REDESIGN Women’s Health Hackathon at Dyson School of Design Engineering

The Dyson School of Design Engineering recently hosted a Women’s Health Hackathon, bringing together students and early-career professionals to tackle women’s health challenges and reimagine the future of healthcare. Nearly 100 participants from diverse fields such as Engineering, Design, Medicine, Public Health, and Business joined forces to address specific challenge areas including gynaecological health, maternal health, cardiometabolic health, and brain and mental health.

Organized by the Women’s Health Network of Excellence, the event aimed to highlight gender health disparities, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovate with a human-centered approach. The Imperial Women’s Health Network, established in 2023, aims to facilitate interdisciplinary research and innovation in women’s health and gender-based health equity.

Keynote speaker Sarah Graham, an award-winning health journalist, set the scene for the hackathon by emphasizing the need for a multidisciplinary approach to women’s health. Workshops were organized to support participants in various aspects of the design process, and seventeen teams presented their solutions to a panel of healthcare experts.

The winning team, MenoBand, designed a smart bracelet for menopausal women that provides relief during hot flushes. The bracelet alerts users to hot flushes with color-changing thermochromic technology and applies pressure to induce cooling. Paired with a mobile app, users can track symptoms and access medical insights for comfort.

Reflecting on their experience, the MenoBand team members shared their insights gained from the event and the application of their knowledge in user research to women’s health. Other remarkable ideas presented at the hackathon included an AI-powered monitor for assessing stroke risk factors in women, an IoT device to foster empathy between peri-menopausal women and their partners, and apps aimed at assisting new mothers and managing vaginal thrush.

Led by Echo Wan, a PhD student in Design Engineering, and supported by student volunteers from various societies, the organizing team aims to establish the Women’s Health Hackathon as an annual tradition on campus to continue fostering innovation in women’s health. The event showcased the collaborative spirit and creativity of participants in addressing women’s health challenges.