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I-Corps  Q&A:  Developing  a  cuff-less blood  pressure  monitor

6/16/2020

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Courtesy of UA E-mail Digest
Nineteen teams recently completed The University of Akron Research Foundation’s (
UARF) I-Corps program, which helps novice entrepreneurs clarify who their customers are and what problems the new product or service can solve for those customers.
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Team members of the cuff-less blood pressure monitor are the senior biomedical engineering students pictured above, from left in front, Jillian Savage and Arael Monroe. In the back row, from left, are Allie Stephens, Megan Laws and Alison Targosky.
A group of senior biomedical engineering students at The University of Akron participated in the spring 2020 cohort of the program to further research into the development of a cuff-less blood pressure monitor. Team members Megan Laws, Allie Stephens and Alison Targosky answered some questions about their product.
Tell us about your product, the cuff-less blood pressure monitor.
“The monitor is a cuff-less device that will determine blood pressure noninvasively utilizing Korotkoff sounds. These Korotkoff signals are detected using a microphone module and filtering system. The cuff-less feature reduces the risk of product misuse and misplacement and allows for the device to be more comfortable for the patient. After further miniaturization, the product is expected to be wireless so that measurements can be taken easily without the need for excessive, bulky equipment.”
What influenced you to conceptualize a cuff-less blood pressure monitor?
“The original idea was conceptualized last summer at the 2019 Biomedical Engineering Society Coulter College design training program. The competition pushed the team to think outside of the box and create innovative solutions to pressing medical problems. Through several interviews with health care professionals, we saw a common issue with the typical blood pressure monitor’s cuff component. By using a cuff-less design, we were able to alleviate many of the issues that had been expressed with the current equipment.”
As part of the I-Corps program, you had to interview potential customers for your product. Who did you interview for feedback? Was there anything that surprised you from the interviews?
“We began the interview process by speaking directly with health care workers that would be operating the device. These professionals had great insight about the pitfalls of current devices and the environments in which they are used. Blood pressure has what appears to be an infinite number of applications and we seem to uncover new settings that rely on blood pressure monitors with every interview. I-Corps encouraged us to interview more people that would have business insight, aka those with purchasing power. This got us to shift gears and interview people who are more involved with the supply chain, including purchase coordinators from various hospitals. As engineering students, we didn’t have a significant amount of experience with purchasing processes, so these interviews were very insightful when trying to determine our path to market.”
Where are you at now with the project?
“There is still a bit of development to complete on the device. Our most recent accomplishment was successful testing of the Proof of Concept Prototype. This testing proved that we can pick up on Korotkoff sounds without restricting an artery in the traditional manner with an arm cuff. With some design refinements, we will be able verify some critical outputs and miniaturize components for easier operation. To fund this development, the team has been spending the past several weeks since graduation applying to various design competitions and grants.”
How did the I-Corps program help you along this development journey? What was your biggest takeaway?
“I-Corps gave us the opportunity to further refine our target market by doing over 20 customer interviews. These interviews allowed us to explore different stakeholders and their input about what the problems are with current blood pressure monitors. The mentorship that I-Corps provided allowed us to investigate stakeholders we may have never even thought of, such as purchasing coordinators and buyers. The biggest takeaway from the program would be the development of our business model. This is something we were not familiar with prior to I-Corps, and with their guidance, we were able to develop a working business model canvas. I-Corps also shed the light on our device’s value. The original problem that we were solving was related to accuracy, but we didn’t realize that we can also save time for healthcare workers with this device.”
Your group was a recipient of the 2020 Lubrizol Life Science Health Design Awards. What was it like to get such recognition for your project?
“It was truly an honor and a testament of our hard work toward the project over the last year. Our 2020 graduating class had many talented teams that were solving significant problems, and to be selected as one of two winners amongst our class enunciates our dedication to this project’s success.”
Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your research and development process?
“Yes, in mid-march, when Akron decided to continue the rest of the academic semester online, we knew that we were not going to be able to get the project to a place that we originally wanted by the time the team graduated. Without the ability to meet in person and physically develop the device, all design efforts were halted for our project. Even during I-Corps, it was difficult to obtain an interview with a health care professional because everyone’s time went toward COVID-19 relief. Fortunately, we were able to develop our business models and other aspects of the device that we could do virtually during this time.”
Group members: Senior biomedical engineering students Megan Laws, Arael Monroe, Jillian Savage, Allie Stephens and Alison Targosky
Media contact: Alex Knisely, 330-972-6477 or aknisely@uakron.edu.

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Can  you  meditate  your way to  success?

3/10/2020

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There was a student who had trouble focusing. They were trying to start a business… but they were frustrated because after 6 months of work…

They weren’t seeing much progress. 

And then one day, one of their teachers told them to try meditation. 

It seemed like an odd suggestion…

Yet, they tried it anyway. 

So one day, the student took about 10 minutes to give this “meditation thing” a try. 

And after about 2 minutes, they started fidgeting around…
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They started thinking about what they were going to have for dinner…

And they wanted to get up. 

In fact, he only lasted for 6 minutes before he went on with his day. 

Now… for most people who try meditation- their journey stops there…

That’s a problem.

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Want  people  to  listen  to  you?

2/26/2020

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One of the most common questions I get from young professionals, introverts (and really a diversity of people) is how do I get people to listen to me? 
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And in today’s email, I’m going to give you the answer. And it doesn’t involve any of the over-complicated persuasion tactics you see on the internet…

In fact, what you’re about to learn is valuable for…

  • Negotiating better deals for your business, your coworkers, and your clients.
  • Getting other people to listen to your ideas. 
  • Snagging more sales in your business or career. 
  • Having your boss or investors buying into and actually feeling excited about your crazy ideas. 

...plus tons of other applications. There are far too many to list here. 

Now, the advice I’m about to give you is simple. There’s only one principle for you to follow… 

And it’s called: Reason-Why Persuasion

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The Greatest Experimentalist Of All Time?

2/18/2020

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​Elon Musk was once asked who his greatest inspiration was.
 
You, like most people, might have expected his response to be Nikola Tesla…
 
But surprisingly, Elon’s answer was actually Thomas Edison.
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​And there’s a good reason for that… you see, lots of people like to associate Edison with a bad connotation. Especially for ruthlessly dominating Tesla in the business world from his strategic business tactics.
 
However, Elon realized something important, it’s not just being able to invent great products that change the world…
 
But being able to push those ideas, products, and services out into the world.
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That’s why Thomas Edison was his ideal role model… because Edison succeeded where Tesla fell flat. Edison strived in his ability to build a business, exchange value for money so his ideas could live on for decades, and scale his business up to affect millions of lives.
 
His business spirit, paired with his natural innovation turned Edison into a world changer.

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Bill Gates:  A  Short  Lesson  About  Turning  Failure Into  Success

1/28/2020

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When most people think of Bill Gates, they think of this super-genius billionaire who is always successful. 

Well, as you are about to see, that is not exactly true. 

You see, back in 1970, Bill and his partner Paul Allen had started their first business: Traf-O-Data. 

Bill and Paul worked closely with many electrical engineering students and faculty members at the University of Washington, hoping to create a device that automatically read traffic tapes (Back in 1970, manually reading these tapes was tough work).
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Well, after years of sinking time and money into this business, Bill thought he was going to have his first big break...

An official from the county office was scheduled to see a demo of Traf-O-Data. 

How exciting right? A chance to finally push his product into the market. 

So one day, the official walked into the lab, and the demonstration started.

The lights on the device lit up. Everything seemed to go well… but then: CRASH!

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Ready  to  Go "Target  Market   Fishing?"

12/10/2019

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How would you like to use what some call “market fishing” to find the best market fit for your business?
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A big mistake lots of novice entrepreneurs make is choosing the wrong target market.
​

You can spend a ton of time and energy creating a great product. You have developed an invention or service that you are really proud of.
​

And you think you’re customers are going to love it, too. 

But then you spend loads of time and money trying to sell it...

And it falls flat. No sales. Not even a dime. *Cue the violin music*
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What the heck happened? 
The number one reason for startup failure is due to a lack of product-market fit.  


How to Avoid Failure
What I’m about to share with you is a simple way to discover the best possible customer for your business. Plus, if you follow these steps, you’ll end up with a solid set of validation data that you can share with investors, and maybe convince them why they should bet on your company, too.


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How Do  You  Balance  School  and  Entrepreneurship  or  Life Generally?

11/26/2019

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It’s getting close to the end of the semester!

It’s exciting that’s it’s almost over right? But frustrating because you’ve got so much going on…

All the projects, exams, and homework you have to do…

It all seems to pile up. 

Stressing you out and making it harder to focus on your ideas. 

It’s a problem lots of student entrepreneurs suffer from. 

So what do you do?

How do you get your school work done… and make progress as a student entrepreneur? 

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How to Be Productive without Feeling OVerwhelmed

11/19/2019

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A common problem I hear from ambitious students and entrepreneurs is they’re feeling overwhelmed every day. 

Too many meetings, too many tasks, and too many things to accomplish. 

Especially if you’ve got huge goals as many of you do… it sucks feeling like you’re not making enough progress.
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So ask yourself...

Even though I'm busy, am I being productive?

In this post, I’ll share with you a sweet tip on how you can make more progress without feeling overwhelmed… Let's get to it!

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Is This the Secret Key to Success?

10/29/2019

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​“I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little bit wiser than they were when they got up, and boy does that help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you.” – Charlie Munger

Want to know the “secret weapon” billionaires like Warren Buffet use to fuel their success?

Their biggest piece of advice…

Adopt A “Growth Mindset.”

​
What’s a growth mindset?
You’ve seen people who are stuck in the same place for years… doing the same tasks each day. People like this seem to be like robots running on autopilot…

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Water industry is drinking in software from Akron company

2/24/2019

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By Dan Shingler
Akron's got another software startup that appears to be gaining traction, although treading water — in a good way — might be a better way to put it.
Fontus Blue, which moved into the downtown Bounce Innovation Hub in June, doesn't make the sort of app most people will ever use, though millions may taste its results.
The company's offering, Decision Blue, is a subscription-based software as-a-service product that helps water-treatment plants address issues and produce water that consistently exceeds testing requirements by providing treatment formulas and regimens based on real-time modeling.​

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