Posted 01.01.2010

Spirit of Da Vinci

Inventors showcase everything from a solar breakthrough to a "snot sucker"

From solar breakthroughs to "a snot sucker" - as one attendee described the BabyComfyNose nasal aspirator - the fifth annual Colorado Inventor Showcase was marked by a strong turnout and a wide spectrum of innovations.

DaVinci Institute founder and event organizer Tom Frey held court in full Leonardo da Vinci garb to celebrate the spirit of creativity at the Nov. 3 competition, held at the Cable Center on the campus of the University of Denver.

The key to future innovation is getting kids interested in inventing at an early age, said keynote speaker Joshua Schuler, the executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program.

"Engineering design is like sunrise and sunset - it happens every day. There might be lightning - that's invention. Innovation is getting that invention into the marketplace. Invention is only innovation when it enters the market."

By alternating PowerPoint slides of Britney Spears and Dean Kamen, Schuler pointed out that even the biggest superstar inventors are not very recognizable. "This is a problem. We don't know who these folks are, but we know who she is. This is our whole mission: getting kids into inventing.

"Young people don't understand you can have a career in the international development of technology," Schuler added. "You need to create a community. You need to support students and give them opportunity to do things - like fail."

His parting advice: "Make stuff. Build stuff. Essentially, it's choose your own adventure."

STEVE SCHMUTZER
FOUNDER OF FIREFLY MEDICAL FORT COLLINS
"I was an RN for about 12 years, with most of that time working in the ICU," said Steve Schmutzer via e-mail. "My experiences in nursing were sufficiently diverse to allow me to grapple firsthand with the problems which Firefly Medical is addressing now."
Schmutzer incorporated the company in the summer of 2005 based on his nursing experience in the intensive care setting.
"My time in nursing showed me that some of the equipment nurses were expected to use while providing patient care was largely unchanged for many decades," he said. "These products were originally designed when expectations of health care were quite different, but in the unforgiving environment and demands of modern health care, these products are now a liability."
Schmutzer saw the ubiquitous intravenous pole as a product ripe for improvement and devised the Infusion Management System, or IMS. The multiple-armed triangular design can handle multiple IV bags, automatically centers its weight, and folds down for vertical storage, unlike the space-gobbling status quo.
"During my years in clinical practice, I had many opportunities to consider the vices of the IV pole," Schmutzer said. "I had to deal with this archaic product every day. While the basic design of today's standard IV pole is much the same as it was in the 1920s, it is now expected to function in ways it was not designed to."
Schmutzer noted that one of the key benefits is increased safety because of reduced patient falls and the ability to replace the function of two to three IV poles. "Many patients emerge from major surgery with eight or more infusions. They are expected to get up and walk with this whole mess attached to them. There are often serious problems as a result. The IMS provides answers for all these things at the cost of a medium priced conventional IV pole."
Schmutzer is contemplating raising
$2 million and going into production of the IMS with Firefly or licensing out the technology. "We are currently in discussions with a number of potential strategic partners, including both domestic and international players, and we expect more of these will express interest," he said.
As the company's lone employee, Schmutzer is keeping the operation lean. "Between myself and my board and some quality partners, we have all the bases covered," he said.
He also gave the Colorado Inventor Showcase high marks. "I was very surprised - and honored - to come away with the award for Inventor of the Year. It came as a total shock to me. The competition and alumni of the event have set a very high standard."
The story of the traditional IV pole and the IMS is indicative of some of the problems in health care in the U.S., Schmutzer added - namely the stubborn resistance to change. "This is what modern health care is facing. It cannot go back; it must find the right answers while moving forward."
ON THE WEB: WWW.FIREFLYMEDICAL.COM

PHILIP HARTMAN
STEAM VIPER
LOVELAND

After winning the 2008 Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Fiberlight - a novel tool for splicing fiber-optic cable -15-year-old Philip Hartman repeated with the Steam Viper, a windshield wiper that vanquishes frost, snow and grime with steam in lieu of traditional wiper fluid.
"It's a new windshield wiper system," Hartman said. "It delivers the steam through the wiper. Steam's a great cleaner, and it also de-ices and defrosts the window."
Under the hood, the steam originates in a unit that replaces the wiper fluid reservoir. After a 12-volt coil heats the water and "a little bit of de-icer," the steam is delivered through the wiper arm into the blade, which is dotted with microscopic holes along the entire length of the blade.
Hartman hopes to license or sell the patent-pending device to an existing manufacturer. He estimated the retail price of an aftermarket kit at $100 to $200.
Hartman is nearly finished 12th grade at home school and looking at colleges - his short list includes MIT, Harvard and Colorado School of Mines. He's also perfecting the Fiberlight and looking at his options at taking it to market - and, of course, he has a few more inventions on the drawing board.

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