In 2012, Colin Hill was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma right as he was about to start college at the University of Pennsylvania. Hill had to undergo extensive chemotherapy treatments, leaving him susceptible to life threatening infections, and a constant need to monitor his temperature to detect these infections as soon as possible. He would check his temperature consistently throughout the day, but at night, this became difficult. One night before he went to bed he had a normal temperature reading, but hours later he woke up with a dangerously high fever and was sent to the emergency room to treat the infection that he did not detect during the night.
He and other U Penn students, William Duckworth, Aaron Goldstein, and Becca Goldstein, began thinking of a solution to this problem. They developed Fever Smart, a smart device that constantly monitors the wearer’s body temperature, sends alerts to a smartphone/tablet/etc. via Bluetooth, as well as uploads the data to the cloud for access anywhere in the world. The device is only 32 mm long and is worn comfortably under the armpit. Although the hospital applications of Fever Smart are wide ranging, Fever Smart is marketed toward parents who want a way to effectively monitor their child’s temperature all throughout the night or when they are not present. Within months, they had a working prototype as well as FDA approval on the device. After an Indiegogo campaign for manufacturing funds raised 75% of its $40,000 goal in the first 24 hours, and then exceeded their goal with $65,000 raised, they launched Fever Smart in January of 2015.
Colin Hill and his group of entrepreneurs identified a significant problem through his own medical experiences, and the insight that those experiences gave them allowed them to formulate an innovative solution. None of the students had any medical background, and yet created a product that was a winner of Entrepreneur Magazine 2014, and can be utilized in the entirety of the medical field to improve healthcare. Fever Smart is just another example of a good idea coming from your personal experiences.
Resources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/fever-smart-patch-from-upenn-students-monitors-fevers-2014-8
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/09/prweb12181431.htm
This is a very intriguing device! Not only as a biology major does it interest me, but also as such a good idea. It seems so simple, yet it fulfills such a big need, especially in an area of self-care where constant monitoring is very important. I also love the fact that it works through smartphones, tablets, etc., making it easy to access and use.
I love this product idea. It is a plain and simple solution to the problem. I’m glad that Hill did not just make it for himself, but made it into a product to be sold everywhere to all who need it. I really like how it connects to a smart phone and uploads to a cloud to be accessed by anyone who needs to. This is a really good feature to a doctor can see his patient’s temperature as it gets high and be prepared before she even gets to the hospital.
I really like the fact that Hill realized a problem that happened to him, and he made a product around the problem. It is nice that he found a way to monitor someone’s temperature while sleeping without directly bugging the individual as they sleep. It is truly a great invention with a wide reaching consumer base.
This is a great innovation. I love that this came about from personal experience. However, I’m mostly impressed that this product got the FDA’s stamp of approval and raised most of its funds in 24 hours. That’s remarkable. With this product, caretakers can ensure that their patient’s body temperature is at or below normal without disturbing said patient.