Unveiling Success One Piece at a Time
BACKGROUND
Geisinger Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Geisinger Health System, is dedicated to forming strategic partnerships with innovative companies with a mission to translate medical innovation to practical clinical use and improve quality and service for Geisinger patients. Geisinger Ventures (GV) nurtures innovative ideas, licenses and brings to market intellectual property, and catalyzes growth of for-profit companies. GV invests resources medical devices and other areas with the goal of improving care and lowering care costs to patients.
SBDC ASSISTANCE
Having already formed a preliminary business plan for a new pre-surgical disposable “modesty” garment and investigated its market potential, Bryan Allinson, Director at Geisinger Ventures, contacted the Bucknell SBDC’s Engineering Development Services (EDS) in May of 2007 for assistance. Patient Scrubs are an alternative to existing medical gowns, which do not maintain patient modesty and have been the subject of numerous complaints.
Patient Scrubs are designed to be:
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EDS initially assisted with a competitive product search and analysis of existing medical gown designs. Using that information along with the design requirements of Geisinger doctors, EDS consultants created conceptual drawings of several alternate solutions along with physical prototypes. Intended for patient use, but modeled after existing surgical scrubs, Patient Scrubs make a patient more comfortable and give them a sense of inclusion. The garment is wearable under a gown and allows use during surgery. A deep V-neck prevents tearing and allow EKG placement without breast exposure. Shoulder perforations enable easy positioning of IV lines.
IIMPACT
The design exploration and subsequent prototypes laid the foundation for GV’s work with Katieco Inc, a local small business specializing in clothing design and production. Once the design and manufacturing process were fully developed, GV successfully negotiated a licensing contract with Medline, an leader in manufacture and distribution of medical products, including one of the largest textile lines in the industry. Medline will be producing 1,500 Patient Scrubs for clinical trials within Geisinger Medical Center with goal of going into mass production and nationwide distribution in 2009.
