Feedback Jack takes first place
| Published: 02/28/2010 |
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An interdisciplinary team of biomedical engineering and business management majors took first place in the fourth annual Milwaukee School of Engineering Business Plan Competition. The team received $2,000 for their "Feedback Jack" CPR & Heimlich Training Manikin, designed to assist in CPR and Heimlich maneuver training. Details about the winners are included below.
The MSOE Business Plan Competition is sponsored annually by MSOE's Uihlein/Spitzer Center for Entrepreneurship and supported by MSOE's Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) project grant. Dr. Jeffrey Blessing, associate professor, Rader School of Business, serves as Kern Fellow and competition coordinator. Business plans are sought from MSOE students and alumni. According to Dr. Steven C. Bialek, chair, MSOE Rader School of Business, "Entrepreneurship continues to be integrated into our programs and courses. The large number of interdisciplinary plans in this year's competition reflects the efforts of many at MSOE to instill an entrepreneurial mindset among all of our students."
FIRST PLACE - $2,000
"Feedback Jack" CPR & Heimlich Training Manikin
Team Members: Ben Buckoski, biomedical engineering; Daniel Kreuger, business management; Vince Navarro, biomedical engineering; Ashley Turner, biomedical engineering.
Faculty Advisors: Dr. John Gassert, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department; Professor Carol Mannino, Rader School of Business
Synopsis of submitted business plan:
The project team submitted a plan for a realistic training manikin that individuals can use to practice CPR and Heimlich maneuver techniques. The manikin would provide users with sophisticated and objective feedback in the form of quantitative and graphical evaluations to support substantial improvements in technique. Internal sensors would measure the location and force applied to the manikin, ensuring that the most accurate and efficient methods are being performed. The manikin would offer both training and testing modes capable of real-time feedback. Individuals can learn portions of a maneuver, focusing on a particular segment of the procedure to instill in-depth understanding of each step.
SECOND PLACE - $1,250
Wolf Real Estate
Team Members: Ryan Mack, construction management; Josh Wilsmann, architectural engineering; Paul Wolfgramm, construction management
Faculty Advisor: Professor Robert Lemke, Architectural Engineering and Building Construction Department
Synopsis of submitted business plan:
Wolf Real Estate is a Milwaukee-based developer focused on sustainable, affordable housing developments. Wolf Real Estate proposed a development on the city-owned lots at the intersection of Mitchell Street and Muskego Avenue. The proposed development for this site is a mixed-use building that will provide resident housing, parking and stalls for a farmers' market on the ground floor. The development will be designed to achieve certification under the LEED for Homes for Mid-Rise Buildings Pilot system. Funding is proposed through the sale of WHEDA tax credits, private investors and a bank mortgage. Wolf Real Estate seeks investors in the development imagined as a joint venture with other developers.
THIRD PLACE - $500
TFI Rehab Pressure Ulcer Prevention Mat
Team Members: Brett Arand, biomedical engineering; Eric Aring, biomedical engineering; Wes Biese, software engineering; Andrew Bowser, biomedical engineering; Hillary Bowser, technical communication; Ryan Ford, biomedical engineering; Michelle Mellenthin, biomedical engineering.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. C. Samuel Tritt, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department
Synopsis of submitted business plan:
The pressure ulcer prevention mat would assist wheelchair patients in developing good habits that aid in the prevention of pressure ulcers. The device would record local pressures on a patient's posterior using resistive sensors over a time interval of several days. When high pressures are detected, the device provides immediate feedback prompting the patient to perform a pressure reliving exercise via a tone and/or warning light. Therapists can then use the output information to make adjustments to a patient's seat cushion and adjust their rehabilitation regimen, to minimize the occurrence of pressure sore development.
MSOE is an independent university with about 2,600 students. MSOE offers 17 bachelor's degrees and nine master's degrees in the engineering, engineering technology, architectural engineering and building construction, computer, business and health-related fields. The Rader School of Business offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in business management and information technology.