Necessity, they say, is the Mother of Invention. This is true of most of the things that we take for granted today, from aircraft to radio. Today, Sri Lanka is faced with an acute dengue crisis. Everyone has to chip in to resolve this crisis of epidemic proportions. We have to think outside the box to tackle this issue.
This is where Research and Development come in. Sri Lankan doctors are now working on introducing drugs such as Rupatadine to control the menace, while biological solutions such as Bti have been proposed. On a worldwide scale, efforts are being made to launch a dengue vaccine. A recent report projected that a successful dengue vaccine could have a market worth US$ 1,250 million by 2027.
While a vaccine may take a few more years to be commercially available in Sri Lanka, there are far simpler steps that we can take to control the spread of the deadly disease. The key to eradicating dengue from our midst is eliminating the breeding grounds of the mosquito that acts as the vector. This is not a very costly task.
However, not all nooks and crannies in a house, building or garden can easily be seen as access could be limited. An overhead rain gutter is a good example. And climbing onto such structures to look for the mosquito’s breeding sites may be dangerous.
Enter Chirantha Guruge, a Public Health Inspector (PHI) attached to the Galle Municipal Council who has produced an instrument which helps to detect the dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti and indeed, any other mosquito species. Guruge says his instrument helps to easily detect the dengue mosquito found in gutters, concrete slabs, toilet pits and higher elevations in homes and buildings.
Introducing his novel creation at the Galle Municipal Council premises, Guruge said he used a vehicle reversing camera battery, monitor, aluminium pipe and a battery charger to make his instrument. The production cost was only around Rs.10,000. It can be used to detect mosquitoes to a height of about 20 feet. The instrument has easy mobility as it could be hung on the shoulder.
However, the instrument in its current form is not perfect. For instance, it has no recording facility. Guruge told reporters that he could further develop with novel features if a person and/or institution comes forward to assist him. Most inventions in Sri Lanka never really see the light of day due to the lack of commercialization. We see very good inventions on television and in newspapers, but there is no progress beyond that initial bout of publicity.
The Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) and other related agencies must intervene to further test and commercialise Guruge’s very useful invention. There is no doubt that a number of companies will be interested in refining and commercializing this product. One advantage of commercialization is that it gives the producer economies of scale, which leads to a lower price for the final product in a few months. We need all the resources we can muster to fight dengue and this invention would be a valuable asset.
The Government has recognized the important role played by inventors like Guruge. Last year, the Cabinet decided to designate October 26 as National Inventors Day. Incidentally, October 26 is the birthday of one of Sri Lanka’s most respected inventors Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe.
The SLIC does an exemplary job in holding the “Sahasak Nimavum” (literally 1,000 Inventions) exhibition which showcases products and inventions by Sri Lankans from all age groups and all walks of life. In fact, some of the best inventions seen recently have been submitted to the exhibition by schoolchildren. Some of these inventions have since been turned into commercial products. Sri Lankans have regularly won Gold and Silver medals at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva (Salon des Inventions de Genève). Among the recent award winning inventions presented in Geneva by Sri Lankans were: A Rail Gate Control System Using Fuzzy Logic, Peripheral Nerve Stimulator Needle with Extended Function, Smart Jacket and Safety Coconut Husk Feeding Mechanism to Extract Bristol Fibre from the Traditional Fiber Extraction Process. These are diverse inventions that serve a variety of useful functions.
It is also important to obtain patents here and abroad for the work of our inventors, before someone from another country copies or patents a similar product. Once a patent is obtained, no other individual or company can lay a claim to that particular invention.
By focusing too much on theoretical subjects, our schools and universities could be veering children away from hands-on subjects and creative thinking. The latter is especially required for creating inventions. Many Government servants too could be having hidden creative and innovative talents which do not emerge to the surface due to the often stifling nature of bureaucracy, bound by AR and FR. The heads of Government institutions must encourage their subordinates to be innovative and creative. After all, such innovative ideas could eventually save time and public funds which can be channelled to diverse development and welfare projects.
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