Dominican orthopedician Rafael Ben, a graduate of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, with post graduate studies in the Hospital Frank Pais (Havanna, Cuba) and the Hospital Necker (Paris, France) won the silver medal in the Olympic Games of Inventors held in Budapest, Hungary in March of this year. He competed in the category of health and human needs against inventors from 41 countries. The jury of his category was presided by U.S. winner of the Nobel Prize of Chemistry 1994. The gold award was won by a Dutch inventor who invented a walking stick for blind persons with a radar that alerts of possible dangers. Dr. Ben’s contraption helps set the broken bones. He invented the device to help many Dominicans who broke their bones, especially in motorcycle accidents, and couldn’t afford the US$500 to purchase imported devices made in Cuba or France. Dr. Ben first presented his contraption at the fair of inventors sponsored by INDOTEC, the Dominican Institute of Technology. The fair was visited by President Leonel Fernández who was impressed and offered government support so the DR could be represented in the olympics of inventors. Another Dominican won a silver medal in the category of curiosities for the invention of a pen that writes in all directions.
