Turkish student innovations in health technology

Turkish university students have received recognition for developing technological solutions focused on health and accessibility.

At Fırat University, the NefSense project, led by Eren Akdeniz with guidance from Prof. Dr. Canan Aksu Canbay, developed a portable electrochemical biosensor. The device analyzes human breath for compounds such as acetone and isoprene to assist in the early screening and clinical risk assessment of lung cancer. The project, which utilizes molecularly imprinted polymer-based sensors, received the Excellence Seal from the TÜBİTAK BiGG Investment Program. The team has established the company Cellsway Biyoteknoloji A. Ş. with the goal of integrating the device into the healthcare system within approximately one year.

Additionally, students Efil Saylam and Emre Kıran from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University won first place in the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship category at TEKNOFEST 2026. Their Echo2Code project features an AI-supported hardware kit for hearing-impaired drivers that converts environmental sounds, such as sirens and horns, into visual alerts to improve road safety.