A simple solution to a well-known problem. Linnea Mattson's idea won the idea competition Arcada MindVentures, and can possibly save many lives on roads in the future.
Linnea Mattsson is a fourth-year student in Emergency Care. During one of many hours of studying this fall, she came across something that became the basis of the winning idea in this year’s edition of Arcada MindVentures, an annual idea competition for Arcada’s students.
When Mattsson read about road traffic accidents, and the mechanisms behind why so many die or are injured in them, she discovered something that surprised here: many die because of blocked airways. The respiratory tract can get blocked when you become unconscious, for example in a car crash, and is left sitting with your chin resting on your chest.
- If you are left sitting that way, with blocked airways, you can survive for only about four minutes. The average time for an ambulance to arrive at an accident is longer than that. That made me realise that the only thing needed to save lives is something that keeps the chin up, so that the airway is kept open until the ambulance arrives at the scene of the accident, Mattsson says.
Mattsson thought of the Swedish bicycle helmet called Hövding, a type of neck collar that inflates in the event of a fall or collision with the bicycle. Mattsson’s idea is to form a fully Swedish collaboration, where the helmet company’s technical know-how is combined with the knowledge of a car manufacturer who is world-leading in road traffic safety.
The result: ‘Hövding x Volvo’, a type of neck collar with motion sensors, made to be worn when driving a car. Mattson’s product would be considerably smaller than the inflatable helmet that inspired her, as it aims to lift the chin by only a few centimeters in case of a collision.
- The idea is that you fasten this small product around your neck, in the same way you fasten your seat belt when driving a car. It should react just like the car’s airbags and get triggered by a crash.
Good prospects to become realised
Participating in MindVentures was an easy choice for Mattsson, as she attended last year as well and appreciated the experience.
- Since I encountered this traffic accident related problem a few months ago, it has disturbed me a little. If so many people are dying from such a small problem that is so easy to fix – why has no one done something about it before? I was also keen to present my idea in MindVentures as it feels like a safe space and an overall nice event.
The competition jury, which consisted of Arcada’s Chief Strategic Officer and alumni Jessica Blechingberg, Elina Sagne-Ollikainen and Rasmus Östman, presented the first prize to Mattson for her simple solution to an urgent and well-known problem, a solution with good prospects to become adapted.
In the near future, Mattsson will mainly focus on her studies, but she hopes to be able to spend more time thinking about her idea and strategy later on.
- I am not an engineer, so there are still parts of the construction of my product I have not thought through yet. But I want to pass on the idea to those who can realise it. Of course, it would be fun to pitch my idea to these companies for real. I hope my idea can become a reality.
Mattson was awarded 1200 euros for her winning idea. The jury decided to share the second prize between two of the competition entries in MindVentures: Mari Bergqvist's ‘Individualized Services to Elderly People’, and Ida Storbjörks, Johanna Smeds, Michelle Snårbacks, Carin Svennblads, Karoliina Ståhles and Janna Sundström's ‘Happy Hammas’. Both ideas were awarded 350 euros each. The jury also gave honorary mentions to David Björkström and to Rim Jinane-Ben.
