Dr Eoin O’Cearbhaill

Dr O’Cearbhaill is a Biomedical Engineer with a focus on the translation of medical devices from concept through to clinical use. Of note, he developed a safety mechanical clutch needle that is designed to stop automatically when it enters a cavity (such as the peritoneal cavity), which won 1st prize for Best Innovation at The MIT Sloan Bioinnovations Conference, 2012. 

Along with colleagues at Harvard University, he invented an adhesive microneedle patch that mechanically interlocks with tissue and can be used to anchor skin grafts, for sustained drug delivery or the extraction of interstitial fluid. This technology was awarded IChemE’s Innovative Product of the Year Award 2013 (published in Nat Comm). His work has been featured on BBC, CNN, Fox News, National Geographic and the NIH Director's Blog.