A young Bulgarian is part of the team that took first place at one of the world's largest and most prestigious student technology competitions. In just 24 hours, software engineer Viktor Minchev and his teammates Alan, Leo and Nick managed to create a prototype of a small device capable of detecting counterfeit or substandard medicines.
Four lads, 24 hours to work on the project, and a desire to create something useful – that's how PEEL came into being: a small, portable, orange-shaped laboratory for testing medicines.
Viktor Minchev, software engineer: "According to World Health Organisation statistics, at least one in every ten medicines in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or counterfeit. For anti-malarial medicines alone, over 100,000 people die every year due to substandard or counterfeit products."
The machine is a combination of carefully designed software and hardware. The user places a tablet inside it; it dissolves in water, the device analyses the solution and displays the result.
Alan Tai, software engineer: "The first thing the user does is take a photo of both the user and the packaging. By using characteristics such as the label, appearance, colour and markings on the tablet, we can accurately determine its origin."
Nikhil Ramlukhan, chemist: "A series of LEDs illuminates it. As the pill is a chemical substance, it has a unique ability to absorb light."
Viktor Minchev, software engineer: "Different substances interact with light in different ways. We can actually create a different optical profile for each medicine. This is where our AI model comes in, comparing this optical profile with various reference profiles."
The machine is connected to the user's phone via a cable. The test results are displayed on the screen.
Nikhil Ramlukhan, chemist: "When it comes to counterfeit medicines, the system either sends a warning or advises you to consult a pharmacist."
The lads point out that in the US, similar equipment can cost up to $10,000. The price of their prototype, however, is less than 30. The aim is to make expensive laboratory analysis much more accessible and enable it to be carried out anywhere, even by people without scientific training.
An article written by Дарина Ангелова, стажант-репортер, initially published on 27 September 2026, 19:21 (CEST)
