Concept to Commercialization 2.0

Milestone	How Will We Achieve This?
Ability to communicate the usefulness of our design	Our blog has been the main tool in communicating our ideas. We devoted a lot of time into accruing detailed information from people in Nicaragua in order to maximize the impact of our prototype.
Prove our design is better than current market alternatives	There are bacteria detection devices and test in the market, however, these tend to require high resources or are specific to a small group of bacteria. Our design incorporates multiple biochemical tests while keeping the cost low, allowing for local manufacturing and innovation.
Understand the setting for the use of our technology	Our design is intended for use in the NICU at the Ocotal hospital in Nicaragua. Skin infections in newborns from 0-7 days, are fairly common, especially when babies need IVs for an extended amount of time. These babies are often immunocompromised and develop infections readily if the appropriate measures are not taken.
Proof of the effectiveness of our design	All tests used have been extensively described in the literature for decades.
Prove that our design is safe	Even though some of the chemicals present toxicity, our device incorporates the biochemical test in an isolated compartment, which prevents direct contact with the skin.
Quantify the usefulness of our design	Prototype testing is currently being performed.
Feedback from potential customers and persons who will utilize the design.	Our point person in Nicaragua, Noel Marin, is highly enthusiastic about our project. We are trying to contact some NICU nurses who can give us some useful insight into catheter infections.
Estimate cost of design	Most of the cost of the test is derived from the chemicals. Stock solutions can be prepared to reduce reagent waste. Since our project makes use of microfluidics, little amount of reagent is necessary.
Defend intellectual property	We will need to research how to do this, as we don’t have any prior experience with patents and other forms of intellectual property defense.
Acknowledge areas of uncertainty in our design	As of now we are uncertain about the sensitivity of our design. Additionally, tests need to be run in order to asses the wicking power of the cotton thread we are employing.