The James Dyson Award's global winner for the Medical Devices category this year is Olivia Humphreys. After seeing her mother Vicky fight illness, Ms. Humphreys, a University of Limerick alumnus, created her invention, "Athena."

Athena is a portable scalp-cooling gadget that runs on batteries for patients receiving chemotherapy.

By applying cold temperatures to the scalp during chemotherapy, scalp-cooling can help stop hair loss by constricting the blood vessels. Compared to hospital versions, Athena is intended to be more economical and time-efficient without sacrificing quality.

"The recognition from the James Dyson Award validates not just my efforts, but also the stories and insights shared by people who’ve experienced cancer treatment," said Ms Humphreys.

"My mum inspired this journey, and it’s incredibly emotional and rewarding to have my project reach this level," she stated.

"The award has motivated me to recognise my potential, and it opens up exciting opportunities for me as a young designer and innovator," said Ms Humphreys. In order to support more research and development of her innovation, Ms. Humphreys will now receive a prize of €38,000.

She is now promoting Athena and other cancer treatment initiatives with the Galway-based business Luminate Medical.

The awards, which are administered by billionaire inventor James Dyson's charity foundation, honour innovative ideas that address urgent issues in the real world.

"You can freeze your scalp which you have to do in special facilities, but these aren't always available, are costly and it’s very painful," added Dyson.

"This year’s Medical Winner, Olivia Humphreys, has tackled this problem by designing Athena, for portable scalp cooling."

"You can wear it while you travel, you can wear it in the car to and from hospital, you can use it at home – it’s a low-cost alternative available to everybody, with the potential to make a real difference," he stated.

With an emphasis on ambitious concepts that tackle a global issue, the international competition is open to recent graduates and engineering and design students.

More than 2,000 submissions from all around the world were submitted for this year's prizes, and Ms. Humphreys is the first Irish person to win the competition globally since it started in 2006.