INNOVATION CORNER: A BRILLIANT IDEA

Brunel University final-year student Claire Dunne may have only won third prize in an enterprise and innovation competition, but her intelligent wristband has got the medical community talking.

Ms Dunne has designed a reusable intelligent identity device - it looks like a watch - called Brilliant that should eliminate patients being given the incorrect medicine.

When patients arrive at hospital, a chip in the wristband is programmed with the patient's details and drug requirements. This module also contains a sensor to scan medicines. The patient's details are displayed on two screens built into the module, which update when the drug is touched against the sensor.

The bracelet works in conjunction with electronic chips, called iButtons, attached to packaging for medicines.

When the drugs packaging is touched against the sensor on the wristband, Brilliant recognises whether the drug is correct for the patient or not.

Nurses can then look on the wristband's display to see if the correct drug has been selected.

Brilliant's chip also logs the date and time each occasion a dose is given. This data can be downloaded onto a computer at the end of the patient's stay in hospital and used for billing and auditing.

Brilliant was tested at St Anthony's private hospital in Surrey, where ward sister Helen Groome is a clear fan.

'Claire's design is a really practical use of electronic tagging in medical equipment design, ' she says.

'Brilliant will give an extra level of security to both staff and patients - ensuring that the correct drug is being administered at the correct time.' Medication errors play a part in more than 1,200 deaths a year. This often happens because of drugs having similar packaging, illegible handwriting or incorrect identification of the patient.

Ms Dunne is trying to find an industry sponsor. If you're wondering what pipped her to the post in that Reliance Prize for Enterprise and Innovation in June, first spot went to a warning light designed to be attached to traffic cones and second to a clothing storage system.

cl_dunne@yahoo. co. uk