Success Stories
“There are a lot of Arab women in the worlds of science and innovation that focus solely on their personal lives or their scientific knowledge alone. I would tell all of them that you can do both. You don’t have to choose!” says Sarah Aboerjaib , Stars of science season 12 alumna.
Project & Impact
A graduate from Kuwait University’s Electrical Engineering program, she wielded her expertise and skills as a versatile contract engineer at Kuwait National Petroleum Company, as comfortable dealing with finance as she is with engineering. Her engineering expertise enabled her to gather a team, collaborate with to develop her senior bachelor’s project focusing on the biomedical field, and bring it to Stars of Science Season 12!
Detecting a bone fracture in the field can be a difficult process. Proper diagnosis requires a scheduled appointment at a local clinic, which would expose the patient to potentially harmful X-ray radiation.
The Fracture Bone Optical Scanner, invented by Sarah and her team, would streamline the process to determine the need of possible medical care. The machine is a handheld device that uses near-infrared rays to detect bone fractures or abnormalities in the body, analyzing reactions of emitted photons that harmlessly travel through the skin and displaying results on a portable screen. The scanner could have immediate applications in homes and schools, as children can receive instant answers to medical care requirements or not in the case of unfortunate accidents. Sarah understands that her device could save parents a lot of time, money, and decision stress, as proper care can be administered only when adequate.
Aftermath of SoS
Sarah is currently writing further research as an upgrade on existing technology and methodology. She is also planning to pursue a DBA in leadership and finish her Masters of Business Administration. Additionally, she is bringing her creative ideas to life and will soon launch a book and an initiative for those who wish to learn a new language.
Sarah gives numerous workshops, the most recent of which was in March 2022 at Al Bayan School. The workshop, titled "How to Pitch," aimed to teach students how to present their products to the jury in a hackathon on the occasion of International Women's Day.
Sarah was chosen by the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council to represent the State of Kuwait at the Dubai Expo 2020, participating in the Science Forum for Gulf Youth. In 2020, she received the Young Engineer Award from the Forum of Engineers, Tamil Nadu. In 2019, she won first place and a gold medal at the Seoul International Invention Fair. Most recently, she established a company called Scanscope for Biomedical Devices.
In 2024, Sarah's startup, now named ScansX, is in the prototype development stage. She has developed an initial prototype and is refining it with the help of strategic collaborations and expert input. The focus is now on securing funding to advance to the next phase of development and market validation. Sarah has filed a provisional patent application for her innovative non-invasive medical device and a non-provisional patent, and she is preparing for a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application to secure international protection for broader intellectual property.
Under ScansX, Sarah works alongside an assistant and collaborates with a group of professionals including AI developers, senior electronic engineers, designers, a clinical engineer from Harvard University, and an industrial designer, all contributing to the development of the technology. She is actively seeking funding and has secured funds from personal savings, family contributions, bank loans, teaching Spanish classes, and prize money from winning the best invention in the science and technology sector in Kuwait. She continues to search for additional funding to proceed further.
Sarah has continued to build on the foundation laid during her participation in Stars of Science. The exposure and mentorship she received have significantly influenced her current direction, allowing her to refine the technology and strategy to better meet market needs. Participating in Stars of Science was a transformative experience for Sarah. It provided invaluable exposure, mentorship, and validation for her project. The idea of transforming from broken bones to detecting brain abnormalities came to her while in the Stars of Science lab, but she kept all the information confidential until she reached a maturity level to validate her hypothesis. The program helped her sharpen her focus and gain knowledge in the innovation sector.
