Hospitals are one of the busiest places that an individual can be in. Doctors and nurses are running around, often supervising many patients, and during hectic times caregivers are confronted with the task of prioritizing patient\u2019s needs, which is a very complex process. But two former UConn Engineering students are looking to streamline patient-caregiver interactions through a device called YouCOMM.<\/p>\n
The device, which is being developed by two recent engineering alumni, Tom Cotton (B.S. BME \u201917, M.S. BME \u201918) and Daniel Yasoshima (B.S. BME \u201917, M.S. BME \u201918), is a tablet-based platform with an interface allowing the patient to choose their problem or need from a list, or write a custom message to the caregiver. Once completed, that message is sent as a text message directly to the caregiver assigned to that patient.<\/p>\n
Additionally, head movement tracking technology also allows patients who are unable to move, from IV\u2019s, pain, or paralysis, the ability to send messages hands-free, by providing them the ability to translate their head movements to the motions of the cursor accords the screen. This feature is voice activated and the device also can be interacted with via voice recognition technology.<\/p>\n
Cotton and Yasoshima originally conceived the idea for the device when they developed it as a Senior Design project, the year-long project requirement for all UConn Engineering seniors, in 2017, according to Yasoshima:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Senior Design process started with a Pitch Night about a month prior to the conclusion of our junior year. Pitch night consisted of several faculty members and mentors introducing projects, and students chose the top three that they were interested and were assigned one of them. This project was pitched by BME Professor Patrick Kumavor and was titled \u201cAugmentative and Assistive Communication Device,\u201d with the goal of addressing the issues involved in therapy for patients with limited communication.\u201d<\/p>\n
After that night, Yasoshima said that the team was determined, and went on a roll:<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the summer, we brainstormed potential ways to improve communication, and once classes resumed, we had decided a tablet app application would be the way to go. As we developed the project, we thought of ways to expand it towards a larger target audience, and decided to hone in to those of motor impairments, in which we incorporated the handsfree option. Our project was starting to look promising, and we demonstrated at Open House, at the Northeast Bioengineering Conference, and at Senior Design Demo Day, and received very high praise from students, parents, professors, and the biomedical engineering department head.\u201d<\/p>\n
The novelty of this device is quite important to a healthcare system that has developed medical technology at a lightning pace, but still suffers from a lack of technology geared towards improving the patient-to-caregiver communication process. Currently, hospitals employ call-bell technology that is decades old, which doesn\u2019t give a clear signal of priority or need, according to Cotton:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis device\u00a0further\u00a0enables patients to indicate their\u00a0specific\u00a0needs and thus allows nurses to priorities which patient rooms to\u00a0visit based\u00a0on need\u00a0criticality. Nurses won\u2019t\u00a0have to enter a patient\u2019s room to determine a patient\u2019s\u00a0need (consider the simple example of fetching\u00a0a glass of water), then leave and return again to finally address it,\u201d Cotton said. \u201cUtilizing\u00a0our device, they\u00a0will know the need in advance and will arrive\u00a0equipped\u00a0to handle it.\u00a0It\u2019s been shown in several studies that response time is directly correlated to increased patient risk (e.g. of falls), and implementation of this time-saving device can therefore decrease patient risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those precious seconds or minutes could literally mean life or death for a patient that is unable to move or properly communicate their needs. According to a recent study, the average response time to a call-bell was 13 minutes and 18 seconds, which doesn\u2019t even factor in the back-and-forth that occurs after the caregiver enters the room.<\/p>\n
Since their senior year, Cotton and Yasoshima have been on a mission to commercialize their device. In the past year, they have filed a provisional patent application with the help of the Accelerate UConn program and the UConn Law Clinic, and have received about $35,000 funding from multiple sources.\u00a0They have also performed a successful pilot study at UConn Student Health Services and are aiming to incorporate this device into UConn Health, Connecticut Children\u2019s Medical Center and Wilton Meadows Rehabilitation Center later this year, in three parallel large-scale trials. Cotton and Yasoshima have since formed a company, YouCOMM LLC, where Cotton serves as the COO and Yasoshima as the CEO.<\/p>\n
Looking back, Cotton said that without the experience he and Yasoshima gained from his Senior Design project, they probably wouldn\u2019t be where they are today:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easily the single most\u00a0valuable\u00a0experience I had during my\u00a0education\u00a0at UConn. Senior\u00a0design\u00a0\u2013 and the continuation\u00a0of our project into\u00a0our\u00a0graduate\u00a0year\u00a0\u2013 has given me an\u00a0extensive\u00a0understanding of the\u00a0variety\u00a0of different processes\u00a0required in bringing a product to market. I\u00a0learned\u00a0about\u00a0regulatory\u00a0pathways, how to obtain grant\u00a0funding, how to budget a project and\u00a0focus\u00a0on\u00a0downstream\u00a0goals while also\u00a0maximizing the\u00a0effectiveness\u00a0of my available resources in the present.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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