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- Country of residence: Palestine
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The young Palestinian woman, Fatima Qishta, 24 years old, succeeded in inventing a home device that eliminates the problem of sweaty hands that a large number of citizens suffer from, and exposes them to embarrassing situations, as a result of which they may be forced to resort to surgeries or cumbersome traditional prescriptions.
Fatima's friend was complaining about the problem of sweaty hands, and she experienced the details of the suffering in her studies and in daily life. This prompted the young woman, who works as a physical therapist, to search for a way to help her friend and began investing her field of specialization in this innovation.
Fatima Lnawa says that many people do not know that this problem is treated with physical therapy, but the extent of her friend’s problem prompted her to download research in this field. She was busy for more than three months downloading studies and research that reached the twenties of the last century.
The young researcher returned to primitive devices from the last century that had been treating this problem, and she decided to transfer the experience and manufacture a device with the capabilities available in the Gaza Strip, especially since the attempt to import a device from abroad failed due to the occupation preventing the entry of any device that addresses this problem from which many citizens suffer.
Fatima’s friend was the field of the experiment that succeeded, and Al-Fakka explains, saying: “The device is made of plastic tubs containing salt water that conducts electricity. Electrical wires are connected and a control panel controls the amount of electricity that reaches the water, so it is very simple, as the patient only feels a little numbness.” There is no harm in it.”
She adds that electrotherapy is based on the idea that salt water is rich in positively charged sodium ions, and by conducting electricity, it produces repulsion between the ions that rush into the hand from the inside, blocking the sweat cell receptors, and thus sweating gradually stops.
The young woman designed the device with the help of electronics engineer Saeed Al-Haddad, at a cost of $300 during the trial phase. It was later tested on some cases that made them feel better. Qishta indicates that the device treats the problem in 8-10 sessions, while more than that is needed for cases of severe sweating.
The success of Fatima's experiment, which she began implementing in late 2017, qualified her to run for a scientific innovations competition organized by the Shuaa Foundation for Science and Technology, and she was selected among 15 projects to vote on, with three of them out of the way, after filtering them out of 60 projects.
Fatima adds that during the implementation period she received financial support worth $300 from the Riyiyat project implemented by the Palestine Creativity Center Association in Rafah, out of 35 projects she works to support as incubators for economic empowerment.
The young researcher aims to transform her idea into an economic project by supporting it and putting it on the market for sale for an amount ranging between 200-250 dollars as a home device that helps people solve their problem, and return to using the device when they feel the return of the sweating problem, which is likely to return, albeit to a lesser extent than before.
Fatima's success in implementing her idea with simple local capabilities continuously proves the ability of Palestinian youth to break the siege with their minds that do not surrender to the bitter reality and their perseverance to find alternatives from usually available capabilities. It is like these young people whose projects must be supported by official institutions locally and abroad.
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