The History Channel and Invent Now Inc., a division of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, announced May 11 the finalists and grand-prize winner in the second annual Modern Marvels Invent Now Challenge, a national competition in search of
The Enertia Building System uses a patented process to increase the latent heat storage capabilities of wood materials. The system also uses milled wooden blocks to eliminate the many materials and labor-intensive steps of house wall construction, replacing them with simple screwed-into-place units. The result is an attractive house of renewable material that heats and cools itself with free, natural clean energy. The competition also named Kim W. Bertron's SimpleShot as first-prize winner, Dan Didrick's X-Finger as second-prize winner, Christine Ingemi's iHearSafe Earbuds as third-prize winner and David T. Krausman's DeSat Counter as fourth-prize Winner.
The Enertia Building System and the four other finalists were chosen by the challenge's impressive panel of inventors and industry experts out of nearly 2,500 submissions from inventors representing 17 states. The esteemed panel, which included the inventor of the personal computer and co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak, The New York Times technology journalist David Pogue, The History Channel executive producer Mike Stiller, TIME Magazine editor Jeremy Caplan, Sharper Image senior vice president of engineering & technology Andrew Parker, Invention & Technology Magazine editor Fred Allen and PC Magazine executive editor Stephanie Chang, chose these five inventions for being true modern marvels and because of their potential to make significant impacts in their fields.
"These inventors represent those who have the tenacity to pursue an answer to a question that goes unanswered – just like their famous predecessors, such as Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison, who we feature on our series Modern Marvels," said Judy Klein-Frimer, co-creator of the Challenge for The History Channel. "Our series showcases inventors of our past whose contributions remain vital to us today, so we are proud to support these inventors of the present who epitomize our series and will have a significant impact on advancing our quality of life in the future."
The grand-prize winner, Michael Sykes, will receive a $25,000 prize, and his invention along with the inventions of the other four finalists will be featured during Modern Marvels Invent Now Week on The History Channel May 15-17, which will also include Modern Marvels premiere episodes 1960s Tech and It Came from Outer Space.
The second Modern Marvels Invent Now Challenge, which kicked off in the fall of 2006, announced its 25 semifinalists in March. After taking the inventions of the semifinalists on the road to science and technology museums in
"The National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation has been recognizing the world's most influential inventors for more than thirty years," said Jeffrey Dollinger, president of Invent Now, Inc. division of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. "The Enertia Building System is a great example of the kind of breakthrough that we strive to honor in our programs and we salute the inventive spirit personified by Michael Sykes and all of the finalists."
Meet the Winner
Michael Sykes, Builder,
The Enertia Building System uses milled wooden blocks to eliminate the many materials and labor-intensive steps of house wall construction, replacing them with simple screwed-into-place units that store solar energy. The result is an attractive house of renewable material that heats and cools itself with free, natural clean energy.
Each Enertia house is built with a small atmosphere between the walls and is connected to a sunspace. The glue-laminated wooden structure stores solar and geothermal energy in its cellulose, lignin and resin, which is seeded with mineral crystals to initiate phase change. Over time, the thermal energy is released to heat the home. During the summer the process is reversed, and the wooden structure absorbs heat from the appliances and occupants throughout the day, dissipating it at night.
The Enertia Building System can have a significant impact in reducing the burning of fossil fuels and protecting homeowners from violent weather. According to Sykes, the current methods of building, heating and cooling houses damage the earth, and building just one Enertia house is equivalent to taking 50 cars off the road.
Meet the Finalists
First-prize winner: SimpleShot
Kim W. Bertron, consultant, Tallahassee, Fla.
Co-inventors: Andy Bertron, Brian J. Boothe, John Wiley Horton
The SimpleShot is a medical device that simplifies the process for mixing a powder-form drug with a mixing solution in a single syringe. In an emergency situation, this device provides faster, easier administration of reconstituted drugs.
Kim Bertron conceived of the device after a medical emergency. Her daughter, who has Type 1 diabetes, was suffering from a severe hypoglycemic episode and Bertron needed to administer a life-saving dose of Glucagon. As she was frantically trying to mix the drug in powder form with the diluting solution, the needle broke – which she later found out was a common problem among parents trying to administer these sorts of reconstituted drugs. Fortunately, Bertron was able to leverage a back-up kit to deliver the Glucagon to her daughter, but after the incident, Bertron and her husband pledged to create a device that would make administering these drugs easier, so they engaged a few engineer friends to develop the SimpleShot.
SimpleShot has the potential to improve healthcare for diabetics in the home and in hospitals. Numerous medical conditions require a reconstituted drug that could be quickly and accurately delivered with the SimpleShot. In addition to Glucagon, human growth hormone drugs, drugs for hemophiliacs and other biotech drugs require immediate mixing before injection. This syringe has the potential to reduce errors in dosage, save time, eliminate contamination and reduce the risk of needle stick exposure.
Second-prize winner: X-Finger
Dan Didrick, inventor, Naples, Fla.
The X-Finger is a functional artificial finger that allows amputees to control the movement of each artificial finger independently and as quickly as their real fingers.
The X-Finger moves within the natural range of motion of an actual finger. When the device is fitted to the hand, the movement of the remaining portion of the patient's finger controls the X-Finger's movement.
Nearly one in every 150 people has suffered the loss of at least one finger. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System estimates that individuals with limited use of their hands earn approximately half of what individuals earn who have full use of their hands. The X-Finger enables individuals to continue to be productive and independent members of society, and due to the simplicity of the design, amputees from around the world and from every economic background may soon be able to afford this form of functional restoration.
Third-prize winner: iHearSafe Earbuds
Christine Ingemi, president, Ingemi Corp., Amherst, N.H.
iHearSafe Earbuds are ear buds that connect to traditional music players and limit the volume of these players to prevent hearing loss in listeners.
A mother of four children under 11 years old, Ingemi sought out a safer alternative to traditional headphones. Hearing loss researchers propose safe volume levels for music listeners, but millions of music players and headphones do not offer volume-limiters that adhere to these guidelines. Ingemi designed iHearSafe Earbuds to limit the volume of audio players to a maximum of 80 decibels, and they have been tested by certified audiologists who confirm their decibel SPL and frequency response times.
The journal Pediatrics estimates that 12.5 percent of children ages 6 to 19 – about 5.2 million people – have noise-induced hearing loss. This invention could have a great impact on this demographic and all who listen to music devices, as iHearSafe Earbuds will proactively prevent listeners from the hearing loss associated with listening to music at high volumes.
Fourth-prize winner: DeSat Counter
David T. Krausman, Ph.D., research scientist, principal investigator and bio-medical engineer,
Co-inventor: Richard P. Allen, Ph.D.
The DeSat Counter is an innovative medical instrument used to test patients for sleep apnea, the occurrence of frequent interruptions in breathing during sleep. This miniature, portable monitor requires no set-up and is simple to operate. It can be used in sleep labs or by untrained patients in their own homes.
Using a simple disposable sensor attached to the index finger, the DeSat Counter measures the amount of oxygen present in the blood. A drop in blood oxygen is a reliable indicator that a significant apnea event has occurred. The Counter itself straps comfortably onto the wrist and displays a tally of apnea events and heart rate. In the morning, the recorded apneas may be viewed on the Counter's large LCD screen or downloaded to an Excel spreadsheet for analysis. Because it's portable and user-friendly, it requires no special training and can be used in the home by the patient.
Sleep apnea is a serious health condition from which an estimated 30 million Americans suffer. Sleep apnea has been associated with many forms of heart disease, hypertension, stroke and death if the condition goes untreated. The DeSat Counter could have a major impact on the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea by providing a simple, comfortable, accurate and affordable test.
