BME100 f2017:Group1 W0800 L1

BME 100 Fall 2017	Home People Lab Write-Up 1 | Lab Write-Up 2 | Lab Write-Up 3 Lab Write-Up 4 | Lab Write-Up 5 | Lab Write-Up 6 Course Logistics For Instructors Photos Wiki Editing Help
OUR TEAM Name: Alexandra Richey Name: Maryah Alalwan Name: Aymard Irakoze Name: Erin Lockwood Name: Matthew Tam Name: Caiden Gledhill LAB 1 WRITE-UP In society today, it is becoming more prevalent that people believe they are lacking something within their diet. Therefore, they seek out multivitamins and such that promise to fix this issue and bring people high hopes of feeling healthier overall. However, not everyone will benefit from the same supplements in these vitamins. Thus, people tend to waste their money on items that they don't need, especially when overwhelmed by the endless options of different vitamins, along with excessive options of brand names. Due to this reoccurring event, we believe this is a significant healthcare issue that needs to be addressed. To address this issue, we intend to create a non- invasive test to see which vitamins an individual may lack in order to help their health and to make sure they are spending their money in the right areas. By taking a quick and easy saliva test, our customers will be able to see their results and have a much better understanding of their vitamin and mineral levels and how to aid different areas of their overall health with the use of vitamins or supplements. Customer Validation 1) Lezli Stone a nutritionist, (602) 451-6873, who can use this device to help her clients measure their vitamin levels and plan their meals accordingly 2) CVS pharmacy, having an in-store test to test vitamin levels and then recommend products in the store. 3) Obese persons wanting to lose weight while making sure they are receiving healthy amounts of vitamins and minerals in the diet. 4) Researchers hoping to test the efficacy of a vitamin supplement in raising vitamin levels in test subjects. 5) Parents hoping to provide their children with the correct vitamin supplements 6) ASU students on a meal plan wanting to know which vitamins they are lacking in so that they can choose foods according using the nutritional information provided. 7) ASU Well Devils, students trying to achieve academic success through their personal health and wellness. 8) Recovering anorexic patients, trying to ensure they are receiving enoough vitamins and mineral in their diet. 9) NASA, in preparing potential astronauts and ensuring they are in suitable health. 10) Vegetarians, who can make sure they have correct iron levels after cutting out meat. 11) Roddy Gardner, general practitioner, (480) 967-7821. 12) CSL plasma, to detect iron levels in blood donors, (480) 894-1330. 13) Bodybuilders, measuring levels of vitamins and minerals essential to building muscle. 14) PepsiCo, when testing to see if sports drinks enriched with vitamin actually raise vitamin levels in those who drink it. 15) Genetic engineers engineering food to be more vitamin enriched could use it to see if test subjects can absorb and process vitamins in the engineered food. 16) Arizona Visiting Nurse, to use with patients, (480) 820-0000. 17) People using juice cleanses, who can check their vitamin levels to ensure they are getting enough even after cutting out a lot of their regular diet. 18) Curran David, pediatrician, can use it with his patients, (480) 839-9097. 19) Laurel Kubby, obstetrician, to ensure her patients are getting enough of the essential vitamins for pregnant women, (602) 252-0202. 20) ASU Health Services, to help students diagnose possible vitamin deficiencies. Competitors Advantages + Open and new market: no competitor at all in the whole United States. Only one overseas company, VISTATIQ, sells a prototype, but it can not be shipped in the US, since it is not FDA approved. + Our product will be cheaper: in a case where ViSTATIC products would be approved on the US market, our products' price would be able to adapt to it. + More options for our devices than other devices on the market. + Our product gives an immediate result, unlike other tests. + Safe and easy for use; especially for kids and people who have phobias of blood or needles. Disadvantages - FDA approval will be difficult to acquire. Not much data is available since it is a really new technology. - This product may not give accurate results if it's not retested and revised. - The price may deter some potential purchasers. - Our device may not detect some varieties of nutrients. This product is a popular consumer choice due to its convenience, low price, and user-friendly nature. IP Position Number/Assignee Title Summary Image Filing Date/Status Quest Diagnostics Investments LLC Methods for Detecting Vitamin D Metabolites using Mass Spectrometry These methods can detect the amount of vitamin D metabolites in a sample of biological material, such as blood or urine by ionizing the vitamin D and then measuring the amount of ions in the sample. N/A 2006-03-21 Note: Unable to find any patent information on VITASTIQ, or EAV Methodology, which it claims to use to measure vitamin and minerals levels. However, seeing that VITASTIQ uses a different measuring system than this product hopes to, patent law should not be an issue. Fundability Worksheet Scores Competitors 3 - Current methods for measuring the presence of vitamins in the body are almost exclusively performed via a blood sample, not a saliva test. Saliva tests do exist, but are primarily employed to detect hormone levels, and not vitamin deficiencies. The combination of these two technologies would expand the customer pool to include a more pediatric application, saliva being a much more compatible interface when working to improve child health. Competitors exist but could be easily displaced by the proposed device. Customer Validation 2 - Due to current methods' necessity of a blood sample in order to supply information with regards to possible vitamin deficiencies, consumers would readily switch to a "blood-less" method of obtaining the same information. IP Position 3- Patents claiming to detect vitamin levels via a saliva sample are non-existent. Known patents do claim the ability to measure certain levels of bio-chemicals, though none claim to be able to do so via a saliva sample. The proposed product is patent-able and infringement on existing patents is unlikely.