UVify
A portable UV-C light based disinfection device for the medical staff for active cleansing of stethoscopes diaphragms
Role:
Co-Founder, CPO
Tools:
Arduino, 3D printing, UV-C lights, Fusion 360
Timeline:
1 year
Achievements
Registered startup under STEP Program, HKSTP 2020
Best Pitch, HKUST Sino Million Dollar Competition
Finalist, HKSTP Elevator Pitch Competition
Semi-Finalist, HKSEC Competition
Champion, HKU HKSTP Stanford MedTech Competition
The Problem
The problem of stethoscopes cleansing is overlooked a lot of the times because of its availability and mass usage - which makes it hard to observe exactly what other hygiene issues might be created from it. And that results in not having a set protocol to sterilise it.
The Solution
A portable UV-C light based disinfection device for the medical staff for active cleansing of stethoscopes diaphragms
What it does you might ask?
The sterilising capsule cleans and stays enclosing your stethoscope diaphragm at all times.
It uses UV-C light - meaning it’s non-carcinogenic and does not harm the quality of your stethoscope materials.
Takes up really less power - so you can use it all day, every day/
How it all happened
We were first a group of 5 students from HKUST, HKU and Stanford - paired up at a hackathon for medtech in Hong Kong. Over a span of 5 days, we came up with this product idea and built a prototype out of Arduino, tiny UV-C lights and won the championship for the hack.
Ever since, we have been into different competitions and now developing the product under HKSTP STEP Incubation Program.
My role exactly? I’m the Product Designer.
Designing an product that heals
Simple solutions often need intricate design thinking. Here’s how we did it for UVify.
Problem Identification
We started with going to hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong to identify underlying problems. The stethoscope and medical device cleaning protocols is what struck me most.
Iterative Prototyping
Our first version of MVP was super conceptual based only on our ideation of creating a 3D printed mechanical shell that shoots out the diaphragm easily from its shell - attached with an Arduino that lets the user know exactly when the sterilization has been complete.
Pitching is an art - I realized
When it came to pitching to the judges of the hackathon, and then to investors in our journey, I realized pitching and convincing is an art and is only successful when the people can really relate to the intensity of the problem.
