2014 Imagine Cup: Aussie innovation going to the world stage

Australia is home to some amazing innovations. Combined with the drive and determination that is ingrained in Aussie DNA, the result is a force to be reckoned with.

For the past 12 years, Microsoft Australia has showcased to the world exactly what Australian innovators are capable of. Through the Imagine Cup program, we have not only been able to profile and share the amazing talents of our people, but also support their journey to solve real world problems through ambitious applications of technology.

The 2014 competition is no different, and I am pleased to announce that a team from Australia has been selected to vie for the title in the World Citizenship category at this year’s Microsoft Imagine Cup in Seattle. Congratulations to Eyenaemia, a team from Monash University in Victoria, whose vision is simple: provide a cheap and accessible, non-invasive screening solution through technology to aid and prevent the onset of anaemia for the 1.62 billion people worldwide who are affected by the condition.

The beauty of Eyenaemia, an app developed for  Windows Phone, lies in its simplicity. A non-invasive method, people can screen themselves for red blood cell deficiency in a safe environment, even in areas where blood testing is not common or is unavailable.

Eyenaemia calculates the risk of anaemia by analysing a photo of the eye captured by the user. The photo is then sent over a secure connection to a cloud-based server, which sends a risk assessment back to the phone, putting years of medical training into the hands of untrained users. The team has obtained National Health and Medical Research Centre (NHMRC) approval to conduct a research project collecting real patient data to develop the model.

Throughout the development of the app, team Eyenaemia members Jarrel Seah (software developer) and Jennifer Tang (interface, design, branding and marketing) focused on simplifying medical technology to implement an easy to use solution for high-risk groups such as pre-school children and pregnant women.

Eyenaemia’s step-by-step app, built on the Windows platform, removes high-cost medical equipment and puts the power into people’s hands.

Team Eyenaemia will join 35 other teams from around the globe in Seattle at Microsoft’s Redmond campus for the World Finals of Imagine Cup 2014 at the end of July. I wish Eyenaemia the best of luck in the competition and look forward to seeing how this Aussie innovation from Victoria can make waves in the medical industry.

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