On winning the James Dyson Award

The national winners of the James Dyson Award 2022 on creating EpiSHOT, a reusable epinephrine auto-injector

Allergies are not unknown to the public. Often, people are exposed to some allergen from food, drug, pollen, or other sources that surround us daily. Although severe allergic responses such as anaphylaxis are not commonly reported, they are not absent. The most common way to cope is to use epinephrine injection, preferably using an auto-injector. This is a device loaded with the drug that a patient can inject themselves with when they suspect an allergic response.

Due to existing market monopolies, huge price tags of single-time-use auto-injectors and safety concerns for self-use, there remains a greater need for a safe and cost-efficient solution. EpiSHOT aims to bridge this gap. The challenge of developing this device was given to us by Dr. Paramesh H., a paediatric pulmonologist who had a challenging anaphylaxis experience. Our focus is on developing innovative technological solutions for unmet clinical challenges through research in Science and Engineering.

The design and development of a reusable auto-injector came with a unique set of challenges compared to a conventional use-and-throw auto-injector. Using 3D modelling and rapid prototyping, we realised a reliable working prototype through multiple design iterations over a year and a half. Once the design was robust, we filed patent applications to protect our intellectual properties and started understanding the steps to commercialisation. We found that self-funding may not be a viable step ahead. We actively began exploring opportunities that can enhance the visibility of our innovation among the public and potentially lead to collaborations and partnerships.

This led us to enter the James Dyson Award, which encourages students to design something that solves a problem using simple Engineering principles. Being announced as the National Winners has boosted our confidence to take this life-saving tool to the next stage and the technology’s visibility among the public. We believe it is important to popularise the technology to obtain support from potential collaborators and motivate young students, engineers, and designers of the country to come up with solutions for relevant societal problems. With the prize money, we aim to commercialise this product by partnering with a start-up, incubated at SID, IISc Bangalore. We are looking at potential pharmaceutical partners to use the technology for allergic and other drug delivery application and also developing similar technologies compatible with intradermal (DermiSHOT), subcutaneous, and intramuscular injections.

The writers work in the Biomedical and Electronic Engineering Systems Laboratory (BEES LAB), at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.