The invention comprises a corneal tissue compliance improvement (CTCI) system and an ocular cell rejuvenation (OCR) system. The CTCI system regulates the goggle chamber pressure and increases the chamber temperature to massage the corneal tissue in a contactless way. The OCR system utilizes activation light at speci c wavelengths and infrared irradiation to energize intra-cellular activities as well as promote blood circulation within the ocular region. “O_Oley is like ‘hot yoga’ for your eyes” “O_Oley is like ‘hot yoga’ for your eyes,” Kin-Nam said. “It lowers your eye pressure by stretching the ocular surface and allows it to relax under a controlled, heated environment.” Given that the structure of the eyes is similar to a balloon, as the surface gets sti er and tenser, air pressure builds up from within, he explained. O_Oley is designed to reduce that stress, halting the progression of glaucoma. In a departure from other glaucoma treatment for diagnosed patients, O_Oley is non-invasive, providing a warming therapeutic experience that can be carried out daily at home. Bene ciaries include patients and people with a higher number of glaucoma risk factors, such as the elderly, individuals with high eye pressure, high myopia or hyperopia, and those with a family history of glaucoma, with the potential to expand coverage to all people su ering from eye strain associated with digital and urban lifestyles. In an unexpected further bene t, O_Oley has proved e ective in relieving dry eye symptoms. As with many innovations, the creative journey has not always been straightforward. One particularly discouraging stage occurred near the beginning when trial participants’ IOP remained constant despite all the team’s hard work. “At that time, we inched ahead as months went by. Frankly, we once thought about giving up when developing the prototype,” Kin-Nam said. “The Dyson Award came as timely assurance. It was such an honor to see our innovation win buy-ins and recognition. We bounced back and gained renewed con dence to turn things around again.” Team spirit was another major factor driving the students on. A well-mixed team of male and female, local and international, postgraduates and undergraduates, the four members proactively combined their strengths to build collective knowledge, challenged one another to think from di erent perspectives, and sought to integrate each person’s insights and contribution to create the best possible solution. Moreover, from the start, they were of one mind as to what they wanted to achieve. “Who knows… one day, we might be the bene ciary of our own invention” “Even if O_Oley hadn’t generated positive trial results, we believe we would have taken an alternative route and developed another device to achieve the same purpose,” Kin-Nam said. “Because right from the beginning, our goal has not been to commercialize a product but to create something that serves glaucoma patients. Every step we take is oriented to that goal. Who knows… one day, we might be the bene ciary of our own invention.” What’s in a word School of Engineering students also won the runner-up accolade in the Hong Kong James Dyson Award. The team’s PreDyctor is the world’s first dysgraphia identifier for Chinese handwriting. The advance o ers a rapid, inexpensive pre-screening system that can assess Chinese characters and estimate the chance that the writer has dysgraphia, to assist early intervention. Dysgraphia is a learning disorder associated with impaired writing ability. The research team, all from the Class of , comprised NIE Fei, BEng in Computer Science (pictured, bottom le ), ZHOU Xinrui, Dual Degree Program in Technology and Management (bottom right), ZHAO Yankun, BEng in Computer Science (top right), and ZHAO Yizhe, BSc in Computer Science (top le ). 11 IN FOCUS
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