A diverse team of students from the Medical School claimed both 1st Place and the Public Choice Award at the European i-Days competition held in Budapest on November 28-29, 2024. Their triumph followed their success at the national i-Days event in Cyprus. Organised by EIT Health, the i-Days competition encourages students to develop and present practical healthcare innovations.

Karthikayini Gomathinayagam, a third-year medical student from India/Canada, explained the inspiration behind their project, pHera. ‘My mother, a nurse in Canada, often mentioned the challenges in verifying nasogastric (NG) tube placement, which typically involves time-consuming methods like pH strips or X-rays’, she said. The pHera solution, which integrates a pH sensor directly into the NG tube, tackles the critical issue of misplacement, potentially leading to severe patient complications, and provides a safer alternative to traditional methods.

The team included Ron Poon, a third-year student from Hong Kong/UK, Alma Sato, a final-year student from Japan, and Loukia Chatzilazarou, a radiologist from Cyprus. Ron highlighted the importance of their prototype in Budapest, stating, ‘Our ability to present a working prototype was beneficial for the industry judges, demonstrating the project’s practicality and readiness for implementation’. He also discussed the team’s formation at i-Days, mentioning they met Loukia through the event’s ‘speed dating’ approach, which facilitated interdisciplinary collaboration.

Although Alma could not attend the Budapest event due to her commitments at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the U.S. for her sixth-year elective, she played a vital role by providing clinical insights to ensure the project’s effectiveness. She remarked, ‘Representing the University of Nicosia on a European stage was a rewarding experience’.
L-R: Karthikayini, Alma, Ron, Loukia at the National Competition event in Nicosia
Reflecting on their participation, the team expressed pride in representing UNIC Medical School and Cyprus as international students. Karthikayini noted, ‘It felt great to represent our medical school and Cyprus, particularly as one of the few medical student teams among many from other fields’.

Currently, the pHera team is refining their prototype as part of the Beyond Pre-Accelerator Programme, with plans to introduce their solution to UK’s NHS and expand globally.

The Medical School supports programmes such as i-Days and Junior Achievement Cyprus, which provide opportunities for students to engage in healthcare innovation. These initiatives help bridge academic learning with practical applications, as seen in the pHera team’s efforts to address patient safety concerns.