Sri Lankan inventors win medals in Geneva

The inventions of Dr S.J.B Lenadora and Dinesh Katugampala won gold and silver medals at the 'Inventions Geneva' exhibition.

'Inventions Geneva' is an international exhibition of inventions held in Geneva. It was held for the 40th time this year and is considered to be one of the most important conventions for inventors in the world. Seven hundred and eighty nine exhibitors from 46 countries took part. There were over 1000 inventions.

The participants included large corporations such as the Rehab-Robotics Company Ltd from Hong-Kong who won the Grand Prix prize for the invention of a new system to re-educate the hand, designed for those who have suffered a cerebral attack.

The invention allows them to recuperate the motor capacity of their hands with just the power of thought.

Dr Lenadora's invention, the Lenadora Pneumatic Self Retaining Abdominal Retractor, used during complicated abdominal surgeries, provides tissue-friendly retraction force and a wide range of retraction, minimising tissue injury during surgery, providing patients with minimal discomfort during the post-surgery phase.

Katugampala's invention, the Radius Metre, directly reads a radius of an arch or sphere and can plot major arches in the area of mechanical engineering redesign using only a minor arch. While both inventions may appear complex, the panel of judges were impressed by their ingenuity and practicality. Dr Lenadora's team provided demonstrations to visitors on how his invention and Katugampala's worked. Katugampola was unable to attend due to unavoidable circumstances.

The Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) assisted the participants to be present in Geneva and is delighted with the result.e event.

The Commissioner, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi said that it would provide new opportunities for budding Sri Lankan inventors and would also pave the way for further support and development in this area.

He said, "Participating in an event of this magnitude is an achievement in itself but winning medals , brings Sri Lanka to the forefront of the international scientific invention community.