A health-monitoring system designed by an Indian origin MBA student at University of Houston has made it to the IShow finale in Palm Desert, California.
Created by Nithin Rajan and Steve Xu, the device, called the BlueScale, resembles a standard bathroom scale connected to a bicycle-like handlebar, which actually is meant to offer congestive heart failure patients both peace of mind and significant health-care costs savings.
"Nithan and Steve are developing a technology that is very useful medically, will benefit a large group of patients, and is simple for people to use. Such elegance and purpose of design are rare and tend to be highly sought by investors," said Dr. Cliff Dacso, director of the Abramson Center.
And if their unique health-monitoring device wins at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Innovation Showcase, also known as the IShow, the student duo could receive up to 10,000 dollars in seed funding from ASME.
What's more-the finalists will also get to pitch their inventions to venture capitalists and "angel investors" who will be in attendance to get their hands on the next big thing.
"The IShow is known for picking the cream of the crop. We know we're facing stiff competition. But, we're passionate about our design, our team and our company moving forward. I can tell you this: We're going to Palm Desert to win," said Xu.
BlueScale simultaneously records a variety of patient information, including weight, heart rate, blood pressure and cardiac output, in a mere 10 seconds.
When combined, those daily measurements give a good picture of the health of the patient's cardiovascular system, and can even predict acute episodes, such as heart failure.
The inventors said that if used daily, the device will indicate when a patient needs to seek medical attention, potentially heading off dangerous episodes and preventing costly emergency room visits and ambulance rides.
"The design of Blue Scale is inspired by two everyday actions: stepping on a bathroom scale and riding a bicycle. Since everyone is familiar with these simple actions, the usage of Blue Scale is seamless," said Luca Pollonini, a post-doctoral fellow at UH who worked with the team.
Rajan said that the device has received good reviews from patients involved in preliminary clinical testing, which will make it easy for them to convince investors.
"I am excited about the marketing presentation, even with limited experience with investors, because I look forward to telling our story, which I firmly believe is compelling and important to changing the way we deliver health care in this country," he said.
Hats off man.
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