Integrating BME Design with Entrepreneurship

Lance KamDepartment of Biomedical Engineering

Columbia UniversitySeptember 26, 2007

Senior Design – 2006/2007

• Expanded to full year program First term: prototyping and strategy

• intellectual property (w/ Technology Licensing)• group dynamics• business development - end of term business plan

Second term: design, analysis, design again• validation• regulatory compliance• presentation

• Representatives of University Technology Licensing and outside industry volunteers involved in advising and evaluating the design teams.

• Independent efforts in an entrepreneurial environment.

Senior Design – 2007 Projects

• Bed angle controller(National Design Competition)

• Vein visualizationsystem

• Home-based monitoring

• Personalized infusion system

Senior Design – Social Ventures

• Community weight tracking system for health monitoring in under-developed regions

• Placed in semi-finals of GSVC (social venture business plan competition organized by Columbia and Berkeley); socialvc.net

US - Thai Symposium on Biomedical EngineeringBangkok, December, 2005

International Program Initiatives

• National Biomedical Engineering Initiative for Thailand Focus on development of academic programs Established graduate programs in BME

• Chulalongkorn, Chiang Mai, KMUTT

Expanded to six university consortium- undergrad focus (2006) Funding initiatives within Thailand Industrial goals: regenerative medicine, medical diagnostics

Strong Foundations• Science and Technology Ventures• Four faculty with Wallace H. Coulter Foundation

Early Career Translational Research Awards Two have progressed into Phase 2 awards Two have prototypes being developed through partnerships

Dynamic Contrast Enhancement(DyCE your mice)

Cross-school Initiatives• Technology Innovation Seminars

SEAS Columbia College Business School Tech. Lic.

• Minor in Entrepreneurship (in development) Social venture and incubator mechanisms

• Local Business Alliance and Improvement activities

Senior Design – New Cycle

• Continued involvement of Technology Licensing and outside industrial volunteers as advisors and evaluators

• Extended time for initial design phase; business plan due at end of first term

• Social Ventures• Increased involvement

with the local medicalcommunity –Neuromuscular Rehabilitation