主要研究 今天

短短几个月，就有四个 保健护理 students turned their COVID-related frustrations into entrepreneurship that may ultimately help address a significant healthcare problem.  

这一切都始于护理系学生大卫·布朗决定加入 数字健康创意马拉松 以弥补因COVID-19而失去的临床时间. 他还鼓励他的同学索菲·格朗丁, 塞西莉亚·罗宾逊和马修·哈里, 护理专业同学, 参加创意马拉松, 哪一个每年由 主要研究的健康与人类服务学院 和 彼得T. 保罗创业中心.  

在长期护理机构的临床轮转期间, the four sophomores had previously noticed that undiagnosed urinary tract infections (UTIs) were a common problem. 在头脑风暴, they conceived a device that tests urine directly in toilet bowls to detect these infections.  

The idea, which developed into Info-P, won the competition and inspired the students to enter the 保罗J. Holloway的竞争是联合国大学最重要的商业计划竞赛. The team has advanced through the competition and will compete with five other teams for a $15,在5月8日举行的决赛中，1000名获胜者将获得奖金.  

尿路感染是一个医疗保健问题   

尿路感染对医疗机构的平均成本为2美元.每年30亿美元, and 15% to 50% of all people residing in long-term care facilities experience a UTI at some point, 据布朗说.  

Undiagnosed UTIs lead to even more significant problems for patients, adds Grondin.   

“有很多有害的副作用, 尤其是在老年人群中, 比如谵妄, 这可能会导致一些不好的结果,格伦丁说. “One of the worst outcomes is falls because they may try to get up on their own and injure themselves further.”    

布朗指出，用抗生素治疗尿路感染也有风险, as some antibiotics can disrupt the balance of bacterial cultures throughout the body.    

学生提出的解决方案   

The group's small device is designed to sit in a toilet where it measures urine for elevated or decreased biomarkers that indicate the patient is at risk for developing an infection. The device would then digitally transmit the urinalysis to the patient’s medical record and automatically alert caretakers to the potential issue.     

“Our product is focused on screening those initial indicators before a full-on infection,布朗说. “这些可以用蔓越莓汁之类的东西来治疗, 多喝水加一些对乙酰氨基酚或泰诺, 哪些自然有助于预防感染和避免使用抗生素.”    

The team is conducting market research with long-term care facilities to determine their potential interest and price points. 一路走来, the students are getting advice from faculty and students in mechanical engineering and computer science, 谁协助了产品的技术和设计.    

而Info-P很可能会销售给长期护理机构, 该产品在家庭和医学界还有其他潜在用途.    

“One of my professors suggested this could really help chemotherapy patients who are very susceptible to getting UTIs,罗宾逊说. "She told me about one person who did get a UTI because of their chemo treatment, 直到下一轮化疗时她才知道, 如果她有一个家庭尿液装置就更好了.”    

尿液分析也可用于检测蛋白质, 葡萄糖和药物, 这为进一步的产品开发提供了机会, 据布朗说.    

“One of the things we're thinking about is selling the device to a company that can produce this. But we want to keep the patent 和 ability to make cartridge systems so that we can continually adapt this device to whatever we need in the future,布朗说.   

接下来的步骤    

Winning the Holloway的竞争 would allow the Info-P team to focus on a patent and other critical components of the development process, including additional research and going through the Food and Drug Administration review process.    

不管比赛结果如何, 由于6美元的价格，该产品的开发将在今年夏天继续进行,创业中心的种子基金.     

Clinical Associate Professor Alyssa O’Brien has been one of the team’s biggest mentors and supporters through the development process. 奥布莱恩说，她运用自己的商业知识来帮助学生, 这是一次有益的经历.   

“看着球队的发展, problem solve and stretch themselves out of their knowledge comfort zone is an experience, 作为一名教育者, 这给我的学期带来了如此多的快乐和兴奋,奥布莱恩说. “The team has taught themselves everything from engineering to business models to marketing in the process of working through their ideas and preparing for the competition.”    

四个学生都热衷于护理和帮助别人, this journey into entrepreneurship has emphasized that they can positively impact people’s lives in multiple ways.  

“This is a great example of how students should take advantage of every opportunity they can in college,哈利说。. “一开始只是临床时间的补习作业, 现在我们正在参加主要研究最大的比赛之一, 有机会赢得15美元,000.”