Blocking transmission

A Cambridge University engineer has helped to develop a novel method for preventing HIV transmission from mother to child.

Stephen Gerrard, a Cambridge University chemical engineering graduate and an Engineers Without Borders UK volunteer, contributed to the development of a modified nipple shield which is capable of disinfecting breast milk as it passes through it.

He now plans to continue work on the design as he takes up an MPhil at the university this year.

The device is the result of work at the International Design Development Summit (IDDS), a unique conference held at MIT last August. The Summit brings together engineers and field workers, both amateur and professional, to work on research projects aimed at developing prototype designs.

Gerrard, together with a team of five others, was assigned the task of creating a practical design for heating milk to deactivate the virus, following on from work being carried out by a research group at Berkeley, California.