Sri Lankan inventors shine best in Geneva with Gold, Silver

Monday, 23 April 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The inventions of Dr S.J.B Lenadora and Dinesh Katugampala took the forefront at the ‘Inventions Geneva’ Exhibition last week, winning prestigious Gold and Silver medals at the event.

‘Inventions Geneva’ which is the 40th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, is considered to be one of the most important in the world. With 46 countries, represented by 789 exhibitors showing 1’000 inventions, it was open to visitors from all across Europe.

Participants included large corporations such as the Rehab-Robotics Company Ltd, from Hong-Kong that was presented with the Grand Prix prize for a new system to reeducate the hand, designed for people who have suffered a cerebral attack, allowing them to recuperate the motor capacity of their hands with just the power of thought. Participating in an event such as this is big in itself but to win a medal truly brings the country to the forefront of the international scientific community.

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 patience with minimal discomfort during the post-surgery phase.

Katugampala’s invention, the Radius Meter, 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 to the general public, the panel of adjudicators were taken by their ingenuity and practicality. Dr Lenadora’s team provided demonstrations to visitors present on how both his invention and Katugampala’s invention worked, the latter being unable to attend due to unavoidable circumstances.

“The Sri Lanka Inventors Commission which headed the effort for both participants to be present in Geneva is delighted at the result of the event,” Commissioner Deepal Sooriyaarachchi said. “This outstanding achievement will provide great new opportunities for budding Sri Lankan inventors and would also pave the way for further support and development in this area,” he added.