First-hand innovation

Kylie Simonds – from New Haven in Connecticut – learned at first-hand about the challenges involved in being constantly tied to an IV pole during 46 weeks of chemotherapy treatment following a diagnosis of connective tissue cancer 3 years ago. She found it hard to use the IV poles. As she explained in an interview with WTNH News, “I always tripped over all the wires. It was hard to walk around, and I always had to have someone push it for me because I was kind a weak when I was in chemo”.

Her innovative solution, iPack, picked up four prizes from this year’s Connecticut Invention Convention; including the Patent Award, which allows the backpack to be submitted to the US Patent & Trademark Office with the sponsor covering all costs.

A crowd-funded campaign helped raise funds for an iPack prototype.

This set me thinking…

Perhaps the best innovation comes from those closest to the problems and challenges in healthcare; i.e. patients and healthcare professionals – they have a vested interest in finding a solution. Despite the high-tech nature of the healthcare setting, iPack demonstrates that there is still scope for elegantly simple, yet creative ideas that have great utility and purpose.

First-hand innovation is not new in healthcare, what is interesting in this case is that a child’s perspective has led to an ingeniously simple solution that tackles a problem common to both paediatric and adult treatment. It is also clear that paediatric patients can tell us a lot about what works for them and what doesn’t. So we can make the protracted – and often scary – process of treatment for serious illnesses, like cancer, a little easier for children like Kylie by capturing their thoughts and innovation.