Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has announced CQU nursing graduate and emergency nurse Glen Riverstone as being 1 of the State’s top innovators, awarding him $85,000 to help develop his SNAPIT invention.

Mr Riverstone’s newly-formed company River Logic was among 5 recipients in the latest round of grants under the Queensland Government Innovation Start-Up Scheme.

Mr Beattie said all 5 winners were chosen because they were innovators with bright business ideas and promising products.

“The grants will help them test and promote their products and go down the complex path of commercialisation,” Mr Beattie said.

The `SNAPIT' device, which is now patented, fits over the tops of ampoules and replaces the use of fingers breaking the tops. The broken lids are secured in the device until safely ejected into a sharps bin and the device re-used.

Mr Riverstone was inspired to invent SNAPIT after cutting his fingers multiple times.

He reasoned ‘something needs to change - there must be a safe way to open glass ampoules’.

He credits his university study for teaching him to think innovatively using a problem-solving framework and not to accept things on the basis that they have always been done that way.

Opening ampoules is a recognised safety hazard in the industry. Medical staff can have adverse reactions if exposed to substances in ampoules - adrenalin and nuclear medicine being 2 examples.

Mr Beattie also congratulated Mr Riverstone on winning the People’s Choice Award on a recent episode of the ABC’s New Inventors Program.

“This is great national exposure for a terrific invention by young emergency nurse Glen Riverstone – I hear the phone has been running hot since the program aired and I look forward to hearing of SNAPIT’s progress,” Mr Beattie said.

Photos: Glen Riverstone demonstrates his device to CQU Head of Nursing & Health Studies Dr Lorna Moxham. Details via: glen@snapit.com.au .