A NEUROSCIENCE PHD has been crowned a ‘Champion of Champions’ in an annual award.

Twenty-seven year old, Devon Lewis, from the University of Southampton won the title in the Engineers in Business Competition (EIBC).

The competition pits teams of university engineering and bio engineering student innovators against each other to win seed funding to progress their business idea.

As the winner, Devon wins a trophy as well as £1,500 for his brainchild, Inpulse which is smart clothing that increases strength and corrects muscle imbalances

Inpulse allows wearers, be they world-class athletes, keep fit fans or patients suffering from neurological disorders, the best possible control of their muscles.

Devon explained what spurred him on to develop smart clothing to improve muscle control: “I’m fascinated by the idea that we can directly activate our muscles non-invasively with small electrical currents.

“Winning the Engineers in Business prize is absolutely amazing.

“The entries were incredibly strong this year, so it was an honour to even get a chance to present in the finals.

“£1,500 is actually the exact amount I need to cover the rest of the production costs for our pilot so I can’t wait to start getting Inpulse clothing out to people and seeing the progress everyone makes with it.”

The EIBC prize fund is provided by Engineers in Business Fellowship.

EIBF’s President, David Falzani MBE, said: “What is exceptional about the young engineers and technologists who are engaging with business ingenuity is that they are developing concepts while in education and many go on to develop real businesses that tackle problems in society.

“We are absolutely delighted for Devon and look forward to seeing how Inpulse develops in the coming months.”