Student and engineer creates a highly portable pocket inhaler for asthmatics.
Recently graduated Canadian medical student David Hodgson produced the world’s first-ever pocket-sized inhaler. His innovative creation has made it much simpler to treat asthma in patients and he was able to win a significant amount of money in an international entrepreneur competition. After David Hodgson’s victory at the 2023 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), his firm, Hollo Medical, which he co-founded with his business partner Sara Fedullo, is enjoying a huge triumph.
Hodgson was awarded a prize of $50,000 for winning the competition among a host of international competitors. Only six people from around the world made it to the final round of the global competition, and Hodgson was one of them. The final round consisted of giving a pitch on Start It Up, to encourage young entrepreneurs and help them spread the word about their innovative start-up businesses. During the season finale of Start It Up, Hodgson found a way to inspire all three of the show’s judges despite having just five minutes to present his idea, followed by ten minutes of question-and-answer time with them.
According to Hodgson, GSEA 2023 Global Champion and Co-Founder of Hollo Medical, “I was a little bit in shock at the moment, but afterwards, it was just euphoric. We worked hard to get here, and we’re trying to solve a problem that’s really important to us and to a lot of people around the world…This type of recognition is massive, and it’s the type of thing that helps keeps us motivated.”
Hodgson, who is also a mechanical engineer, was inspired by his father’s sudden bout with acute pneumonia that he struggled to battle using traditional inhalers. These inhalers can be cumbersome to travel with, particularly if an individual doesn’t have a purse or bag with them to store the medication. They are often too large to carry on one’s person.
He then re-imagined conventional inhalers to make them more user-friendly and able to fit into a pocket like a cell phone. Ensuring optimal portability, Hodgson designed the inhaler to be similar in size and shape to a mobile phone, and ultimately, he was able to play a pivotal role in the development of a brand-new medical gadget known as the “Bre-Z Chamber,” which is intended to be simpler to use.
People who suffer from asthma benefit from an inhaler that is pocket-sized since it not only makes breathing easier but also makes it more portable. Hodgson adds that customers could ideally expect to see the Bre-Z Chamber reach stores as early as next year. In this projection, this will be provided once all regulatory criteria are satisfied on time. Now that he has an additional $50,000 to assist with supporting his start-up, he said that he has the funds to bring his vision to fruition.
Hodgson’s venture is an ideal expression of the tenacity that makes entrepreneurs successful around the globe. Both Hodgson and Fedullo cannot wait for the gadget to become commercially available so that patients in every region of the world can receive the appropriate medical attention they needed wherever and whenever they need it.
Sources:
N.S. medical student wins prestigious Global Entrepreneur Award for Canada
New Dal‑trained doctor wins top prize in global startup competition
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