Anita Boros experienced every parent’s worst nightmare when her two-year-old daughter, Gia, suddenly became seriously ill.
After eating homemade pancakes, Boros recalls the “terrifying” moment her daughter suffered a severe anaphylactic reaction in the family’s kitchen.
“She took the first bite and I don’t think she took a second bite because she already went red. Everything then went so fast,” Anita Boros, founder of MYQER, tells Prolific North, via a video chat.
After being rushed to Manchester Children’s Hospital, Gia had a series of allergy tests, which revealed she had reacted to the egg in the pancakes.
“I was just handed some EpiPens and 10 minutes of training. They just said: ‘Here it is. This is how you inject it.’ And life goes on? It was just very terrifying.”
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Despite working in urgent and emergency care support within the NHS at the time, she still felt unprepared and knew from that frontline experience just how critical every second can be.
Although she now knew what to do in an emergency, she found herself worrying about whether anyone else caring for Gia in future would know how to respond if she had another anaphylactic reaction.
And that unease only got worse as Gia, now aged three, headed for nursery.
“I went to 60 nurseries and none of them were up to my standards or gave me that confidence I needed. Luckily, we did find one that took on extra training and they did all the due diligence around her needs, and we were reassured that they would take care of her.”
But it still wasn’t enough to put her fears at ease.
“I’m a very annoying person. If I have a problem, I need to fix it. I can’t just let it go. I’m the type of person who gets things done,” she laughs.
So she set out to create a solution to do just that.
“I knew we had to do something and I knew it had to be a solution that everyone has access to, and these days, almost everyone has access to a smartphone.”
In October 2025, she launched MYQER, short for My Quick Emergency Response, a solution designed to give instant access to vital medical information in an emergency.
The aim was to create something “universal, simple and instantly recognisable”, that wasn’t reliant on someone already in a panic having to sift through numerous apps, have access to WiFi, or root around for important information.
Instead, MYQER is a physical card that can be attached to anything from a lanyard to a bag, with two dynamic QR codes that can be accessed online or offline.
The dynamic QR code only needs to be printed off once, and can be updated remotely when needed.
“With Gia and the possibility of anaphylaxis, that was my priority: how fast can you get to know my child and her needs. It is as simple as that.
“I never thought I’d be here coding a platform and going places with this.”
How MQER works and what makes it unique
Back in 2020, allergy researchers Adam Fox and Paul Turner called for urgent action to keep children with food allergies safe following the separate deaths of two children at school in the UK.
Yet more high-profile cases have sadly since followed, including the tragic death of five-year-old Benedict Blythe who had a fatal anaphylactic reaction to cow’s milk at school.
Although Boros wasn’t aware of those cases at the time of developing MYQER, instead initially focused on the safety of her daugher Gia, she emphasises how critical it is more widely that important allergy or medical information is accessible immediately.
“I’m sure MYQER can come in a positive light to support the compliance around training to help teachers understand better,” she explains.
“And it did come up in Gia’s school, that if she has an anaphylactic shock, how long do you need as an adult to find the information? If Gia is having lunch, and her EpiPen is in the classroom, how long does it take for you to realise this child is having an anaphylactic reaction and it is not just a tummy bug?
“We had this discussion with school staff as Gia is the first [EpiPen] user in her school. Now, she has a QR sticker on her notebook, one on her little backpack and sometimes if they are going off site, she will have a lanyard if she goes outside.”
So how does it work? I checked out the demo version and it is as simple as she says.
For users or parents, they simply create an account on the web platform and enter essential information, which then generates the QR code. This can include anything from details about emergency contacts, allergies, any health conditions, medical notes, accessibility needs, to care preferences.
For emergency responders or anyone first on the scene, such as a teacher, they scan the QR code to check if the child or individual has any medical background, allergy information, or medications they need to take.
“It’s very simple, it is just a little snapshot of what’s important right then for people to be aware of. I used to work in urgent emergency care in business support so I know what is important for ambulance crew,” she explains.
That critical information appears instantly, allowing people to “act fast” as an emergency situation is unfolding, but she insists it is designed with privacy in mind and only contains essential information.
“I designed it in such a way where it keeps it very private, but also gives just enough context.”
And the QR emergency system appeared to be in high demand after she spent time speaking to “a lot” of emergency service workers over coffee in Manchester emergency rooms while gathering feedback.
“Eight out of 10 times when an ambulance is being dispatched, they don’t know who they’re going to, even if a family member is there they may not know much about the history.
“So that’s how I learned that MYQER has market-fit and is useful for doctors in the first instance.
“But it’s not just that, if someone found my daughter on the floor and they scan the QR code, when they’re calling 999 they can give this medical information and it will flash up that she has allergies with EpiPens in her bag, so the ambulance can guide them on what to do.”
While there are existing solutions out there from dedicated apps to medical alert bracelets, she realised most of them rely on having access to WiFi or having an app already installed. And she deliberately made sure that MYQER isn’t available as an app for a key reason.
“Once the online version of MYQER was up and running, I was on a flight to Dubai and realised what if there was an emergency in the air or in a remote area without access to WiFi? So I came up with an offline version.
“That was the biggest challenge and thing that makes it unique, as well as being available in 22 different languages already. I wanted it to be able to load lifesaving information, even without internet, wherever someone is.”
Future plans
Although inspired by Gia and the dangers of anaphylaxis, Boros says MYQER goes beyond helping those solely with life-threatening allergies.
She believes it could help people with diabetes, heart conditions, cystic fibrosis and plenty of other needs.
“It’s not a medical device but it would absolutely be helpful in an emergency of any sort, it doesn’t have to be allergy, it could be that someone needs insulin, or that they may be having a heart attack.”
The platform is already attracting users internationally and while MYQER is currently free, and Boros intends to keep it that way for everyday users as emergencies are “expensive enough as is for families”, she’s currently building paid versions for education providers and workplaces.
Schools and education providers are a key focus, particularly as awareness grows around allergy safety and medical compliance.
At the same time, a workforce version is being developed for those in “higher-risk” industries such as construction, transport and lone-worker roles.
But her longer-term ambition is even bigger. Once she gets up to half a million people signed up to the platform, she hopes MYQER will one day be integrated within NHS emergency control rooms and ambulance dispatch systems.
“My big dream, as the NHS is very dear to me, is to create a MYQER portal for ambulances being dispatched in the UK.
“So if someone calls 999 and gives a MyQER code, emergency teams could access the patient’s information straight away before the ambulance arrives,” she says.
“That’s the big picture, for emergency services to use MYQER.”
But perhaps most importantly, she now feels reassured that others have the same instant access to vital medical information about Gia as she does.
“I’m proud. At the start, I created this for protection for Gia and I know it works. It gives her peace of mind that she has her little MYQER with her and it will keep her safe for a long time.”
