Archive for Medical

Waffles and Dinges- Kraus

Posted by krausdavid 
· Monday, October 4th, 2021 
· 1 Comment

Thomas DeGeest was a worker for IBM for 12 years before he decided he was called to do something else. Thomas left his day job and started to pursue his dream job of owning his own business where he is now serving waffles to the streets of New York City. Originally, Thomas was from Belgium and moved to the states in 1997. Waffles and Dinges has now become such a huge hit in New York City, and Thomas has created over 100 jobs. The annual revenue for W&D is $5 million. The business is open 7 days a week and for at least 14 hours each day. Originally Thomas and his wife were thinking of moving to Brazil, where they thought they may be able to open up there business idea there. However, Thomas did not speak Portuguese and they ended up not moving to Brazil. Now the mission of the company is to not just make waffles, but to make it be the customers best part of their day. The waffle recipe is straight from Belgium and Thomas stated that he will never sell frozen waffles.

Originally the company was ran out of a mobile truck serving waffles. This became an issue due to the cost of maintaining the truck and the traffic is hard to maneuver through in New York City. This led Thomas to pivot and tow his business behind his car, and then led to buying actual stores for a home base. Thomas stated, “If you really want to run a food-truck business, realize your most important asset is your vehicle.” He goes further to explain how the truck is running 18 hours per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Thomas has grown such a successful business, and he his interviewed on CBS Magazines where he gives his input to other immigrants on how they can grow a successful business, using themes from the country of origin.

1 Comment
Categories : Baking, Business, Food, Medical
Tags : , , , ,

Easton LaChappelle: Unlimited Tomorrow

Posted by ZeislerWB20 
· Monday, September 28th, 2020 
· 3 Comments

TrueLimb - Next-Generation Prosthetic Arm

Easton LaChappelle had an interest in robotics in high school, but he found a mission when he met a young girl at a science fair who had an expensive and limited prosthetic device.  He set to work developing innovative prosthetic limbs with a focus on the impact they would have on his customers.  Unlimited Tomorrow tries to optimize the customer experience by providing an inexpensive, custom prosthetic, and the customer never has to leave their house.  They do this by shipping a 3D scanner to the customer that creates a model of the customer’s full arm which is then used to make a model for the prosthetic.  Unlimited Tomorrow uses 3D printing to easily make custom prosthetics.  After modeling the part, Unlimited Tomorrow sends several sockets to the customer to ensure the best possible fit for the prosthetic.  The prosthetic uses sensors to collect muscle data, and it then uses this to control the movement of the prosthetic.  The prosthetic costs about $8000 which is an eighth of the cost of traditional prosthetics, and if the customer outgrows their prosthetic, Unlimited Tomorrow will sell them a new one at half price.  Unlimited Tomorrow’s prosthetics are some of the most realistic available since they are modeled off of the customer’s full arm, provide natural movement, and even customize the color to match the customer’s skin tone.  The prosthetics are also intuitive to learn how to operate and lightweight to improve their functionality.  Unlimited Tomorrow uses crowdfunding and partnerships to be able to keep their costs low and stay true to their mission of putting their customers first through the development of innovative technology.

 

3 Comments
Categories : Medical, Robotics, Technology

Tech for First-Responders

Posted by pjnickoloff 
· Saturday, December 1st, 2018 
· 2 Comments

Young entrepreneurs are always impressive, but Mihir Garimella is one that really strikes me. He made in on an 18 under 18 list for inspiring entrepreneurs and businesses owns. Mihir is currently a sophomore at Stanford has a passion for working with robotics. His mission is to create real impact. He has definitely accomplished this through his invention of the Firefly.

At the age of 17 Mihir designed The Firefly, a modified drone which is specifically designed for  first-responders. It allows them to explore situations and disasters that could be dangerous and helps to find trapped survivors.

The Firefly is only one of Mihir’s creations. He has started work on projects that included self driving cars, adding scent to the movie theater experience, image processing that will help doctors with diagnosing patients, an app called Series which helps solve complex calculus problems using handwriting recognition and Citelt, a tool for writing correct bibliographies.

Image result for firefly drone mihir

Mihir is a strong example of the left and right brain working cohesively and productively to create new and amazing things. I am excited to see the impact that will come from his hard work and passion.

2 Comments
Categories : Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Health, Medical, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Robotics, Technology, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Pain turned Innovation: The Story of Diapack

Posted by YoungLB18 
· Tuesday, October 9th, 2018 
· 2 Comments

John Jones and Elliot Young were just freshman at Wheaton College, located just outside of Chicago, IL, when they decided to start a company benefiting diabetics around the globe.

Jones, a Type 1 diabetic himself, was all too familiar with the day in day out struggle of protecting his supplies and the shame that was brought upon by carrying a large medicine bag. Diapack is a product that refrigerates and stores medicine for diabetics in a safe, functional, non-eye catching way.

John Jones ’21.

These two students brought their idea to Wheaton College’s Shark Tank competition and Elevator Pitch competition. They won Shark Tank and was mentored by some of the world’s biggest medical startups. After the Elevator Pitch competition Jones and Young were offered $30,000 by a VC, which would fund 30% of their company.

However, the boys said “No thank you.”

They said “by declining the offer we believe we gave ourselves the opportunity to rethink what it means for us to be entrepreneurs. I also suppose, deep in our hearts, we did not feel prepared to be full-time entrepreneurs while going into our sophomore years at Wheaton” (Wheaton College).

Even though the boys turned down a once-in-a-lifetime offer, they had their priorities straightened out. And who knows, Diapack might start up after the young men graduate. However, I admire Jones and his ability to see an issue, and instead of sitting back, to act upon it. The innovation that came from a problem affecting thousands of people because one college freshman was fed up, is deeply inspiring. I personally struggle with letting the fear of the unknown get in the way of innovation. But Jones and Young did not let the fear of the grandeur of the medical world stop them from creating a product that could reinvent how diabetics live everywhere.

I believe that college students here at Grove City College, and around the world, could take a few notes of what these young men have done. There are problems all around us, we just need to develop the ability to see them, feel the pain, and make a change. I think another thing we can learn from Jones and Young is to not let our potential future fog what is right in front of us. The men had a great idea that can make a huge difference in the medical world, but they believe God has them where they are right now for a specific purpose and decided to embrace that.

Am I saying their decision to turn down the VC funding was the right one? Not necessarily, however, I am saying that we have been called to live in the moment and not worry about tomorrow. God has given these men a talent and a passion that could turn into a successful career, but He has also blessed them with the opportunity to go to a well respected College, to learn, and to grow, and they are taking a hold of that.

Seek out pain, make a difference, but do not forget where you are and what you are being called to right now.

 

Wheaton College. (2018, September 17). A Different Kind of Growth. Retrieved October 9, 2018, from https://www.wheaton.edu/news/recent-news/2018/september/a-different-kind-of-growth/#.W50lUHq2Fqw.facebook

2 Comments
Categories : Medical, Social Entrepreneur

Braigo- The New Way to Read Online

Posted by kinneywa17 
· Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018 
· No Comments

Shubham Banerjee is making big waves in the blind community. With a startup called Braigo Labs he is able to sell low cost printers that change internet text directly into Braille. This idea is revolutionary because before this technology existed all internet sights would have to be read aloud by the computer. This technology puts the power back into the hands of the blind. No more having to rely on a computer voice to tell you what is happening on screen

Banjeree has a vision to bring medicine and technology together in the right ways. To ensure that innovation is not being used for profit but to better the community around us. This is the vision that I believe many entrepreneurs should have. The “people first, money second” thought process, brings more people together and ultimately brings more people on board for the idea.

 

No Comments
Categories : Great Ideas, Medical, Medicine, Technology

Quali Health

Posted by michaelianrm18 
· Monday, October 1st, 2018 
· No Comments

Dr. Nthabiseng Legoete is the founder and CEO of Quali Health which is based out of South Africa. Dr. Legoete graduated in 2003 from the University of Pretoria and qualified as a doctor. At the time South Africa’s medical industry was very poor, and it continued its poor reputation for years. People who worked in South Africa were faced with a choice when they needed medical treatment which was either skip a day of work and wait in line at a medical treatment facility all day, or go to work and hope their problems go away. Multiple people would become terminally ill throughout this time period due to the fact that they couldn’t afford skipping a day of work. Dr. Legoete saw this as a major problem and decided to do something about it.

Dr. Legoete established Quali Health in May 2016 when she opened the first public facility in Diepsloot. Quali Health’s goal is to “improve access to primary healthcare in under-serviced communities.” The vision was simple. Solve the problem of choice between work and healthcare in South Africa. According to their website (qualihealth.co.za) their plan is to “provide effective primary healthcare to this segment in South Africa in the short term and Africa and other emerging markets in the medium to long term.” By 2017 they had expanded with three new facilities located in Alexandra, Tembisa, and Soweto.

Image result for nthabiseng legoete

https://twitter.com/nthabileg

Quali Health begun with only 40 employees and has grown to over 200 employees across four locations. Dr. Legoete’s first facility was only receiving an average of 62 patients a day upon opening in May, but it didn’t take long to take off. By August of 2016, Quali Health had over 400 patients visiting the one facility every day. The impact on the poor communities around the facilities has been incredible. Residents now have access to affordable health care that also allows them to receive assistance in the morning and be out and off to work by mid-morning. These facilities also have created over 200 new jobs, the majority actually residents within the communities. Quali Health is also working with small businesses around the areas by offering catering, plumbing, and maintaining of the facilities. Quali Health also offers training opportunities for potential new staff. Dr. Legoete is making it her personal goal to change healthcare in Africa, and community by community she is slowly achieving her goal.

 

No Comments
Categories : Medical, Medicine

EchoMark and EchoSure

Posted by kiskaea1 
· Monday, November 20th, 2017 
· 1 Comment

David Narrow has created substantial waves as an entrepreneur in the field of healthcare. At the mere age of 25, he is the CEO of Sonavex and creator of EchoMark and EchoSure.

David’s career with Sonavex began when he noticed that doctors would often have trouble locating previous surgical sites on patients. Locating these surgical sites is crucial for doctors if they are performing a follow-up procedure on a site. Usually the sites would be marked with implants that could be viewed later with an ultrasound. However, the implants that were currently being used were often difficult to accurately pinpoint in the ultrasounds. David realized that the healthcare industry needed a better implant that could be more easily seen and located with an ultrasound. So he started Sonavex and designed EchoMark.

EchoMark is a surgical implant made from a polymer material that is harmless to the human body. At the end of surgery, a doctor can insert EchoMark into the surgical site to mark it for later procedures. EchoMark’s unique shape causes the sound waves of an ultrasound to bounce off of it at multiple angles, enabling doctors and nurses to distinguish its location more quickly and accurately than previous surgical markers. If a second surgery in the area is not needed, EchoMark dissolves within 18-24 months after insertion, without needing to be removed. David’s product aptly filled an important need in healthcare, but it wasn’t long before he found a new need to tackle.

Another problem that medical professionals face is the occurrence of blood clots in patients who have undergone any surgical procedure in which veins or arteries are reconnected. Over 550,000 patients per year experience this type of surgery, which always involves the risk of blood clots. If a clot occurs and is not diagnosed and treated quickly, the patient may experience serious harm and have to undergo even more extensive surgeries. In response to this problem, David designed EchoSure, an ultrasound system that monitors patients’ newly connected blood vessels for clots. The system automatically alerts medical personnel of flow loss in a vessel. EchoSure’s intuitive interface allows medical professionals to use it without needing any training in ultrasound. As such, EchoSure acts as an early warning system against blood clots, allowing for rapid diagnosis and treatment before they can cause substantial damage.

David Narrow’s creativity and innovation to solve problems in healthcare have benefited numerous patients and have paved the way for even more valuable technology.

1 Comment
Categories : Medical, Medicine, Millennial Entrepreneurs, Technology

Nanoly and Enplug – Culture in Business

Posted by forddn17 
· Wednesday, October 18th, 2017 
· 5 Comments

Nanxi Liu grew up in a situation not typically considered conducive to innovation. After spending most of the first five years of her life without her parents in China, she could move to the United States and reunite with them. When it was time for her to go to college, she got into UC Berkeley and payed her way through doing odd jobs. After meeting a talented biochemist at a bar, she started Nanoly Bioscience, a company with a patented polymer for preserving vaccines without refrigeration.

Nanoly is built around the idea that many people cannot get vaccines because of environmental factors causing the proteins that make the vaccine work to become inactive. The polymer they developed is a sort of protective shell that functionally replaces a refrigerator. For this work, Nanoly earned many awards for social technological change, including Intel’s Top Social Innovation, Dell’s Global Social Innovation Challenge Award, and a Tech Award in 2014 for Young Innovators.

Social and technological change marry perfectly in this startup. While innovation is often thought of in the terms of apps or software, bringing about powerful social change is just as revolutionary. While the technology used is advanced and definitely a breakthrough, without a use that people care about, in this case a social use, it is simply another type of plastic. Because of this merging, Nanoly was able to make the world better.

Building upon this success, Liu more recently started Enplug, a technology/software business with a product that harnesses digital screens to allows users to link, control, manipulate, and post to any digital screen instantly. Plugging into any HD screen, the technology allows the user to display social media, presentations, news, or virtually anything. They also developed a software development kit, which allows experienced users to create their own apps to link to the technology.

The most innovative aspect of Enplug is the culture of the business. Over ten of the roughly 40 employees share a single house. This not only fosters a strong bond of cooperation in the employees, it also serves to bring innovation into everyday life and everyday life into the business world. Of course, it also saves money. This choice to treat a business almost as family is a demonstration of the innovative thinking that Liu brings to her businesses. Whether Nanoly or Enplug, Liu has a capacity for being intentional in the way a business is being run, instead of simply inventing a breakthrough product.

5 Comments
Categories : Communication, Medical, Social Entrepreneur, Women Entrepreneurs

Feeling lost? This young entrepreneur found a solution!

Posted by cameronsuorsa 
· Monday, October 9th, 2017 
· 9 Comments

Four years ago, the then 19 year old Benjamin Marasco received some of the worst news possible… “You have Cancer.”

Being diagnosed and fighting cancer is hard enough of a battle leaving you to feel lost in life… but when Ben went to various hospitals to receive treatment, he time and time again would get lost on his way to appointments. This consistent confusion made him feel unseen, unimportant and just another number… not to mention being regularly late to his appointments. But Ben asked himself if their might be a different way to go about navigating hospitals. A way to get to appointments on time, take the stress out of navigating hospitals and focus on the patients and their families. This is why Ben founded Pathpoint Health…

Pathpoint is an app recently launched at Washington Hospital available on the Apple Store and Google Play. It allows users to input their destination in the hospital and gives them step by step guided instructions to get to their destinations on time! Using IPS (Indoor Positioning System) to guide users, Pathpoint solves the traditional problems of hospital visits while providing a new experience to patients. The startup projects to expand to providing its services to multiple other hospitals in the near future.

Entrepreneurs like Ben demonstrate key characteristics that make them successful. Determination and Drive are essential as seen with his successful rise against cancer and graduating with the award of Senior Man of the Year from Grove City College just this past spring as well as in his business venture. Other important skills include communication, teamwork and innovation. His promising company is one that inspires me to create a business founded on one of my passions to help others, as I hope it does for you too. Ben is innovating the healthcare field with a new way we interact with hospitals, a new way to give direction to those who are feeling lost in mind, body and soul. A new vision for hospitals everywhere..

     

 

 

 

9 Comments
Categories : App, Medical, Millennial Entrepreneurs, Technology

Jolt — A New and Innovative Concussion Prevention

Posted by kiskaea1 
· Tuesday, September 26th, 2017 
· 21 Comments

Ben Harvatine, a wrestler and a junior MIT, had no idea that he had just suffered a concussion during one fateful practice. Unfortunately, neither did the MIT training staff. Ben continued to practice and compete, trying to push through what he thought was general fatigue or dehydration. When his dizziness persisted, he sought further treatment and was diagnosed with a concussion. This late diagnosis put his wrestling career on hold for a time and precipitated multiple hospitalizations. If Ben could have been diagnosed earlier, his injuries would likely have been much less severe.

While recuperating, Ben began to brainstorm ideas for how this type of situation could be prevented in the future. He and a friend, Seth Berg, eventually designed Jolt, a sensor that could be clipped on to virtually any type of sports headgear (helmet, hat, headband, etc.). Jolt would monitor head trauma during any physical activity and vibrate to alert the wearer of significant injuries. It would also send data and alerts via Bluetooth to an app on a smartphone, tablet, or other device. Jolt has a range of over 200 yards and a battery life of up to two months. Additionally, the app can monitor an unlimited number of sensors at once; and, another huge feature is that a Jolt sensor only costs $99.

This would allow sports players, coaches, or parents to monitor the head impacts sustained by the players. With the information Jolt provides, coaches, parents, trainers, etc. can know when their players suffer serious hits and decide whether the players should keep playing or stop. Jolt would act as an important prevention system to catch concussions before they worsen from further trauma.

In true entrepreneurial fashion, Ben Harvatine and Seth Berg found a need from personal experience and then brainstormed to solve that need. Now, their inventiveness is aiding players and coaches in the fight against concussions. Jolt is keeping players playing and protecting them in the process.

 

Jolt website — http://www.joltsensor.com/

21 Comments
Categories : App, Athletics, Fitness, Medical, Medicine, Millennial Entrepreneurs, Technology
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