Blind-in-one-eye Irish student invents world's 1st visually-impaired pregnancy test

A 23-year-old Irish student who is blind in one eye has developed the world’s first fully inclusive and multisensory pregnancy test for visually impaired and blind women, according to local media reports.

Leah Shanahan, a graduate of the University of Limerick (UL), designed the innovative pregnancy test geared towards blind women during her final year studying Product Design and Technology, Irish broadcaster RTE Radio reported last week.

Speaking to RTE, Shanahan explained that the final-year challenge was to identify a real-world problem and design a solution.

Her own experience of being born with sight in only one eye served as the initial inspiration.

"I was born with sight in only one eye, and it wasn’t until I was 4 years old and I asked my mom which eye was her ‘bad eye’ that we found out I was legally blind in one of my eyes," she added.

Speaking directly with blind women and learning more about their lived experiences, "is really what spurred on the project” she explained.

Shanahan’s design uses a saliva-based pregnancy test — a lesser-known but scientifically established method. She said she hadn’t been aware of it herself before beginning her research, but found that it offered several advantages over traditional urine tests, especially in terms of accessibility.

“It’s much more accessible for blind people compared to a urine test,” she added.