World IP Day Youth Gallery

David Aguilar Amphoux
Bioengineer, Spain

Creator of first-ever prosthetic arm made from LEGO® wants to make low-cost prosthetics widely available.

Born with a chest wall disorder known as Poland Syndrome, David Aguilar Amphoux’s innovation journey started early. At the age of nine, he started building a mechanical arm using LEGO®, his favorite toy. His passion for innovation led him to study bioengineering and to develop various social impact projects, including the first-ever fully articulable prosthesis using LEGO®. His aim? To make low-cost prosthesis widely accessible.

“My story of overcoming disability teaches both children and adults to believe in their dreams, to fight for them and not to collapse in the face of adversity,” he says. “Through the success of my invention, I have been able to understand that my role in life is to help people,” David explains. As Spiderman says, with great power comes great responsibility and with my story I have understood what my role is in this life. Inspire, motivate and raise awareness”. (Photo: Courtesy of OEPM)

Raquel Serrano Lledó
CEO of FIIXIT, Spain

Transforming plaster casts with customizable 3D printed orthopedic splints.

“Let’s help everyone who needs it,” Says Raquel Serrano, founder of FIIXIT, a Spanish startup that manufactures customizable 3D printed orthopedic devices, especially light-weight waterproof splints that are biodegradable and comfortable to wear. FIIXIT develops products for a range of common pathologies, especially those for which there are no readily available solutions on the market. (Photo: Courtesy of OEPM)

Nuriat Nambogo
CEO of Mobicare, Uganda

Improving lives with a mobile app that that connects patients with healthcare providers.

Nuriat Nambogo, CEO of Mobicare says her company is on a mission to improve people’s lives. The Mobicare mobile app for smartphones makes it easier for patients to connect with their healthcare providers and get the care they need. (Photo: Courtesy of IFMPA)

Conrad Tankou
CEO of GIC Space, Cameroon

Enabling women to access breast and cervical cancers screening in rural areas in Africa.

Conrad Tankou is a founder of GICMED, an innovative medical technology company that is developing and delivering innovative solutions to improve access to affordable quality medical care in poor, remote, rural communities in Africa. Their main focus is on an improving breast and cervical cancer care in these underserved communities. (Photo: Courtesy of IFMPA)

John Mwagi
CEO of Daktari Media Africa, Kenya

Providing easy-to-access medical knowledge in Kenya.

John Mwangi is founder of Daktari Media Africa, a pioneering Kenyan company that provides accredited online medical training for doctors and health professionals. The company is working to advance medical practice and improve patient outcomes by building professional capacities through their online learning platform, Dakarti. (Photo: Courtesy of IFMPA)

Angela Kyomugisha
CEO & CFO of Kaaro Health, Uganda

Bettering rural community wellness with telehealth clinic containers and renewal energy solutions.

In Uganda, 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas. The nearest clinic is typically more than 25 kilometers away. Kaaro Health’s CEO Angela Kyomugisha, is tackling this problem and working to ensure that every village in Uganda has access to affordable and high-quality medical healthcare. How? Through a franchising model, that mobilizes telehealth-enabled container clinics that connect healthcare entrepreneurs with qualified healthcare professionals and the equipment they need. They are also designing medical off-grid renewable energy solutions for areas with lack of access to electricity to support these activities. (Photo: Courtesy of IFMPA)

Salvador Sancha Ros
Co-Founder of Eneso Tecnología de Adaptación, Spain

Expanding access for people living with disability.

Salvador Sancha is co-founder of Eneso Tecnología de Adaptación, a Spanish tech company that is working to improve the autonomy and quality of life of people living with disability.

“At Eneso we work to make the lives of people with disabilities more autonomous and fulfilling through innovative and affordable solutions,” Salvador says.

The company designs and manufactures its own technology and continually improves it solutions through feedback from users. Its product range includes enPathia, a patented system that allows people with reduced upper body mobility to control a computer with head movements. The award-winning company has become a national benchmark for the design and manufacture of products in the fields of sensory stimulation and augmentative and alternative communication. (Photo: Courtesy of OEPM)

Tran Nguyen Khanh An, Do Trong Minh Duc and Nguyen Hoang Phuc
Inventors of the VIHELM ventilated helmet, Viet Nam

Ventilated helmet protects frontline workers against COVID-19.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world in early 2020, Duc, An and Phuc, young inventors from Viet Nam, teamed up to develop VIHELM, an innovative ventilated helmet to protect frontline workers against COVID-19. The VIHELM helmet combines safety and comfort and comes with a filtration system, peripheral visors, and more.

“We wanted to do something that could help the world deal with COVID-19, and we hope that VIHELM can be used by those who need it for the greater good," says Duc, VIHELM inventor and team leader. Duc, An and Phuc have been selected as WIPO IP Youth Ambassadors for Viet Nam for their timely and life-saving innovation. The three inventors are promoting intellectual property (IP) awareness among other young inventors and creators in their region. (Photo: Courtesy of VIHELM)

Aarushi Guin
Student, inventor, USA

A smart way to overcome back pain.

Eighty percent of the world’s adult population suffers from back pain resulting from poor posture. Aarushi Guin, who is studying at the University of Georgia in the United States, has come up with an ingenious way to solve this common ailment. She has created a wearable shoulder strap, which monitors the position of the spine and provides real-time alerts to help users correct their posture. “I modified a commercially available passive shoulder strap to actively detect slouching by using some strategically positioned sensors to detect pressure or tension at different points,” says Aarushi. Her innovative harness helps users build the core muscles required to maintain a good posture and avoid back pain. In 2021, Aarushi won the Young Inventor’s Award at the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair. (Photo: Courtesy of Aarushi Guin)

Jason Kang, Katherine Jin, and Kevin Tyan
Founders of Kinnos Inc., USA

Game-changing color technology to prevent infections.

In 2014, Jason, Katherine and Kevin started Kinnos Inc., while undergraduate students at Columbia University after learning that human error during disinfection was a major cause of infections in the West Africa Ebola outbreak. The company’s flagship product, Highlight®, is a patented color additive platform that improves disinfection technique. It has been reported in independent studies to consistently increase thoroughness of cleaning. “In the future, we believe Highlight will be used anytime disinfectants are used, far beyond healthcare, as a reassuring marker of safety,” says Jason. Highlight® is now used internationally by hospitals, first responders, and transit agencies. (Photo: Courtesy of USPTO)

Amir Patel
Associate Professor, Inventor, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Affordable biomedical devices for neurological disease.

Amir uses robotics to understand the locomotion of animals. He utilizes techniques such sensor fusion, optimal control and physical experiments to understand the neuromechanics of manoeuvrability and is particularly interested in studying the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the fastest terrestrial animal. His novel sensing work has resulted in two sensor patents with applications in human biomechanics. “My fascination with – and research into – cheetah locomotion has led to several innovations in robotics and machine learning (artificial intelligence). These translate to more affordable and accessible biomedical devices for orthopaedics or any kind of neurological disease that require rehabilitation with a 3D force plate,” Amir says. (Photo: Courtesy of Amir Patel)

Julián Fernández Barcellona and Vicente González Negro
CEO and CTO of Fossa Systems, Spain

Bringing low-power IoT mobile connectivity to remote areas.

Around 80 percent of the planet’s surface still lacks mobile coverage, yet many activities take place in these areas (e.g. oceans, deserts). The lightweight picosatellites developed by Julián Fernández and Vicente González at Fossa Systems promise to change this by providing coverage in almost real-time to all areas of the world.

“Our low-power IoT connectivity solution for asset monitoring, even in areas where mobile coverage does not exist or is unreliable, will allow users to generate intelligence and knowledge about their activities, optimise their processes, increase their production performance or even make the company’s activities more sustainable,” says Julian Fernandez, CEO of Fossa Systems.
“We want our solution to be part of a change in decision-making, generating local actions that have a global impact,” he adds. (Photo: Courtesy of ABG IP)

Emi Tamaki
CEO of H2L, Japan

Expanding the way human bodies interact with digital environments.

Have you ever wished you could share how you feel in a given moment with a close friend? Award-winner entrepreneur Emi Tamaki, founder and CEO of Japan-based H2L is turning that dream into reality. She is committed to developing assistive AI-based technologies for human empowerment, in particular, for those with limited ability to get out-and-about to experience different sensations. She developed “PossessedHand,” a device that controls the human hand by applying electrical stimulation to the muscles around the user’s forearm. TIME Magazine selected it as one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2011. Building on this she later released the “UnlimitedHand, which also measures the wearer’s muscle movements and can convey unique deep physical sensations, such as what it feels like to catch an apple, to other people, robots, virtual characters and more. This so-called “BodySharing” system has applications in the medical and entertainment fields. (Photo: Courtesy of H2L, Inc)

Imodoye Abioro
CEO of Healthbotics Limited, Nigeria

Digitalizing health records in Africa with blockchain technology.

Imodoye Abioro created Mediverse, a cloud-based AI-powered Electronic Medical Records system built on the blockchain that allows health workers to input and retrieve patient records with their voice on their PC, laptop, tablet, or phone. Mediverse allows for seamless transfer of patient data to anywhere in the world, following authentication, and solves the problem of accessing Electronic Records in remote health outposts where there is no Internet. It eliminates needless costs associated with buying, installing and maintaining expensive IT equipment for hospitals and healthcare workers. (Photo: Courtesy of IFMPA)

Salome Tateshvili, Tamari Tateshvili and Saba Zedginidze
Inventors of GoGeoGo, Georgia

Boosting tourism in Georgia with a digital pocket guide.

Three years ago, Salome, Tamari and Saba came up with an idea to make it easier for foreign tourists to communicate with local people when traveling around Georgia. Their mobile app GoGeoGo, helps tourists navigate the transport system and has revolutionized tourism Samtskhe-Javakheti in Georgia where they live.. The app provides travel information in English and Georgian about different destinations in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, and includes details of the expected duration and cost of these journeys to prevent tourists from being over-charged. GoGeoGo won third place in the mobile app category of the 2020 Millennium Innovations Awards. (Photo: Millennium Innovations Award)

Marie Chantal Umunyana
Founder of Umubyeyi, Rwanda

Improving the well-being of young mothers in Rwanda.

Marie Chantal Umunyana is the founder of Umubyeyi, a Rwandan social enterprise that is helping young mothers and prospective parents to help their well-being by providing access to essential healthcare information from trusted sources and access to vital care when needed. (Photo: Courtesy of IFMPA)

Jin Seong Hyung
Inventor, Republic of Korea

Electronic nameplates: protecting the personal data of Korean students.

Concerns around privacy protection prompted Jin Seong Hyung to invent an electronic nameplate to protect the personal information of students in the Republic of Korea. “I wanted to make an electronic name tag that is not automatically visible outside of school as a name tag attached to clothes,” says Mr Hyung. His electronic nameplate can detect the wearer’s location and can make the name appear on the display device within the boundaries of his school or disappear automatically beyond the school. His device won first prize in the 2021 Republic of Korea’s Student Invention Competition. (Photo: Courtesy of KIPO)

Aki Yuki
Co-founder of Ory Laboratory, Japan

Solving human loneliness with alter-ego robots.

Aki Yuki, co-founder of Ory Laboratory, is on a mission tackle loneliness with technology. Her avatar robot OriHime, a 23-cm doll-like robot, is equipped with a camera, microphone and a speaker, and is operated via the Internet. This and other technologies developed by the company enable those whose movements are hindered in some way to continue to interact socially and participate in society regardless of their age, the disability they may be living with, or their location. (Photo: © Yotsuya Otsuka Inc.)

Rebekah Dorminy
Student, inventor USA

Improving healthcare for people who are immobile or unable to communicate.

“My innovation is essential to begin the conversation about increasing robotic assistance in caretaking. We can improve the quality of life for the immobile elderly with technology,” says Rebekah Dorminy. The device she has developed helps prevent incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) and pressure ulcers in immobile and non-communicative people. It consists of a notification system with a sensor designed for manufacture within disposable incontinence underwear and a separate, reusable notifying device. The device can be connected to home caregivers’ phones by BlueTooth connection or to a medical facility’s patient information system by hardwire connection. She developed the device in the early weeks of the COVID pandemic after learning about her grandmother’s experience with IAD during isolation in her nursing home.

“I learned how to protect my Intellectual Property (IP) rights and why it is important to support young innovators, creators and entrepreneurs in their quest for creative solutions. World Intellectual Property Day brings awareness to this issue and encourages people to support inventors like me,” Rebekah says. (Photo: Rebekah Dorminy)

Canice James and Trevaun Solomon
Co-founders of Project Jaguar

Expanding online education opportunities in Eastern Caribbean.

Canice James and Trevaun Solomon, co-founders of Project Jaguar, are on a mission to improve access to education and training across the Eastern Caribbean. Project Jaguar includes the Jaguar Academy, a low-cost and robust online platform that connects students with teachers. It also includes School Jaguar, which delivers affordable training to primary and secondary school teachers to enable them to hone their teaching skills. Canice and Trevaun believe that “easier and cheaper access to education that puts money directly in educators’ pockets, is an important component for a more developed Eastern Caribbean. (Photo: Courtesy of Project Jaguar)

Chaneil Imhoff
Co-founder of Packed Grocery Delivery

Bringing online grocery shopping to Antigua and Barbuda.

Chaneil Imhoff is co-founder of Packed Grocery Delivery, a digital start-up with a home delivery service that enables users to order top-rated products from reputable supermarkets across Antigua and Barbuda from the comfort of their homes. The company also aims to use the data it gathers during its operations to help local business communities make smarter marketing and purchasing decisions. This is the first such initiative in Antigua and Barbuda. (Photo: Courtesy of Packed - Grocery Delivery)

Elijah James
CEO of The LocaL App, Antigua and Barbuda

Improving access to information, sharing resources and building community resilience.

Elijah James, founder of The LocaL App, is on a mission to build digital communities and to make it easier for businesses and consumers to connect with each other. The LocaL App offers an innovative geo-enabled guide and shopping engine platform called CIRCLE, which makes it easier for users to discover information about business and leisure opportunities as well as important social causes such as climate action. “Innovation is all about improving people's lives and access to information helps everyone to make better informed decisions or support worthy causes,” Elijah says. (Photo: Courtesy of The LocaL App)

Yuta Bandoh
Composer, musician and CEO of Ensemble FOVE, Japan

Cutting-edge classical composition to stimulate and deconstruct emotions.

The award-winning young Japanese composer, Yuta Bandoh, is at the cutting-edge of music. His works range from orchestral and chamber music to track-making, sound design using 3D sound and theater performance. In 2016, he formally established the up-and-coming Ensemble FOVE, which aims to deliver new auditory experiences and new boundary-expanding art. (Photo: Shinryo Saeki)

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Shonosuke Ishiwatari
Co-Founder and CEO of Mantra Inc., Japan

Expanding Manga culture overseas with AI-machine translation.

Shonosuke Ishiwatari, co-founder of Mantra Inc., has found a way to promote the distribution of manga comics around the world in multiple languages and thereby help reduce levels of manga piracy. The “Mantra Engine,” developed by him and his team, is an AI-based machine translation service, which enables simultaneous translation and distribution of manga publications in multiple languages. Manga distributors, translation companies, and publishers in Japan and abroad are now using their technology. Mantra Inc. is also testing a learning platform, Langaku, which helps learners improve their English by reading manga. (Photo: ©︎Arai Club)

Santiago Mena López
Author of Encogidos, Peru

Inspiring creativity among young people through the power of words.

“Creativity is humanity’s way of taking previous knowledge and relating to it in an entirely new way. Creativity is linked to the very essence of human nature”, says Santiago Mena López, award-winning Peruvian writer that wants to encourage young people to read more. Recognized as Peru’s youngest author, Santiago published his first novel, Encogidos (The Shrunken) at the age of 14. As a WIPO IP Youth Ambassador, Santiago is helping to promote IP education and raise IP awareness among young people in the Latin American and Caribbean region under the WIPO Academy’s IP4Youth&Teachers project. (Photo: Courtesy of INDECOPI of Peru)

Mafumafu
Singer, composer, and YouTuber, Japan

Musical artist in the world of anime.

Mafumafu's avatar image is recognized as the famous Japanese utaite singer and composer. Mafumafu covers previously released songs with his versatile, soft, and upbeat voice and posts them on Nico Nico Douga, a Japanese video-sharing platform and YouTube. He also composes music for TV series and wrote the lyrics of the famous theme song "1, 2, 3" for the anime "Pokemon". His entertainment videos have more than 100 million views on his YouTube channel. (Photo: Courtesy of Mafumafu)

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Călin-Tudor Topan
Painter, Romania

Impressionism and realism paints with IP brushtrokes.

The award-winning Romanian painter, Călin-Tudor Topan, started drawing in the third grade. His painting style combines impressionism and realism. Călin often gains inspiration from nature, the renaissance, 1800s French literature, in addition to historical and sci-fi films. He particularly admires Leonardo Da Vinci for his creative and innovative contributions to arts and science. Through is role as WIPO IP Youth Ambassador, he is promoting awareness about intellectual property (IP) among other young artists in Romania and the Central European and Baltic States. (Photo: Courtesy of Călin-Tudor Topan)

Noura Al-Omair
Designer, Weaver, Saudi Arabia

Contemporary feel for traditional Al Sadu weaving.

Noura Al-Omair is passionate about a form of traditional weaving, known as Al Sadu, which refers the textiles with geometric patterns woven for centuries by Bedouin women across the Arabian peninsula. Her aim is to interconnect the past and the future and to give this traditional art form a contemporary feel and using intellectual property (IP) rights, to share it with the world. (Photo: Courtesy of Noura Al-Omair)

Piyush Bhanu
Biologist and CEO of Xome Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., India

Harnessing the power of human microbiome research to transform healthcare.

“Entrepreneurship is a roller coaster ride, but I am enjoying every bit of the journey,” says Piyush Bhanu, CEO of Xome Life Sciences, one of India’s first microbiome startups. His company is working to develop microbiome-based diagnostic and therapeutic tools to help consumers lead healthier lives and make better health-related decisions. Piyush also recognizes the value of IP rights in building his company’s brand. “Not only patents, but also trademarks and copyrights are equally important when you are on a journey to create a trust with your consumers,” he says. (Photo: Courtesy of Xome Life Sciences)

David Martínez Martín
Inventor, nanotechnology and biophysics expert, Spain

Enabling major breakthroughs in our understanding of how cells work.

David Martinez Martin , is developing technologies that are enabling major breakthroughs and discoveries in areas ranging from nanotechnology and materials science to biology and biomedicine. He has more than 15 patents to his name. “Intellectual property is the catalyst that allows my innovations to be transformed into useful products for society, generating wealth and increasing well-being,” he says. His technologies are being used by world-leading scientific research institutions, including the University of Sydney (Australia), the Max Planck Institute (Germany), and ETH Zurich (Switzerland). (Photo: Courtesy of OEPM)

Maria Bravo Santillana
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with a PhD in Microbiology and Researcher, Spain

Microbial research at the service of animal health.

“I hope to serve as an inspiration for young women and to empower them to make their mark in the world. Let’s shape the future together and make our ideas, our dreams, a reality,” says Maria Bravo Santillana, a researcher working at Ingulados, a Spanish company that develops innovative products to improve animal health. Studying the microbiota of wild boar for her PhD at the University of Extremadura, Maria discovered a new strain of bacteria with the ability to produce antimicrobial substances that are beneficial for human and animal health. Her discovery has resulted in the development of a range of products called “Ingubal,” for optimizing animal health. (Photo: Courtesy of OEPM)

Carles García-Vitoria
Anesthesiologist, chronic pain clinician, researcher and inventor, Spain

Taking the headache out of childbirth when epidural anesthetic fails.

Carles García-Vitoria is a serial inventor. Among is growing list of inventions is his “rapid dural perforation sealing kit”, which prevents the powerful headaches experienced by women when administration of epidural anesthesia fails during childbirth. The technology is patented in China, Europe, Japan and the USA. Carles recently published 500 Anesthesies, a practical guide for anesthetists and has published several academic articles. In 2017, he was among 35 young Europeans with the greatest potential in the scientific areas and was also named an MIT Innovator Under 35. He is currently working at the Hospital Intermutual de Levante in Valencia, Spain. (Photo: Courtesy of Carles García-Vitoria)