Poster Session: Reflection

Well, today was the poster session and I must say: wow. There were so many posters there; some were better than others, but it got me thinking about the posters we're supposed to make for this BE Design Project. Now, my favorite poster was the 3D Breast Cancer DOT Poster. Why? Because it had everything laid out, nice and neat. Nothing was left to be unsaid, and best of all, I didn't need a big fat dictionary of biomedical terms to figure out what it was saying.

So maybe, we could incorporate the following into our design project poster:

1. Step-by-step process laid out, including an introduction and final applications.
2. Diagrams, charts, pictures etc - that really would help.
3. Inserting marketing schemes; in the poster session, it was obvious that marketing the research would be beneficial to the students and researchers there because it could help them get more funding, market their product, etc.
4. Use simple, but professional terms and integrate them with pictures.
5. Make it look neat.

Overall, I really enjoyed the poster session today. It opened my eyes to what an outstanding poster was and what posters got lost in the shuffle.

GOZINTO Final Rough Draft

GOZINTO Rough Sketch

Feature Analysis

Rough Logo

With some rearranging of our initials at the close of BE recitation today, we came up with a clever (or at least we think it's clever!) company name and logo.

Company Name: CHARJJ
Potential Company Logo:
So, unfortunately, 30 seconds and a laptop mouse can only produce the "astounding" quality of the above sketch but we'll see where this takes us ... :)

Final Rough Draft Sketch

User Specs

Our basic user specs:

USER SPECIFICATIONS

CAPACITY	200 doses
SIZE	5” x 4” x 2”
Screen	3.5” by 2.5”
WEIGHT	18 ounces (excluding batteries and medication bag)
COST	$1000 – 1500
INTENDED USERS	Adults (specifically geared toward disabled adults and seniors)
FEATURES
Front Panel	Red error button, Green in – use button, Yellow refill button Touch screen with manual buttons for backup: Start/stop button, Select and up/down buttons, Quick navigation buttons
Side Panel	Emergency stop button, AC jack, Wi-Fi, Head cover dispenser
FUNCTIONS	-Administer the drug -Clinician-only modification of dose quantity by increments of 0.1mL, 0.1μg, or 0.1mg -Keeps a record of patient’s dosage history (can be viewed in chart or line graph form) - Sends dosage history data to hospital after every use, through Wi-Fi    àImmediately notifies hospital if patient attempts to modify dosage -Always displays drug name, current dose quantity, and remaining quantity at the top -Alerts patient when 50, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 doses have been used
“Standby” mode	Center: shows countdown until patient can next take medication Right: indicates how many doses remain (represented with a gas meter)
OPERATING CONDITIONS	Keep dry at room temperature; best to administer medication when PCA is elevated above patient’s head
BATTERY LIFE	Approximately 120 hours at 10mL/hr (using 4 alkaline batteries)
USEFUL LIFE	Lifetime guarantee if PCA is used properly and taken care of (kept dry, not repeatedly dropped, etc.), and maintenance is done every 5 years
SHELF LIFE	10 years
MAINTENANCE	Sent to company shop for maintenance every 5 years
REPAIR	If PCA malfunctions, it will be sent to the company shop for repair
SANITATION AND SAFETY	- Disposal plastic head covers - 5-digit clinician code (to be entered on number pad) for dosage changes and to open the electronic lock on the lid - Alert sent to hospital if attempt to change dosage is made

Company Specifications: Big Booming Business

At first we we decided to post this as a document, but since I can't seem to figure out to how or where to post a document, I'm going to post this as an informal table. The specifications are listed below and possibly subject to change, or slight modification:

COMPONENT	PRICE/DESCRIPTION
ADVERTISING	Advertising costs will include client advertising (for example, in health related professions such as hospitals and nursing homes). Approximately $100,000 will be awarded to this branch of business in order to pursue advertising for the new ORAL PCA. More may be awarded to this business sector when the results arrive from the manufacturing and distribution test trials and analysis of cost-benefits have been taken into account. Advertising strategies include pamphlet mail-outs, client consultations, and product-launch marketing.
TIME TO MARKET	The FDA must first approve of the safety of the design which could take approximately year. The time for the product to get to the market will be approximately 2-3years after the design has been formalized and confirmed; from this point, it will be sent to manufacturing and distribution companies for product analysis and testing. Manufacturing should take six months to come out with a fully functioning version, while trial tests should last about a year. The remaining time should be devoted to analysis of the test trials and perfecting the few prototypes. Distribution should take another six months.
COMPETITION	The competition for ORAL PCAs will include competition from regular PCA (intravenous) companies such as Smiths Medical. Once the product has been out in the market, we will anticipate other versions of the ORAL PCA to be on the market. We foresee similar companies like Smiths Medical to take on ORAL PCA manufacturing and distribution as popularity for the product grows.
BUSINESS STRATEGY	The business strategy for the ORAL PCA will be to target health related professional environments. Prior to the launch and after the product has been cleared for safety features (optimally during the closing of our trial runs that have positive results), we expect to participate in various symposiums and forums in the medical field to promote the product. We hope to attract clients from both hospital settings to more privatized sectors of the health field (nursing homes, private practices etc.) Then we hope to contact interested clients. This will include specific client consultations in order to promote and sell the ORAL PCA. These strategies are included in the advertising costs under product-launch marketing and client consultation.
PRICING	The pricing of the entire ORAL PCA is dependent of the oral medical in the device. The device itself should cost approximately $1000-$2000 dollars each. This does not, however, include accessories and other products or services associated with the device. Accessories and other products will not come out to market until about a year after the device has been fully launched and is successful; this is also dependent on the consumer demand.
MANUFACTURING	The manufacturing costs will include putting the design through a company that will manufacture prototypes and the actual product once it’s ready for the market. Manufacturing costs should be around $500-$750 per ORAL PCA product. Like other medical innovations, government subsidies or grants may help the initial start-up of the project; if this is the case, manufacturing costs may be lower.
DISTRIBUTION	Distribution is tied with the manufacturing company and dependent on that timeline. We hope to distribute these products directly to health care providers as well as clinicians in professional health related fields. The distribution of the product will include a formal verbal and hands-on break-down of how the ORAL PCA works and how to prompt patients on its use. For larger hospital settings, we hope to teach the clinicians and administrators how to use the product during a post-consultation session before distributing this to other patients. This will be included in any fees directed in the distribution costs. These costs should run about $500 dollars per session; it is not optional. Shipping and handling will be directed through the company and this will be an extra $100.
SALES	Around twice the annual sales of other competitors
REPAIR & UPGRADES	Can be sent back in for repair within two years time for free, upgrades include larger versions that can store greater amounts of medication at time
FINANCIAL	Requires investments of $200,000 at least.
REGULATIONS	The product can be distributed to hospitals only.
POLLUTION	It saves a lot of energy that would be expended to other actions. This product saves both time and effort for the patient and the administrators. However, the disposable tips are not that environmentally friendly.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY	It is its own line of product, the next closest is Avancen MOD but that is designed for bedside administration only. Therefore, there are exclusive rights to this patent.
PRODUCT LIABILITY	Product liability involves potential problems with manufacturing defects, design defects, and failure to warn of potential failures. This could involve unhygienic mouthpieces, tubes, etc.

The Beginning...

Oh, alas - the first full group meeting in Van Pelt, but not the last. Chalkboards are a great way to start designing. Here's ours:


Another Van Pelt meeting tomorrow, conveniently after our Intro to BE lecture!