Design prize entry centers on 'smart' label

The ABC Syringe, developed by the University of Huddersfield, provides the opportunity for patients to easily ascertain if syringes are sterilized. A color-changing label affixed to the syringe turns bright red to indicate if it has been used. This design is intended to facilitate a drop in the reuse of syringes and lower the level of communicable diseases as a result.

The ABC Syringe project combines colorimetric inks and modified atmosphere packaging. Inside a nitrogen-filled blister pack the syringe label remains deactivated. Exposure to air, by opening or pack failure, activates an o-crestholphthalein coated label, which rapidly absorbs carbon dioxide found in the atmosphere. As a result, the label turns from colorless to red in 60 seconds, providing a window for the syringe to be used in a procedure.

The change in color serves as a visual warning of prior use to both literate and illiterate patients, as detailed in the project’s World Design Impact Prize entry.

The two other entries in the Icsid World Design Impact Prize 2013-2014 are: the BioLite HomeStove, which emits low levels of smoke, so providing a cleaner cooking environment for women in the developing world who traditionally burn wood or coal to cook indoors; and the Refugee Housing Unit, a pilot project with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to provide temporary shelter which facilitates ‘a feeling of normality’ for families living in refugee camps.