Blackwood Design Award winners receive prizes for their healthcare innovations
The winners of the Blackwood Design Awards, an annual celebration of the best innovations which help disabled people live a more fulfilling life, have been presented with their prizes at a ceremony held in Edinburgh.
Announced on the 30th of May 2018, the winners included a dementia app, glasses to help visually impaired athletes, and a smart glove and pegboard to help the rehabilitation process after stroke or injury.
Sara McDermid from the Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling collected the award for ‘Best Collaborative Project by a university or institute of higher learning’ for its Iridis app, which helps the user to improve living spaces for those with dementia.
“It’s fantastic to get this recognition and we believe we’ve achieved something really quite special with Iridis and have big plans for it going forward,” she said. “I think it’s a great example of how universities and business can work well together.
“We’re looking to develop a range of products within the Iridis range across a range of sectors including housebuilding so that we can start to future-proof buildings and help people with dementia.”
The ‘Best New Concept’ category was won by Andrew Taylor with his specially-designed guidance system for visually impaired athletes which works in a similar way to parking sensors using sound to guide runners round the track.
Andrew commented: “It’s amazing to have won this award especially when you consider the quality of the other entrants.
“It’s very much in the prototype stages at the moment but I’m working hard to develop it and make it more robust while developing the technology it uses even further.”
While both Sara and Andrew collected their awards in person, South Korean company Neofect had its award sent out after winning the top prize in both the ‘Best Aids and Equipment’ and ‘Best Accessible Technology’ categories for its RAPAEL Smart Glove and Smart Pegboard, both of which can be used in the rehabilitation and treatment following serious injury or stroke.
Past Award winner Grant Douglas, creator of the S’up spoon which helps people with shaky hands to eat, has seen widespread growth following his Award success.
Max Brown, Chair of the Blackwood Board, said: “It was magnificent to welcome our winners to our head office and celebrate their talents with them.
“No matter how detailed or simplistic the entries to the Blackwood Design Awards are, they make a huge difference in helping those living with disabilities to live more independently, which is why we encourage any budding inventor to enter the competition.
“It’s an incredible way to champion the innovative ideas that designers have and helps to act as a platform for them to go on further and develop their products in future.”
Edinburgh-based charity, Blackwood, has more than 1,500 homes throughout the country and helps those who are disabled, elderly or with sensory impairments to live more independently.
