Purdue University News Service
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March 8, 1999
PRODUCT FOR WOMEN WINS ENTREPRENEURIAL CONTEST
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.-- Women who suffer from urinary incontinence will benefit from the invention that took the top prize in the 1999 Burton Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition at Purdue University.
The "Femate," a biofeedback device for exercising the pelvic floor muscle, is the winner of the 12th annual competition. Six teams presented business plans along with product prototypes to three judges during the final round of competition on Saturday (3/6).
Christoph Weismayer from Vienna, Austria, a Krannert School of Management graduate now studying medical sociology at Purdue, walked away with the top prize of $20,000 and free office space for one year in the Purdue Research Park, an incubator facility for start-up businesses.
The device was developed and patented by two Austrian physicians, Ilse Michl and Alexander Kallo, and has been clinically tested in Europe. The portable product, about the size of a hand-held calculator, measures the effectiveness of pelvic Kegel exercises and can be used in conjunction with medication to treat female patients with urinary incontinence. The Kegel exercise is done by contracting the pelvic muscles and holding the contraction for a certain amount of time.
"Millions of women suffer from incontinence as they age or after childbirth," said Weismayer. "Treatment is limited to Kegel exercises, medication, covering up the problem with adult diapers, or an invasive surgery. Our product goes to the root of the problem by strengthening the pelvic floor muscle that controls the flow of urine. Incontinence can also be a main reason why the elderly are put into nursing homes, and it causes others to experience a self-imposed social isolation. Femate can help those individuals."
Weismayer says he will use the prize money to pursue U.S. distribution of the product.
"We are talking with the Indiana University School of Medicine about possible clinical trials in the U.S. over the summer," Weismayer said. "The next step is to set up an office in the Purdue Research Park and to get a few investors. We hope to have the Femate on the market within 12 months."
The second prize of $5,000 was awarded to the "Computing Universe" team, which has developed a new software called "PUNCH" that allows users to run complex programs remotely on the Internet without having to download lots of extra applications and tools to their own hard drives. Team members are Malav Dani from Bombay, India, a senior in the School of Management; Lu Ann Evans of West Lafayette, manager of computer operations in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Jose Fortes of West Lafayette, professor of electrical engineering; Nirav Kapadia of Bombay, India, a doctoral candidate in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Mark Lundstrom of West Lafayette, professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The winner of the third-place $2,000 prize was "VLS Application," presented by Rene Yamin of Caracas, Venezuela, a doctoral candidate in the School of Civil Engineering who also is seeking a master's degree in management, and David Harmelink of West Lafayette, assistant professor in the School of Civil Engineering. They developed a new software for scheduling and project management in the highway construction industry.
The remaining finalists were:
o "H-cubed" (Hold Your Head High), in fourth place. The team of Ryan Reynolds of Fort Wayne, Ind., Karl Cheng, Portage, Ind., and Jerry Roush, Frisco, Texas, all undergraduates in the School of Electrical Engineering, developed a posture improvement product to help people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. They completed the project as part of Purdue's EPICS program, which stands for Engineering Projects In Community Service.
o "SoftwareWinery.Com," in fifth place. The team of Namrata Mundhra of Bombay, India, a Krannert graduate student; and Hasnain Lakdawala, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Dhiraj Kacker, Bombay, India, both graduate students in the School of Electrical Engineering, created a Web site where consumers can sample all kinds of software before deciding whether to buy it.
o "E-ntegrate," in sixth place. The team of Marcus Tewksbury of Chelmsford, Mass., and Leigh Ann Thomas of Falls Church, Va., both Krannert graduate students, presented a new package of integrated software for businesses that want to begin electronic commerce.
Dennis J. Weidenaar, dean of the School of Management and the Krannert Graduate School of Management, presented the awards along with contest benefactor Burton D. Morgan. The competition is sponsored by Purdue's Schools of Management, Engineering and Science.
Judges were Donald W. Feddersen, Wellesley Hills, Mass., general partner, Charles River Associates and Bessemer Venture Partners; Harold H. Greenburg, Prescott, Ariz., president of Algren Builders; and Kelvin Pennington, Chicago, Ill., managing general partner, Penman Asset Management L.L.P.
The competition was started by Morgan in 1987 to help students develop an appreciation of the free market system and the role of the entrepreneur in a market economy. The 1999 competition was narrowed from 45 business plans to 19 in early February. From those 19 plans, six were selected for the final presentation.
Coordinator of the competition is Shailendra Raj Mehta, director, Krannert Entrepreneurship Initiative. To reach Mehta, or for more information about the competition, visit the entreprenuership Web site at http://www.mgmt.purdue.edu/entrep
Sources:
Shailendra Raj Mehta (765) 494-5703; [email protected]
Tamyra Gibson, director of public relations, Krannert Graduate School of Management,
(765) 494-4392; [email protected]
Writer: Kate Walker (765) 494-2073; [email protected]
Related Web sites with information on urinary incontinence in women:
Nursing Home Medicine, http://www.mmhc.com/nhm/articles/NHM9806_b/Maloney.html
The Simon Foundation, http://www.simonfoundation.org/html/b/ba.htm
Caption #1:
Ryan Reynolds of Fort Wayne, Ind., whose team finished fourth Saturday in the Burton Morgan Competition, watches as 6-year-old Scott Scherer of Lafayette tries out the electronic ball cap created by Reynolds and two other engineering students. The posture-improvement device for disabled children rewards the child for using correct head and neck posture when the cap sends radio signals that make the fireman climb or the stuffed pig move. The device can control any toy or device that can be plugged into a standard electrical circuit. (Purdue News Service Photo by David Umberger)
Color photo, electronic transmission, and Web and ftp download available. Photo ID: Morgancomp1
Caption #2:
Christoph Weismayer, winner of the 1999 Burton Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition at Purdue on Saturday, explains his product to the judges. The "Femate" is a portable exercise device to help women who suffer from urinary incontinence. (Photo by John Underwood, Purdue Center for Instructional Services)
Color photo, electronic transmission, and Web and ftp download available. Photo ID: Morgancomp2
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