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PL-Grant-Submitted
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PL-Grant-Submitted
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THIS GRANT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED ON 4/4/2020!
This is a draft of a grant letter to Protocol Labs (PL). PL is sponsoring a grant of USD $20k.
https://protocollabs.smapply.io/prog/covid-19_open_innovation_grants/
DEADLINE: April 10, 2020
I don't know how much prototyping will cost but I saw this link in #useful-links.
GRANT APPLICATION:
PROJECT SUMMARY:
This is a project initiated by Dr. Brian Lichtenstein on HelpWithCovid.com. Dr. Lichtenstein is a frontline physician in San Diego, and put out a request for a very affordable wireless stethoscope that could be made readily available for healthcare providers (HCP) during this pandemic. Request features included Bluetooth capabilities to reduce very-close proximity exposure of HCP to patients with Covid-19, wide availability of the design, and a higher quality construction and sound than the low-cost stethoscopes currently in use.
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:
Stethoscopes are difficult to sterilize and good quality ones are expensive. This results in one cheap stethoscope being left with each patient, and that stethoscope is then used by multiple HCP's throughout the day. This use model poses risks such as cross-contamination. These stethoscopes are effectively disposeable - cheap and produce poor sound quality. Additionally, such stethoscopes have short tubes connecting the bell to the ear plugs, forcing HCP's closer than necessary to a patient incubating covid-19 or other contagious diseases. In addition, standard stethoscope ear plugs are hard to use when the HCP's head is wrapped in a hood and wearing protective gear such as face masks, so an over-the-ear headphone style would be preferable.
Higher quality stethoscopes can be very expensive, so not all medical professionals possess their own. Digital stethoscopes available online can be upwards of $500.
A few devices that feature Bluetooth connectivity require an intermediary device such as smart phone or Android device to connect separately with both bluetooth-enabled ear plugs and a headset.
Some designs prove a challenge to effective sterilization.
PROPOSED SOLUTION:
Our current trajectory is to design a stethoscope that can effectively listen to either heart beats or breathing sounds, amplify the sound which is then played through a speaker. This device will not feature tubes like traditional stethoscopes.
Once this basic design is completed, we may look into adding other features such as Bluetooth and such. The Bluetooth could work directly with Bluetooth headphones and headsets.
It is our hope that this open design can be easily produced by many people particularly those in the healthcare and medical industry.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES:
A stethoscope that provides high quality sound for any HCP that needs to listen to a patient.
Simple to use with lower exposure risk of covid-19 for HCP's.
Easy and safe to sterilize/sanitize.
Affordable to institutions and HCP's.
Donating 90% of proceeds to medical relief organizations.
Hobbyists could purchase off-the-shelf components to create one.
OPEN LICENSING
Open source for hobbyist version.
If we somehow found a manufacturer willing to manufacture our design, we might pursue a production model design. We are not there yet.
TIMELINE
4/30/2020
Comment:
Mike Vang: They actually meant deadline. I am not sure what our deadline is. Do we have a more accurate deadline?
REQUESTED AMOUNT:
USD $10,000
Comment:
Mike Vang: I am not sure how much money we need. Charley suggested a couple hundred dollars.
PURPOSE OF FUNDS:
The grant will be used to purchase equipment, supplies and etc. to help us prototype the design and then test the fidelity of the sound produced. The design will be solicited on line with two variations. One design will be for the hobbyist while one will be a production design.
Afterward, we might move forward with adding Bluetooth capability and/or refining base design to increase its quality.
OBSERVATIONS:
Dr. Lichtenstein noted that many generic stethoscopes are poor quality. Higher grade stethoscopes are very expensive. Many stethoscopes do not feature Bluetooth.
By creating an affordable stethoscope, many HCP can own their own.
And since the design includes a speaker, an HCP does not need to get closer to a patient that is incubating covid-19 or other infectious disease.