As the project developed, she decided to enter it into the James Dyson Innovation Award, where she emerged Singapore’s runner-up. She is grateful that the exposure she received from it has resulted in even more people, including parents of children with eczema, reaching out ot her about trying her Rollerball, or even asking where they can buy it.

“I was quite surprised by the positive reaction,” she says. “And how people are willing to try this out. The response has made me realise the weight of what I’m trying to tackle.” The exposure also helped her start her market research, with many people volunteering to participate, or asking where they could buy the Rollerball. “I even had a preschool teacher who told me that she has students who suffer from this and it’s very hard for her to watch. So she wanted to she was wondering if she could purchase one to help them out.”

The device itself is small, discreet and actually, pretty cute. Comprising of a hard ball with “spikes”, it is encased in a container that holds it while it rolls around. Rolling up and down your arm feels soothing and manages to hit those itchy points just right.

“The rollable mechanism is what sets this apart from other scratchers,” Bei Ning explains. “No matter how fast you go, it’s really more about how you press down, rather than dragging across. A large part of the process was finding the right texture that is relieving enough but doesn’t cause any injury.” In the process of designing it, she tried a variety of other feelings, including vibrations but the main inspiration came from a doctor, who told her that simply rubbing on a smooth surface, wouldn’t work. “I had about 25 different versions of the textures,” she says, noting she also had to trial and error the case itself, how tightly it fit, how it could cause more friction etc.

One of the most important takeaways she’s had from the experience is about balance. “I learned as a designer, that if I am approaching topics like this, many stakeholders are involved, from the medical community, to the science behind it etc.” I have to be cautious and responsible about what I am doing.”

Bei Ning is clear that the Rollerball is not meant to be seen as a cure-all for eczema in any way. “I’m not trying to replace creams because I can’t. There is a medical need for creams. But also creams don’t work immediately. My invention is meant to stop you from using your fingers, and soothing the need to scratch.” In her research process, she says she has spoken to doctors and dermatologists and taken into consideration how they feel, but also most importantly, how do users feel. “It feels like this is the bridge [between the two], and we can slowly take steps to see how we can improve the overall experience.”

Ultimately, Bei Ning hopes her invention will be a form of encouragement to eczema sufferers. “There’s actually a lot of support groups on Facebook [for eczema sufferers],” she says. “And everyone on there seems to be struggling with what they’re experiencing and trying to share ways that can help. As a community, they’re always willing to try alternative ways to improve their quality of life, but at the same time, the condition can make them feel very hopeless at times, sometimes all the suggestions to try this or that cream, can feel quite tiring at times. My hope is that this product will show them how you can tackle this condition from another angle, and hope that gives people some relief, and also hope.”

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