Waterloo startup’s diabetes monitor up for global prize
WATERLOO — A Waterloo startup developing a smart contact lens to monitor blood sugar levels of diabetics is the only Canadian company shortlisted for a prestigious global design competition.
Medella Health advanced Thursday to the next stage of the James Dyson Award, being named one of the best 20 international projects.
Earlier this month, it won the top Canadian prize for its lens, which tracks glucose levels in the tear film and sends the information to a mobile phone to enable patients to better manage their diabetes.
“It feels pretty good,” said Harry Gandhi, co-founder of Medella Health. “It’s been an exciting journey.”
The smart contact lenses would avoid the finger pricks diabetics now must endure multiple times a day to check their glucose level. Instead, they would continuously monitor that level in a non-invasive way, sending the information to a mobile phone to make it possible for people to closely watch their glucose daily and long term.
The ultimate winner — chosen by James Dyson himself — will be announced Oct. 27. The top prize is $45,000, and up to two international runners-up get $7,500.
Gandhi said the entire Medella team is excited, and the recognition of their work makes the long hours they’re putting in worthwhile.
“We really hope that we win, but I’m sure there’s some fairly strong competitors out there that we’re up against,” he said.
National winners received $3,500 to pursue their ideas.
Two other Waterloo projects were among the Canadian national runners-up. Arylla is working on a biocompatible ink technology that consumers and enterprises can use to authenticate food using a smartphone. And Penta Medical is developing wearables to reduce recovery time from injuries.