Duke Student Innovators Win $10,000 Prize for Low-Cost Neonatal Care Solution

A team from EGR 102: Design to Deliver won second place and a $10,000 prize in the 2026 ISHOW Africa innovation competition for CannaSave, a low-cost monitor that alerts caregivers when a baby’s oxygen tube becomes displaced.

Duke engineering undergraduate Natalia Melbard and Makerere University in Uganda engineering undergraduate student Gloria Balamu Fortune are co-founders of CannaSave and NeoVex Innovations, the startup developing the product. Fellow Duke engineering undergraduate Casey Rah now works with the team as well.

CannaSave grew from the hands-on, human-centered design skills they developed in EGR 102, including market analysis, prototyping, and iterative design. Through DukeEngage and the Duke–Makerere collaboration in Uganda, the team worked directly with clinicians and transformed a critical need in neonatal care into a practical, scalable solution with real-world potential.

Their work was supported by faculty and mentors Dr. Ann Saterbak (Professor of the Practice in Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Duke Engineering First-Year Experience and DukeEngage Uganda program leader), and Dr. Ibrahim Mohedas (Executive in Residence at Duke University’s Christensen Family Center for Innovation), Dr. Megan Madonna (Assistant Research Professor in Biomedical Engineering and DukeEngage Uganda program leader), and Dr. Robert Ssekitoleko (Head of the Biomedical Engineering Department at Makerere University).

Learn more about CannaSave: https://cannasave.netlify.app/