Maariv | Bezalel Graduates win international prize for the development of an innovative method for diagnosing skin disease in children.

The graduate incubator team of the Department of Industrial Design, accompanied by Professor Ido Bruno, a designer and lecturer in the department, have won first place in the Act for Patients & Customers category in an international competition conducted by the pharmaceutical company, Sanofi. The competition aims to create an active and collaborative dialogue between different disciplines to find creative and unconventional solutions for the world of medicine through joint development and research.

The team studied the effect of atopic dermatitis – chronic skin inflammation – on the quality of life of affected children. The study was conducted in five different Israeli hospitals and revealed discrepancies between the diagnosis itself and the actual severity of the disease, which the children often struggle to express and explain.  

As part of the set of solutions presented in the ADCToon project, the team developed a pack of illustrated cards to help children express the severity of their pain to adults and their treatment team, and to allow them to feel like active participants in the treatment process. Team member, Ron Livay, explained: “The illustrations on the cards are drawings of child characters that clearly and intelligibly express the severity of the symptoms, allowing medical staff to easily and clearly interpret the condition of the pediatric patient.” Another team member, Yuval Buchshtab, added: “It was important for us to be part of a project that could positively impact the daily lives of many patients. It’s a privilege to use the tools and perspective we acquired in the Department of Industrial Design to do a little good in the world.”

Team members: Ron Livay, Aram Amir Pundak, Yasmine Szendro-Brown, Alma Abrahamson, and Yuval Buchshtab.

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