The winner of the James Dyson Award in 2009 was AUTOMIST by Yusuf Muhammad and Paul Thomas.
In recognition of their victory, they have won £10,000 to develop their design. £10,000 will also be awarded to their university department to support the development of future projects by other promising students.
Read about the winning entry, as well as the fifteen international finalists, here.
2009 Finalist
Detecting Defective Mattresses. UK
Problem:
A breach in the waterproof cover on a hospital mattress can be invisible. Currently, mattresses are hand checked for breaches by staff who remove mattress covers to examine the foam core. As most hospitals only do this once a year, there is an increased risk of cross infection. There was an obvious need for a system that indicated when a mattress had been contaminated.
Development:
After holding a workshop with healthcare professionals, the designers chose to develop an indicating solution that would clearly show contamination.
Solution:
Working with a manufacturer of mattress fabric, they designed prototypes painted with hydrochromic inks to show if liquid had penetrated the mattress cover by permanently changing colour. This makes it immediately obvious when the mattress has been contaminated and needs replacing.
2009 Finalist - Saha