for their invention EpiSHOT, a reusable epinephrine autoinjector for patients experiencing a severe and potentially fatal systemic allergic reaction that happens suddenly after contact with an allergen.

The winners of the James Dyson Award 2022, Arjun and Ajay, will receive Rs 4.6 lakhs in prize money and an opportunity to represent India in the International round, where the final winners will be selected by James Dyson. The prize money will be used by the national winners to further modify EpiSHOT for commercialization. "This step will improve the manufacturability, reliability, and portability of EpiSHOT while lowering the device's cost," the statement from James Dyson Award said.

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The Winner: EpiSHOT

EpiSHOT is a single hand-operated autoinjector designed to treat life-threatening conditions including anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a frequent medical emergency that happens minutes or even seconds after exposure to various widely encountered objects including peanuts, bees, and other things. As a result, EpiSHOT serves as an immediate treatment for Anaphylaxis.

Addressing the challenge to develop EpiSHOT, Arjun said, “Allergies are prevalent among the Indian population, but no one believes that a simple allergic reaction could be life-threatening if not treated immediately. India, till-date, does not have an immediate solution to anaphylaxis, which shows preponderance for the age group 20 – 40 years. Due to existing market monopolies, huge price tags of single-use autoinjectors and safety concerns for self-use, there remains a greater need for a safe and cost-efficient solution. EpiSHOT aims to bridge this gap."

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Explaining the EpiSHOT design, Ajay said, “The design of EpiSHOT underwent multiple design iterations, with a few iterations made as prototypes. From adding a safety cap to the simple reusable single-hand-operated autoinjector to prevent accidental injection, to adding an automatic needle retraction mechanism to the design, to redesigning the syringe cartridge to prevent exposure to bodily fluids and more, multiple additions were made to the baseline design. More than a hundred tests were done on tissue phantoms to ensure complete safety of use.”

The James Dyson Award 2022 featured young and bright engineers with innovative ideas. The international shortlist will be announced on October 12 and the international winners will be announced on November 16.