Team:Linkoping Sweden/Project/Challenge

As mentioned earlier, studies indicate that nut allergies are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. In Sweden, 1 in 20 children have some kind of nut allergy and it’s very rare that they will ever outgrow it. Nut allergies are also common in the US; approximately 3 million Americans have one or more kinds of nut allergy. In total about 30,000 persons each year suffer from anaphylaxis because of unintentional consumption of their allergen, 200 of the affected die, and 160 of these are allergic to peanuts or nuts¹.

Unfortunately, as of today there is no vaccine or medication that one can take before consuming food that will reduce the effects of a peanut allergy. There are medications for the allergic individual to take if they accidently consume their allergen in the form of adrenaline shots like Anapen© which decrease swelling, aid breathing and prevent a decrease in blood pressure. This solution only helps after the allergic reaction has set in and does not prevent the reaction from occurring in the first place. So what if there was a product which could help an allergic individual to avoid a potentially dangerous allergic reaction in the first place?