What an exhausting yet exciting week it has been! This week’s blog week will mostly focus on my experience with the Medical Innovation Bootcamp that took place at UCIMED.
The GMI group at UCIMED
Every day at around 6am, the sound of the early morning train nearby our hotel woke us up just in time to get ready for the Bootcamp. I quickly got ready and was out the door at 7:10am to get an early morning breakfast at the hotel. I, of course, had the typical with the Gallo pinto, eggs, plantains, toast, and coffee. On the first day of Bootcamp, it was fun to check out the big, open UCIMED space. Before we entered the building everyone was required to wash their hands at the 3 sink stations that were set up right outside the main entrance. Once we got to the freezing Bootcamp auditorium, we dove right into lectures about the three major medical device industry trends such as innovation for lower healthcare costs, the use of data-driven solutions, and globalization/focus on emerging markets. Since there are many different routes one can take when focusing in the medical innovation field, we were taught how to develop a strategic focus. This includes asking ourselves what diseases we are most passionate about, and what we see as the greatest area of need. Asking myself these questions led me to realize that I am most passionate about diabetes and cancer especially because innovations in those fields are where the greatest needs reside in the medical community. The same day we were tasked with a medical design project that we would be presenting on the last day of Bootcamp. Our team, DFeet Ulcers (haha, get it?), worked on coming up with a better solution for checking foot ulcers for diabetic patients with neuropathy. My team consisted of Vanessa, Raniyah, and Sebastian (a tico!).
Throughout the week, we worked on the research phase of the project which included defining the problem statement, researching current methods and shortcomings, and the potential for future development. Since there are currently no solutions for checking foot ulcers on diabetic patients with neuropathy besides performing regular foot checks, we identified that the scope for future opportunities was really high. We also learned to create a patient flow chart, a money flow chart, and a Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment (PDT) Analysis chart for our device. We researched a lot more on the market that we are targetting for our device. It was difficult to find the specific statistics that we were looking for such as the number of patients over 45 with diabetes and neuropathy. However, we did quite a bit of math and digging to estimate the market value of our device. On the same day, we also defined our design criteria based on the collected user needs and learned about the engineering design process, and the different types of prototyping.
After the initial research and market value analysis, it was time to brainstorm ideas for our diabetic foot check device. A couple of ideas the team came up with included a heat map scale, a PH sheet detector, a hand scanner, a smart sock with pressure sensors, or a slip-on slipper with pressure sensors. After creating a Pugh Decision Matrix which is a structured way of evaluating a decision, we settled on the Heat Map Scale Idea. This design is similar to a weight scale except it includes IR sensors that detect the temperature of the feet and generate a heat map which is sent to an app for self-analyzation. A location with a difference in temperature relative to the rest of the feet indicates the formation of an ulcer. The sensors would be an array that scans the feet instead of multiple static sensors all over the scale to significantly reduce the total manufacturing cost of the scale. Below is a picture of the prototype that my team and I created of the DFeet Scale. The beaded stick is the IR temperature sensor that would move with a stepper motor (the white balls) to scan the feet. The clear plastic wrap represents plexiglass which was chosen because it is strong and transmits IR. The cardboard box represents the plastic base of the scale, and of course, the purple feet represent human feet.
DFeet Scale Prototype
Our final project set-up
On the final presentation day, we prepared by editing our slides to make them aesthetically pleasing. We also practiced our pitch a few times before presenting it to the judges, sponsors, professors, and other participants. It was definitely nerve-wracking to see so many industry professionals judging our work, but it was not as difficult to pitch our idea as we thought it would be. Looking back at the week, I was surprised by the accomplishments my team and I made and the amount of work we put in in just 4 days!
Bajaj Design
In addition to the 4-day project, the Bootcamp had fun little innovation challenges such as the marshmallow design challenge and redesigning the bajaj challenge. We built the marshmallow tower on the first day using raw spaghetti, tape, and one marshmallow that had to be at the top. The challenge was to create the tallest standing tower and our team won! We were tied with another team that also was just as close in length. On day 3, we were tasked with redesigning the bajaj. Bajaj is a three-wheeled taxi that can sometimes be seen around Costa Rica. While it is a convenient and fast way to get around, it is also pretty unsafe. So, we prototyped a new solution with certain rules: the bajaj did not need to look like the current design, it had to have an open-top, and it had to be safe + fast. Every team tested their bajaj on a zip line, and the fastest and safest bajaj won the challenge. Safety was measured by putting 2 ping-pong balls in our design, and if they did not fall out of the bajaj upon impact, it was marked safe.
Kaira, her blue umbrella, and everyone else
The Bootcamp required some distressing, so the GMI group tried POPs ice cream, which was highly recommended by everyone who has been to Costa Rica. I got a chocolate paleta and was very content with it. The rest of the day, we relaxed by eating some delicious Indian food and walking around San Jose to check out some fancy restaurants!
That’s all for now, but look out for my next post to hear all about our visit to Arenal Volcano today 🙂
Pura Vida,
Jhalak M.