A delegation from HKBU won top prizes, including three Gold Medals with Congratulations of Jury, one Gold Medal, and an award of excellence from Romania, at the 46th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva held in Switzerland from 11 to 14 April 2018.

 

HKBU is the only institution in Hong Kong that has been awarded gold medals for all the projects it submitted in three consecutive years.

 

HKBU submitted four entries this year. The winning projects are:

 

--  “Lead Detecting Device for Water” invented by Dr Ren Kangning, Assistant Professor, and Dr Edmond Ma, Associate Professor, of the Department of Chemistry was awarded a Gold Medal.

 

--   “Lip-password: Double Security System for Identity Authentication” invented by Professor Cheung Yiu-ming of the Department of Computer Science was awarded a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury.

 

--   “Medical Devices for Stem Cell Therapy” invented by Professor Ken Yung of the Department of Biology and Dr Jeffery Huang, Assistant Professor of the Department of Physics, was awarded a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury.

 

--  “Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Diseases” invented by Professor Bian Zhaoxiang, Tsang Shiu Tim Endowed Chair of Chinese Medicine Clinical Studies of the School of Chinese Medicine, was awarded a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury.

 

Extending his hearty congratulations to the winning teams, HKBU President Professor Roland Chin said: "These award-winning inventions are the pride of not just HKBU but the whole of Hong Kong. Our achievements and creativity won accolades from international experts because the research conducted at HKBU has high social impact and offers amazing solutions to real-world problems."

 

The “Lead Detecting Device for Water” invented by Dr Ren Kangning and Dr Edmond Ma is a 10-minute on-site lead detection method that uses a portable, DNA-based paper device. The device is very simple and designed for on-site lead testing of drinking water without the need of special training or skills. The ease of use, quick and accurate detection and low cost are the key advantages of this device.

 

The “Lip-password: Double Security System for Identity Authentication” invented by Professor Cheung Yiu-ming introduces a new technique which utilises a person’s lip motions to create a password. This system verifies a person’s identity by simultaneously matching the password content with the underlying behavioural characteristics of lip movement. It is unique in that it offers double-security for access control, is resistant to mimicry and can be used by anyone regardless of the language they speak or speech impairment. It can be used in financial transaction authentication or used together with other biometrics to enhance the security level of systems.

 

The “Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Diseases” was developed by Professor Bian Zhaoxiang in collaboration with The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The team took reference from the traditional Chinese “diarrhoea formula” and revised it into a new formula for treating IBS-D. Through clinical studies, the drug was shown to be effective in curing visceral pain, torso pain and diarrhea. Patients found that their symptoms improved after taking the medicine for eight consecutive weeks, with no recurrence of symptoms. The patent rights are exclusively licensed to PuraPharm Corporation Limited, and a large-scale clinical trial approved by the China Food and Drug Administration will be conducted in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

 

The “Medical Devices for Stem Cell Therapy” invented by Professor Ken Yung and Dr Jeffery Huang introduces inorganic sculptured extracellular nanomatrices (iSECnMs), made of biocompatible materials and sculpturable structures, to avoid using animal or other biochemical growth factor for cultivating cells. The research showed that the device has a high level of biosafety. Suitable for low-cost mass production, it is hoped that it could help extract the patient’s neural stem cells and turn them into a therapeutic agent for curing many incurable diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, chronic systemic diseases and degenerative joint diseases.

from HKBU eNews
https://bunews.hkbu.edu.hk/news/people/hkbu-teams-win-top-awards-at-international-exhibition-of-inventions-of-geneva