DesignWise Medical Incorporated

This is a very impressive non-profit who is working to meet the unmet medical device needs of kids with chronic or acute illnesses. It's important advocacy work for a subset of the population overlooked by traditional for-profit device manufacturers. As someone who works within healthcare, I believe that this organizaiton and the kids on whose behalf they work would benefit greatly from this wonderful opportunity.

The development of DesignWise began as the dream of a medical device engineer and graduate student. Its now an amazing organization providing what other medical device companies would never dream of touching. The founder, Brad Slaker, continues to do more with less and with the site that Sierra Bravo provides, DesignWise can marshal more resources, more efficiently, allowing the organization to develop more products for little kids that so desperately need them. DesignWise has a great mission, is founded and run by an amazing entrepreneur and has already made a difference. Sierra Bravo has a chance to accelerate the mission and its impact on the medical community.

DesignWise is an innovation organization that connects clinicans with designers to insure that medical device products are designed exclusively for children instead of 'modifying' a devices from adult applications. Importantly, children are often smaller, more active, and have different body structures and functions than adults requiring specific medical device designs. In addition, a child’s body changes greatly during childhood raising concerns about implanted materials , long-term exposure to certain equipment and about device longevity.
Without the thoughtful advocacy of DesignWise, many children would be utilizing devices that are ill suited for their developing bodies. Brad Slaker connects designers and clinicians together to identify the unmet needs of children and to create solutions in an expedient and cost-effective manner.

The mission of supporting kids by giving clinicians the right devices to use in their medical treatment is a very important one in today's healthcare. Unfortunately only those parents who are directly involved in the on going medical care of their children and pediatric medical care professionals know how often it is necessary to modify a device that was never designed to be used on children in order to give medical care to children.
This lack of public awareness of this treatment issue for kids does not diminish its importance. DesignWise has the opportunity to make a significant impact on correcting this issue. They have assembled an impressive set of resources and are making progress in getting better devices in the hands of pediatric clinicians

DesignWise gave me the opportunity to see a whole new side of the biomedical industry. My experience as a summer intern working on an Overnight Pediatric Oxygen Delivery (OPOD) unit not only allowed me to apply my engineering education, but put me in a role where I could have a real say in the device's development. I question whether many other local biomedical companies can do this. DesignWise is a motivated, selfless and dedicated company. I was privileged to be able to volunteer for this non-profit and aspire to help it grow in the near future. I am confident in its leadership and am excited to see what they will accomplish for pediatric healthcare.

As a professor of New Products and a 20 year veteran of getting medical products and services to market, I can tell you there is a huge need for a company like DesignWise Medical. It's tough for a medical device firm to create products that serve a relatively small market. The revenue is just not there. This leaves many children without devices that they desperately need. There is no company I know more deserving of help.
Gary Jader
Founder and Managing Partner
InRoads Medical

As a professor of intellectual property law and the director of a law clinic that provided assistance to DesignWise Medical, I can attest to the importance and wonderfully innovative quality of the medical devices that DesignWise has produced and is continuing to develop. DesignWise is committed to filling a void in the medical world: its purpose is to create devices that focus on and meet the specific medical needs of children. Too often, medical devices designed for adults are merely adapted for pediatric use, making their application clumsy and painful. The device on which my students provided assistance was developed by DesignWise with a remarkable combination of compassion and engineering expertise, and it is destined to ease the pain and suffering of children, relieve the burden on parents, and ensure that pediatric clinicians can provide effective medical care.

My recent introduction to DesignWise Medical gave me a sense of hope that I can only imagine will be felt by the children and families ultimately served by the novel products that this organization is developing. It is clear that the pediatric patient population is frequently overlooked by device manufacturers in favor of larger market opportunities that present with lower risk. Recognizing this fact, DesignWise is pursuing a unique, collaborative approach that leverages the skills and talents of seasoned professionals, in-the-trenches clinicians, and eager students, alike. This virtual team is driving the development process for products that would otherwise remain simply good and worthy ideas contemplated by parents and doctors who see a need but lack the resources and support to bring them to fruition.

DesignWise as a development innovator is deserving of an innovative website to facilitate its mission.

wistful aspirations for children afflicted with a variety of . approach and in the course of its endeavors affords an opportunity for all parties involved to come out ahead, experience is gained, contributions are recognized, connections are made and, most importantly,

DesignWise Medical incorporates a business model that is a win-win-win for all interested parties. Children/family/healthcare providers win because DWM is designing and developing products that no company in the for-profit world would work on. Students win because they are given the opportunity to have hands-on, real-world medical device experience and Volunteers win because it is our chance to give back and have a sense of purpose for what we are doing ~ helping kids. Sierra Bravo can be part of this winning team.

DesignWise Medical is a small company working in the Twin Cities. The Twin Cities is the home of some of the largest Medical device companies in America, including Medtronic, 3M, St. Jude Medical, Hill-Room, and American Medical Systems Holdings. Each of these for-profit companies capitalizes on "popular conditions" because they gain the most profit from these conditions. DesignWise Medical, however, is non-profit and therefore searches for medical conditions that are less researched, and less exposed. Further, DesignWise Medical works to benefit children with rare conditions that are otherwise overlooked or neglected. I, personally, was most moved when I saw the effect it had on the children and the families that benefit from the DesignWise Medical's contributions. As a volunteer, I also have had experience with working on the progression of these projects, and know the difficulties of inability to communicate with other project members, Brad Slaker, and, of course, the families that will be benefited. Their input and feedback on project development is most important because it helps us volunteers provide better service. A new, updated website would certainly be able to aid in new product development, which in turn improves quality of life of children.

As a physician and neonatologist, I was introduced to DesignWise while trying to find someone to help address a common problem for premature babies- the use of oxygen therapy. DesignWise is a unique organization, harnessing both the experience and talent of its founder, and the unmatchable energy, intelligence and creativity of graduate students preparing to launch their own careers. By partnering with those of us working day to day in the newborn intensive care nursery, they hep create possibilities where n one existed, and in an area that doesn't always promise huge profits- and thus may be ignored by more traditional biotech companies. I am ot aware of any similar organization out there.

Having the opportunity to work with DesignWise Medical for my senior design project has been a wonderful opportunity and one that I really value. It is great being a part of the development of a device that you know is going to have a positive impact on so many children. This company is customer driven and the projects that are started are products that the customers have asked for. Seeing how projects are approached at DesignWise Medical has helped me identify what the important aspects of device development really are. This is a truly deserving company who not only offers innovative devices for the pediatric medical device field, but mentorship for students and professionals alike.

I have recently become a volunteer to the DesignWise Medical team. The overall mission of DesignWise Medical and Founder Brad Slaker's passion for that mission are what attracted me to the organization. After assessing the organization's needs compared with the skills I am bringing to the organization, a strong website and internet presence is a pivotal component for growing the organization to the next level.

One of the cornerstones of the DesignWise Medical mission is the ability to identify and grow medical device innovations through virtual product development teams of world-wide medical experts. By engaging with these volunteer experts in a secure and collaborative manner, breakthrough medical solutions and devices can be created in a rapid and efficient manner. Providing a secure, collaborative website would enable the DesignWise Medical mission like nothing else could.

Some of the key website enhancements from a "new product development" point of view would be secure "product sites" where DesignWise Medical's extensive volunteer & student network could:

- work collaboratively on pediatric solution development projects
- access DesignWise Medical's development process and operating procedures as well as on-line training for these processes/procedures
- view project-dashboards that communicate project status and development progress to key project stakeholders
- review ideas/problems/issues posted by pediatric clinicians and concerned parents

Thanks for considering DesignWise Medical for this generous and most-timely "gift" to accelerate its mission of critical medical innovations for the world's children.

Designwise Medical provides an essential service to those who have been largely overlooked by medical device developers due to lack of profit generation opportunity. DesignWise Medical has worked with our University (and others) to develop products to help sick children with rare diseases. The development of such products not only help sick children, but also the students at our Universities by giving them real-world experiences that they so desperately need. As an assistant professor who has worked first hand with Brad and DesignWise, I can attest to the importance of their cause.

The DesignWise Medical has a great talent pool of volunteers and it has been my priviledge to work with such a great team. They also have a very noble goal in helping fill a void in child care devices which may not financial viable in today's market. I would like to aknowledge Brad for his honest and caring spirit. I have worked in the medical device industry for over 15 years and DesignWise Medical has truely been an inspirational experience.

Paul Ka1uzniak, Director of Medical Devices & DesignWise Volunteer

A common misconception in early medicine was that children could be treated as little adults. Even though modern medicine now acknowledges the difference between adults and children, the production of medical products has not followed suit. Leading the way, DesignWise Medical has taken the step from knowing to doing.

It is a well-known fact that children are one of the most vulnerable populations. Yet, on the medical forefront, there are precious few non-profit pediatric medical device companies. DesignWise Medical, founded by Brad Slaker, is an innovative leader in the field of specialized medical devices. Even more compelling, DesignWise Medical is also dedicated to creating kid-friendly technology in which the special developmental stages and emotional needs of children are painstakingly considered. Products are designed with children’s best interest in mind. It has been, and will continue to be, a privilege to continue participating in DesignWise Medical’s endeavor to make products that meet the unique needs of pediatric patients.

I had the privilege in working with this company on the OPOD system. Our collaborative effort allowed me to write my thesis for my Master in Regulatory Affairs degree while allowing me to learn and provide a service to this company.

Design Wise's innovative thinking brings together experienced medical device professionals, who volunteer their time and talents to the project while at the same time mentoring up and coming professionals in a non-judgmental and pressure-free environment.

This company is caring and dedicated to meet the needs of the pediatric population.

DesignWise Medical works on creating medical products for an under served marketplace, pediatric medical devices. It has been a privilege working with Brad Slaker, founder of DesignWise Medical. He is committed to making the world a better place. In the past year, Brad Slaker has worked with our university and my students to create pediatric medical devices. This has given my industrial design students a phenomenal opportunity to grow in their design experience as well as be able to participate in making a difference in the pediatric medical marketplace.

It has been and will continue to be an enriching experience to work with DesignWise Medical.

I work for a major medical device manufacturer. As a design engineer I know first hand that our design considerations are focused on the adult patient. This is true for our competitors as well. Other than Design Wise, I know of no medical device organization/company that has the pediatric patient as its main customer.

The first time our team sat down to brainstorm ideas of device needs for our pediatric diabetes patients was when I realized the great need for this company. There was an abundance of ideas and a sense that this topic was far overdue. In a world when money drives companies and product development I’m happy to see one company stand alone to put all their efforts towards something so important but less profitable.

This is a great organization that sponsors projects for engineering students. The project at the University of Minnesota is a creative idea that has energized the five students working on their senior design project. It not only has use for the medical industry, but provides a design challenge for students who are just beginning with their engineering problem solving process. We need more organizations like this.