June 9, 2006, is a date that Deborah Tacoma will not forget, as her life took a dramatic turn when a car accident left her with a broken back. Little did she know that her personal struggles would ignite a new approach to personal care to those individuals grappling with the challenges of intimate hygiene and personal care.

It was during the early 2000s when gynecologist Dr. Frank Hoffmann recognized the potential of blind and visually impaired women in detecting small and elusive breast tumors through touch. This realization eventually led to the development of the Medical Tactile Examiners program. MTEs are trained professionals who use their sense of touch to perform breast examinations, searching for lumps or other abnormalities that may be indicative of breast cancer.

Project Emma is a wearable technology developed by Microsoft Research in collaboration with a graphic designer named Emma Lawton. Emma was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 29 and had to give up her job as a graphic designer due to the tremors caused by the disease. Emma Lawton served as both the inspiration for the project and an advisor throughout its development.

“How to be a healthy journalist in an always-on culture?”. This is a question raised by Mar Cabra, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who formerly worked at Panama Papers and suffered a severe burnout that forced her to take a break from her profession. At the time, Mar was leading the data team at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which many journalists would consider the pinnacle of their career. However, she was unhappy and struggling with her mental health.

Kirstie’s daughter, Esme, had a life-limiting neurological condition called Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia (PCH). PCH is a rare disorder that is estimated to affect fewer than 1 in 100.000 individuals worldwide. It primarily affects the cerebellum and the pons, which are responsible for coordination, movement, and basic functions like breathing. However, some forms of PCH can also affect other areas of the brain, including the visual system.

One of the biggest problems for locals in remote and rural areas of Africa is the lack of transportation and logistics for moving the sick and injured. Chris Ategeka, who was born in a small village in western Uganda, is one of the many witnesses to this problem, as at a young age he saw his parents die of AIDS and also his brother while he was trying to carry him to the nearest health center.

Diagnosed with arthritis in 2011 it became a challenge for Andy de Petra to complete everyday tasks. As an Italian coffee lover, he immediately became frustrated with the difficulty of lifting a kettle full of water to make his morning coffee. On finding that there were no options, he focused his efforts on designing a kettle that would ease the struggle and enable people to maintain their independence. Reflecting its resemblance to a small bird along with the fluid motion when pouring, the Kettle was named ‘Uccello’, Italian for bird.

It all started when back to 2002 Jeffrey Brewer's son was diagnosed of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) at age 7. Nurses taught the Brewers how to inject the insulin and how to prick his son's finger for the drop of blood to test his blood-sugar level with a little meter. They learned a simple algorithm: If their son's blood sugar was this high, give him so many units of insulin; if it was this much higher, give him that much more. It's a crude scale that everyone that has type 1 diabetics makes do with daily. Brewer was shocked by the antiquated approach. "I had this logbook," he says.

This is the story of Peter Cheung (C.Y), and his father, who became a wheelchair user after suffering several strokes. Ever since his father's 3rd stroke, back in 2011, Peter Cheung realized that at that time the wheelchairs available in the market were either too heavy, too expensive or bulky. On top of that, Cheung has back problems due to genetic issues, so he couldn't really continue using the the manual wheelchair they used at first. He then noticed he needed to create a new kind of power chair, one that wasn't heavy and that could allow his father to move around easily.