Meet Singapore’s up-and-coming young inventor: NUS graduate wins the James Dyson Award with a first-of-its-kind open heart surgery rehabilitation tool

Siew E Ian, an industrial design graduate from the National University of Singapore, has been recognised as the National Winner of the James Dyson Award for his invention, Auxobrace. Inspired by his own experiences, Ian developed a first-of-its-kind rehabilitation tool to accelerate the healing process for patients who have undergone open-heart surgery.

Open-heart surgery is a common medical procedure, with an average of six to eight cases daily in Singapore and over a million cases globally each year. However, the healing of the sternum bone, crucial for post-surgery recovery, typically takes three to four months. Infectious complications affect nearly 30% of the cases, leading to prolonged recovery and increased postoperative mortality rates.

Current rehabilitation devices in the market are bulky and uncomfortable, which increases the risk of infection as it do not provide adequate forces on the sternum bone. Auxobrace is an innovative solution that provides the ideal pressure and comfort on the human body, using the principles of soft robotics and vacuum mechanisms to create bending and shrinkage forces.

After going through two open heart surgeries, Ian draws his personal experiences as a heart patient and skills as a design engineer to reimagine how sternal and cardiac rehabilitation could look like. To better understand the needs for a healthy rehabilitation, he interviewed medical experts, surgeons, physiotherapists, nurses as well as the patients who have recovered from the National University Hospital (NUH).

Reflecting on this achievement, Ian said, ‘I’m extremely grateful for the recognition from the James Dyson Award. I’m glad to share my invention with the world and take it to the next level. As a design engineer, I developed Auxobrace with the intention of bringing back the human touch in this digital world. I hope to inspire and encourage people to reimagine the potential of rehabilitation cast because they are always better ways we can recover.’

Winning the national leg of the James Dyson Award will inject S$8,000 into Ian’s project. Ian’s dedication to the project involved over 10 prototypes and nearly a year of research and development. He tested the prototypes on both himself, as a heart patient, and other recovered patients, to ensure comprehensive feedback. Aside from its technical nature, Auxobrace is also ergonomically designed to balance comfort, function, usability and need.

Auxobrace will progress to the international stage of the James Dyson Award. Ian is currently collaborating closely with the experts from NUS and NUHS to further develop and commercialise the product. The invention has already received a patent in Singapore, and there are plans to expand its technology for various other rehabilitation applications.

The international top 20 shortlist will be announced on 18th October, and the international winners on 15th November.