Innovative Kiwi's 'garage invention' nominated for international award
24 Jan 2008
A New Zealander's do-it-yourself attitude has landed him a place in the finals at this year's Saatchi & Saatchi World Changing Ideas Award.
Ray Avery, a 57-year-old self-made millionaire and scientist, is the first New Zealand finalist in the awards in 10 years.
From his garage in Auckland, Avery invented a device called Acuset, which ensures the accurate administration of medicine.
The equipment has the potential to save millions of lives and improve the quality of clinical care. The intravenous flow controller allows flow rates of medicine to be set and is especially useful for people regulating their own medicine.
Avery runs a non-profit organisation, Medicine Mondiale, from his home. He works at designing and developing simple and sustainable science for health problems in the developing world.
From a childhood in orphanages and on the streets of London, Avery became a scientist, businessman and self-made millionaire. ''I was lucky to have such a challenging start to life. It made me fearless and fostered a social responsibility that is given to very few.
''When I was seven years old in an orphanage, I dreamed of having my own lightswitch. Now, I have the knowledge and tenacity to make the world a better place,'' Avery says.
After coming to New Zealand, a chance meeting with world-renowned eye surgeon Fred Hollows set him on a path to Eritrea and Nepal to build lens factories for the Fred Hollows Foundation. Exposure to the shortcomings of healthcare in these regions made him determined to use his knowledge and skills to tackle the issues at a practical level.
''I believe that one person can change the world for the better and in the act of trying can create a groundswell of support that makes anything possible.''
The winner of the Saatchi & Saatchi World Changing Ideas Award will be announced at a ceremony in New York on 21 February 2008.
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