Scott Radley: Hamilton high schooler Chris Lamont is solving tricky medical problems one invention at a time

The conversation is moving along nicely until he begins describing the sensor-and-portable-circuit-board-based solution he created when he was 11 to deal with cast-induced acute compartment syndrome.

Um, sorry, the what? For the what?

And did he say 11?

I had absolutely no clue what I was doing," Chris Lamont says self-deprecatingly.

He figured it out, though. Which is part of the reason the Bishop Ryan Secondary student wouldn't just be a front-runner for most innovative student in Hamilton but has also been given the University of Toronto's most-prestigious scholarship for graduating high schoolers.

But back to the, well, whatever that is he was talking about.

He was making dinner in the kitchen with his physician mother one day back in Grade 7 and she mentioned cast-induced compartment syndrome. For the non-medical, a cast that's put on a person with a broken bone is occasionally too tight and the blood flow is cut off. This can lead to all kinds of problems including amputation.

Why can't you just measure the pressure to stop it from happening?" he asked.

Because, uh ...

Oh my gosh," he said at that moment. There's my science fair project."

Some of us made awesome paper-mache volcanoes that spewed creamed-corn for our middle-school offering. Lamont created a smart cast that places sensors inside the plaster mould that send a signal to activate a self-releasing valve that'll release air from a partially inflated IV bag set against the skin if the pressure gets too high.

Yes, at 11.

For a kid who built his first computer a year before, it was merely a problem in search of a solution. Which he produced. But this only set the stage for his Grade 8 project.

He was having a hard time coming up with an idea so he went onto the World Health Organization's website - as all 12-year-olds do in their free time - and searched out the leading cause of death in the developing world. He discovered dehydration and diarrhea kill 500,000 children each year.

In this country, that might be treated with an IV drip. Except our units run on electricity. In some parts of the world, there is no power. Simple gravity could resolve this but some clinics have few nurses helping many patients. They can't monitor everyone at every moment. A baby could overdose if nobody is watching how much solution he or she received so the device had to deliver just the correct amount without constant attention.

I thought, This is exactly what I'm going to do,'" he says.

So he did. The intravenous fluid delivery system he created involved a cervical pinch clamp that was activated by a lever that shifts in and out of equilibrium.

In simple English? Think of an image of the scales of justice. The IV bag is placed on one side. As the fluid drains and the bag gets lighter, it rises. When it gets to a determined point, a clamp slips into place cutting off the flow.

He made this in his basement. On his ping pong table. With a Christmas tree stand and parts made by a 3D printer.

There were a lot of failures," he says. But you never fail unless you quit."

This invention won him major awards including a gold medal at a Canada-wide science fair and an appointment with a patent lawyer. A few years later, he's in the process of getting his work published. At which point he hopes it could get made and go into use.

What's next?

Before we raise expectations too high, let's keep in mind the 17-year-old plays AAA hockey (he scored the overtime goal for the Bishop Ryan team in the Catholic city semifinals) and he's a volunteer coach with the Skate The Dream program that teaches hockey to disadvantaged youth. On top of everything, he maintains a 96 per cent average. And he does have a social life, he laughs.

That said, he does still seem to find time to invent things.

During COVID, he created face shields that were used by some doctors at McMaster Children's Hospital and other clinics. Then he created 3D-printed bronchoscopy and bone models that he sold for teaching.

Add it all up and there's a reason he just earned that U of T scholarship that could be worth $100,000 over four years while he studies computer science. He's one of just 15 people across Canada to get it.

Does he have a big idea he's been saving to work on at university once he has even more tools and training at his disposal?

Not yet.

But I'm trusting it'll show up."

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com