Student picks up international prize for elderly care innovation

Ravensbourne BA (Hons) Product Design student Anvam Nagpal has been named as one of eight winners in the Silver Linings awards, a competition that seeks smart solutions to problems facing care for older generations.

Silver Linings is an international product design competition that seeks new, investable ideas that have a positive impact on elderly care and society in general. Ideas are judged based on their how they could improve quality of life and longevity in the elderly.

A crucial criteria of the award also assesses how environmentally friendly and sustainable the solutions are. Based on all of these criteria, the top eight ‘brainwaves’ are awarded £500 each.

Anvam, who is in his final year of study at Ravensbourne, won for his idea ‘Prescient’, a wearable device that helps manage incontinence in the elderly to make them, their family and their carers feel more confident about managing the condition.

The ingenious device is worn on the wrist and tracks health metrics such as heart rate and blood pressure. It uses the data it collects to predict when the user may next need to use the bathroom.

It then schedules regular bathroom breaks for them to follow and, via a smartphone app, sends users and selected family members alerts in advance, giving them time to ensure they can find the necessary facilities.

Anvam received his prize at the Brainwaves Awards event on Saturday 24 May, along with the seven other winners. During the ceremony, the audience voted in a poll to select the ‘Brainwave of the Brainwaves’, and we are delighted that Anvam’s solution was selected out of all the ideas to win this accolade.

Reacting to his win, Anvam told us: "Being shortlisted was incredible. To go on and win is a feeling I cant really put into words. This project, in particular, will always hold a special place in my heart as I designed it, during lockdown, for my grandfather and my aunt, who is handicapped.

"Product Design is a course unlike any other. You learn so much across multiple design disciplines giving you the necessary skills for a range of different fields and jobs. You feel prepared and ready to tackle the design world once you graduate."

Ravensbourne’s Product Design course leader Nadine Bennett said: “We are really happy to announce the success of Anvam Nagpal in this international Product Design competition.  He has been awarded one of the eight winning places for his project which addresses the sensitive subject of elderly continence. Anvam demonstrated excellent empathy and user understanding to inform the product design on this project.”

Find more examples of Anvam's work on Behance.