IFR Bee Comfy

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School

North Carolina State University *

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Course

482

Subject

Medicine

Date

Dec 6, 2023

Type

pdf

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Uploaded by jennytheburntburrito

Group 356 ECE 482 October 21st, 2022 Product Assessment: Which Product Makes the Cut? Since the beginning of our entrepreneurship class, we have strived to ideate a product that will turn into a successful business. However, there are many factors that play into the decision making process when narrowing down the six product ideas we have thus far. For that reason, it is important that we research and narrow down these products to determine which would best suit our needs. The purpose of this feasibility report is to analyze the six products: BeeComfy, Breast Scanner, Scarless, Syringe PLUS, ALCOSTRAW, and Flex Spec. We will analyze these products based on criteria most important to us in an attempt to narrow down our focus to one product. Methodology There are many factors to consider when deciding on one product that is best for our group. We narrowed down the factors to eleven important criteria that we will rank our products to. We listed the criteria in order of importance: 1. Resonance 2. Market Size 3. Reachability of Customer 4. Related to Medicine 5. Aspirin/Vitamin 6. Freedom of Red Tape 7. Profitability 8. Green Field 9. Originality and defensibility 10. Fit for Class 11. Class Worthiness of Idea Later in this report, we will provide details of each criteria and share the results of the products’ rankings. For the research related to each criteria, our group u sed a variety of online sources. For the majority of online sources we used scholarly articles that included qualitative and quantitative data related to the products. We also value the opinion and ideas from potential customers as we considered our customer interviews in the ranking process.

Profile of Ideas Here is a brief profile of each product we are considering pursuing. BeeComfy The BeeComfy would be a breast pump that makes pumping feel more natural. Many women experience pain while pumping because the breast flanges never fit correctly. They also suffer leakage from inadequate suction. The breast pump would be hands free and include a bra with double pads to reduce the risk of ruining the women’s shirt. The breast pump would work by utilizing a thin plastic like that of a baby bottle top and vacuum forming technology. The woman will insert her nipple into the breast pump and then press a button to start the suction forming. The pump will come with a messaging feature that also compresses and expands the pump to simulate a baby sucking. The pump will have two motors to control each breast so the women can adjust the speed and massage to create the most comfortable experience. The pump would have a muting feature to limit noise so women are not embarrassed about pumping. The target market is women who are breastfeeding. In order to create this product there would need to be researchers to develop the correct amount of suction. To adequately market the product, an advertisement team would need to create a commercial focused on solving the pain point and emphasize how this is beneficial for both mom and baby. A finance team would be needed to budget how much should go into advertising and development. Testing would need to be done to see how the speed and massaging feature gets adjusted with vacuum forming. There will need to be accelerators and angel groups to finance the project as well. Breast Scanner The breast scanner would be a portable ultrasound device that women would use at home to screen for breast cancer. Many women are unsure of how to properly perform self- breast exams and the Mayo Clinic suggests no longer doing at-home breast exams because of their ineffectiveness. The consumer would use ultrasound gel first and then run the ultrasound device along their breasts, the device would also come with detailed instructions of how to do this. Ultrasounds use sonar waves to find differences in density that indicate a mass. This app would be built using information from breast cancer-positive and normal ultrasound results. The portable ultrasound will be able to connect to an iPhone or smart-device using a USB cable, this will allow the ultrasound device to send results to the app. The app will then tell the consumer whether a possible mass was detected, and alert them to see a doctor. The target market is women 30 year and older, because they are most at risk for breast cancer. More specifically, this product will be targeted towards women with a family history of breast cancer, since they will need monitoring more often than women with no history. Testing will need to be performed to determine the accuracy of this device. Scarless Scarless is a device that is intended to decrease acne scars without a topical or needle application. Acne scars are a pain point for many people, this product aims to speed up the healing process. This product has elastomeric polymer bristles that vibrate on the facial tissue as a form of vibration therapy. Vibration therapy helps to circulate blood flow and promote healthy tissue growth by breaking down scar tissue. Through product testing, the frequency of the vibration will be determined. This product is for people with acne scars to use on their own and also for dermatologists or cosmetologists to use during facial treatments. The affordable price is $49.99 and is meant to be reused. Scarless could be sold at cosmetology stores such

as Ulta, Target, CVS, etc. The process of marketing this product would include online advertising with before and after photos of the success it has had for trial patients. Syringe PLUS The syringe PLUS is a new syringe that allows for safe use every time. Some nurses and pharmacists experience trouble removing needle guards and could be worried about safety when using a syringe. The syringe PLUS would have the needle inside the syringe and woud not exit the body of the syringe until the time of use. This would get rid of any difficulty related to the needle guard and allow people to feel safer when using syringes. The needle would be spring-loaded and exit the body of the syringe upon the initial depressing of the plunger. This would work like a micropipette in which there are two points you can depress the plunger. The initial would release the needle and the second would release the medication. Nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and anyone that administers medication with a syringe would use this product. A large amount of research would need to be conducted to take this product to market. A marketing team along with a financial team would help to get the product in the eyes of nurses and doctors around the country and the world. The financial team would help to keep costs low. Testing would need to be performed but should not take long as the idea is relatively simple. We could model the syringe in solid works or AutoCAD and 3D print the first prototypes, both of which are skills the team already possesses. ALCOSTRAW AlcoStraw is a product that is intended to help people keep track of their alcohol consumption when in social environments. Being hungover or getting overly drunk can be a pain point for many people after a night out. This product is a straw that will change colors depending on the percent alcohol within the straw. This will allow the user to better understand how much they are and/or have drank. This product can be used by anyone, and will be sold for approximately $20, and will be sturdy and reusable. AlcoStraw could be sold at any retail store, and marketing could occur through social media. Flex Spec FlexSpec is a redesign of the current speculum. The speculum causes severe discomfort and for some women even causes pain. The FlexSpec would be made out of a material that is temperature sensitive and also not painful for the patient. The next area for improvement is removing the inconsistency by adding an automatic swab to the speculum, so the doctor does not have to swab the cervix themselves. This product aims to improve the experience for women while receiving Pap smears. It would be sold to OB/GYNs for $50. There could also be an avenue to sell to veterinarians. Criteria This is what our group refers to when narrowing down our products. We have ranked the criteria in descending order of importance and weighed each criteria. We have included a brief description of what each criteria means to us. 1. Resonance - 4 points Resonance is the most important factor that we need to consider when narrowing down our products. Solving a pain point that our customers resonate with is ideal to the

success of the product. The majority of our products focused on solving problems for women. Therefore, sympathizing with this target market was what the group felt like was the key to a successful idea. 2. Market Size - 4 points The Market size was also an important factor because a large target market would provide us with the greatest chance of a profit. Knowing the market size for each product helps us to determine the product’s mar ket potential. Taking the market size into account will help us develop marketing strategies that will promote our product. If there was a pain point that resonates with a large target market, the idea would have a greater chance of acquiring investors. If the market was too focused then the product might not sell as well or would need a higher price point to balance out the smaller market. 3. Reachability of Customer - 4 points The reachability of our product or business to the customer is also important inorder to keep our customers satisfied. We want to create good customer experiences and build long term relationships with our customers. Having an accessible product that is easily reachable to our customers will help us achieve this. 4. Related to Medicine -4 points Our group members are all students in the department of Biomedical and Health Sciences Engineering at NC State University. We must have a product that is related to medicine inorder to gain credit for our senior design project. We also feel strongly towards the advancement of medicine and improving the quality of life of others. Therefore, having a product related to medicine is important to our business. 5. Aspirin/Vitamin - 2 points When deciding if our product is an aspirin or vitamin we must analyze the results of our idea. If our product is an aspirin, our product would be ranked higher because the customers would need our product. If our product is a vitamin it would be ranked a little lower because customers could live without it and we would have to put more effort into the success of the product. 6. Freedom of Red Tape - 3 points An excess of regulation and administrative rules could hurt the productivity of our product and incentivise our start-up business. Red tape can hinder the decision making process and frustrate employees as efficiency would decrease. Having less red tape is important to our group because we want our business to be as efficient as possible. However, freedom from red tape is not at the top of our priorities because while it might slow down production, monitoring and filtering what is released will help improve the integrity of our product. 7. Profitability - 2 points We value product profitability so that we will have a great understanding of our business’ revenue stream. We would determine our profitability by performing profitability analyses that will disclose the best revenue streams in our business. In doing

so, we would be able to optimize our profitability and have good revenue after the expenses and other costs of the product. 8. Green Field - 2 points Taking into account the green field of our product will make the transition into a foreign market easier. Our group considers if our product is a unique idea that could enter an unexplored area of the market. The green field advantage would provide our investors with full control and gives us freedom for determining prices and marketing strategies. 9. Originality and defensibility - 2 points Originality is important in the production of our business in order to have an idea that no one else has. This would enable our product to stand out and catch the eye of our customers to invest in. We want to be able to add something new to the market that can help solve a problem for our customers. Being able to defend our product is also important because if we are not able to defend our idea why would anyone else? Our product will be an extension of ourselves and what we stand for. This will be able to be portrayed through the originality and defensibility of our product. 10. Fit for Class - 2 points Determining whether or not our idea is fit for our class needs to be considered when narrowing down our product. This needs to be considered because we want our idea to be complex enough to gain credit for the class. 11. Class Worthiness of Idea - 1 point We value the feedback from the other students in our class because they can provide a different perspective that we might have overlooked in our product. However this was not high on our list because a majority of the class might not have been in our target market and therefore the idea might not have resonated with them. Evaluation of Products ● BeeComfy ○ Resonance Women suffer unbearable pain and solving this pain would resonate with breastfeeding mothers. In primary interviews, 3 out of the 5 women experienced pain or discomfort when breastfeeding. Many women want a breast pump that is individualized for them. In the study called “Which Breast Pump for Which Mother: An Evidenced-Based Approach to Individualizing Breast Pump Technology”, many mothers seek professional help when picking which breast pump to utilize but there are very few evidence-based guidelines(Meier, 2016). A woman wants a pleasurable experience and one that “mimics the infant's sucking rate, rhythm and pressures to the greatest possible extent.” This breast pump would resonate with women by providing that experience. Score: 9/10 ○ Market Size

There is a huge market for breast pumps and the work market was “projected to grow to USD 829 million by 2022”(Breast Pump Market Size & Share Report, 2018, 1). The key factors for the growing market are “rising global women's employment rates, improved healthcare infrastructure in emerging economies, and government initiatives to support working mothers”(Becker 2021) As more women continue to work the need for a more comfortable, less embarrassing pump grows. In personal interviews with Mrs. Wright and Mrs. Platner, both teachers mentioned the need for a hands free noiseless pump so it was not distracting for children or making them feel uncomfortable. Score: 9/10 ○ Reachability of Customer With a very large market size there is not a problem with reaching potential customers. Most women that utilize a breast pump are either working like Mrs. Platner and Mrs. Wright or need to pump due to having multiple kids like Mrs. McDonald. Women pump for the convenience of being able to go out and have someone else feed their kids like Mrs. Barker. Score: 9/10 ○ Related to Medicine Many women suffer from the inability to get their baby to naturally breastfeed. Having a device that solves their pain and creates milk for their children is a medical issue. Our product needs to be related to medicine for the BME program so developing a machine that mimics a baby would advance the lactation field. Score: 10/10 ○ Aspirin/Vitamin This product solves a major pain point of most women. When a mother breast feeds, her mammary gland is stimulated by the infant and if this does not occur with pumping there are major issues. An infant “adapts the sucking rate, rhythm and suction pressure to the variable rates of HM flow during individual feedings at breast”(Meier, 2016,1). Most breast pumps do not provide this experience as stated by Mrs. Platner who wants a breast pump that has two motors to control each breast to simulate a better experience. Many flanges do not fit a woman correctly and this can cause a painful experience. Score: 8/10 ○ Freedom from Red Tape The breast pump has to be regulated by the FDA but if the pump is similar to another device the process of getting approved is easier. The product will just have to prove it is similar and not a great change. Score: 6/10 ○ Profitability Since there is a huge market there is a good chance of being profitable. The only concern is that the technology of vacuum forming might be expensive with a massager and noise cancellation. Many women said they would pay for it if insurance helped so finding what insurances will pay for is important.A health insurance “must cover the cost of a breast pump. It may be either a rental unit or a new one you’ll keep. Your plan may have guidelines on whether the covered pump is manual or electric, the length of t he rental, and when you’ll receive

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