We are proud to announce that Team UroClear won the Duke-NUS Medical School’s Health Innovator Programme (D-HIP) Dazzle Day and received the $50,000 prize!
Comprising final-year student Jie Min Ooi from NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering (with a Second Major in Innovation & Design), third-year student Danny Lo from Duke-NUS, and MBA student Joyce Zhang from NUS Business School, the team developed a device for efficient kidney stone removal and submitted it as their competition entry.
D-HIP is a nine-month flagship programme that brings together multidisciplinary teams of medical, engineering and business students to identify gaps in patient care and tackle them through research, design, and commercialisation. Engineering fellows from the College of Design and Engineering undertook D-HIP as part of their final year project course”.
Unlike conventional hackathons, D-HIP pairs fellows with mentors to help translate real-world clinical needs into working prototypes and viable business concepts. The programme culminated at the “Dazzle Day” showcase on 18 March 2026, where five multidisciplinary teams comprising 17 fellows presented their product prototypes and business plans to a panel of expert judges.
How the UroClear device works
Team UroClear recognised the challenge to remove kidney stone fragments more quickly and thoroughly, reducing the need for multiple or invasive procedures. To achieve this, the team developed BiPass, a device that uses irrigation fluid to create a continuous suction flow, effectively flushing out multiple stone fragments during the procedure.
Team member Danny Lo commented, “Incomplete removal of kidney stone fragments can lead to additional procedures, prolonged discomfort, and a higher risk of complications for patients. By removing fragments more quickly and thoroughly, we can reduce the need for repeat or invasive interventions, helping patients recover faster and with less disruption to their lives.”
Prototype contributions from other teams
We would also like to congratulate fellow final-year students Zing Jen Chew, Amelia Ong Jia Wen and Deepsri Jayachandran from Biomedical Engineering, as well as Kyra Gore from Mechanical Engineering, for participating in Dazzle Day. Their teams presented the following inventions:
- A targeted pneumatic system designed to stabilise the colon during colonoscopy, reducing patient discomfort, procedural time, and physical strain on nurses
- An enhanced surgical instrument providing real-time measurement and balancing of ligament tension during knee replacement surgeries
- A device that can safely shave off excess tissue from narrowed dialysis access veins
- A smart device that detects and prevents complications, enhancing safety of children receiving intravenous (IV) therapy.
Their work reflects the spirit of D-HIP in translating ideas into action, and we look forward to seeing their continued contributions in future endeavours.
