Electronics Get The Blood Flowing At Rock Shows And In Hospital Beds

Product orders started out slow for our two-man company. But after we advertised in a trade magazine, Baxter Healthcare called us in 2002. Baxter wanted to upgrade its mechanical scale product for blood collections. It clamped the collection tube when the bag was filled. With our system, nurses can monitor the bloodflow throughout the blood draw so problems could be corrected immediately if the flow is too slow.

If not corrected promptly, the blood will clot, and the entire bag of blood must be discarded at a loss of about $150 each. Not only is that a significant cost, but the shortage of blood and the fact that people can donate only every six weeks increase the actual value of a bag of blood. Our product reduces the amount of blood lost by collection agencies by using an automated monitor.

We also have an automated mixer. In addition to flow monitoring, it mixes the blood and anticoagulant automatically. There is pressure from the Food and Drug Administration and other organizations to have all blood mixed automatically. My experience with various low-power and low-cost products motivated me to design the HemoFlow to cost about two-thirds of the competition and operate for weeks instead of hours on a single battery charge.

The drive to be innovative that I had as a child is still a big part of who I am. I’m constantly looking for ways to make products more effective and take advantage of the microprocessor, which is in everything. The major goal of Applied Science Inc. is to shift more tasks to software and reduce the cost of the hardware. We’re constantly trying to come up with innovative ways to use software to do all of the needed functions and minimize hardware and power.

The best part of my business is being able to do a variety of things and to do what I love, which is to be creative. Yes, there are times when I want to throw a circuit board across the room! Still, I truly enjoy creating things with electronics and creating products that help people.