A little twinkle in our life...

Courtesy of the uBox!

This is from a battery and charger test back in June, but it reminded me of Christmas...  Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays, warmth, love, and nourishment.  We couldn't do it without you!

Love, Abiogenix

Boring but important

It hasn't been very exciting around here lately... Just the critical drudge work involved in testing, weeding out bugs, prepping accounting systems, lining up shipping facilities and component supply chains, packaging, manuals, support systems, failsafes, and regulatory compliance. Whee!  We've been at it more than full time for most of the year, so maybe we'll take it easy over the holidays and enjoy time with the family.

We are so thankful for everyone who has supported us and continues to help us on our way.

Happy Thanksgiving from Abiogenix!

Demoing at Health 2.0!

I demoed the uBox at the Health 2.0 Conference in Santa Clara today, on a panel called "Improving Outcomes Through Adherence."

It was a rapid-fire 3-minute walk-through of setting up the uBox with our app, to a room of about 50 people. A lot of great people came up to me afterwards to learn more about the uBox and give their feedback, both positive and constructive. I think a few partnerships may have been started!

I think my favorite panel (besides my own) was the session on Digital Health for the Underserved.  Thought-provoking and inspiring! I also met a lot of interesting companies on the trade show floor, and look forward to building those relationships as well.

UPDATE: Health 2.0 has uploaded video to their website!

Proud parents!

After much testing and debugging and incubating, Sara and Greddy are the proud parents of 50 uBoxes!

You are finally ready to leave the nest, so fly little uBoxes, fly!

Full-court press

From the Chicago Grid:

A Pillbox That's Smart Enough To Tattle On You

The company that burns together, earns together!

Greddy and I decided to take a "company retreat" to Burning Man this year! No, company funds were not used... Unfortunately, it is not a write off... But we still had a great time on the playa, and came back energized to keep putting in the long hours getting uBox out in the world!

Outsiders in Healthcare... I'll fit right in!

I am going to a mixer at the Practice Fusion offices in SF sponsored by XX in Health.  Today's topic focuses on outsiders in healthcare, a concept to which I can heartily relate!

As a mechanical engineer, I have not been through med school, worked in clinics, or been totally familiarized with policies and regulations most providers deal with every day (yet).  However, I can take my engineering approach to learning to really understand the problem of adherence -- the complex interdependent variables, the network effects, the difference between theory and reality and why rigorous testing is a requirement. It's a complex, ever-changing problem, but I'll apply my experience in product design, robotics, and artificial intelligence and see what happens.

Maybe being an outsider is what it takes to see a new solution...

Parts, parts, and more parts!

Sara is back in Boston (and none too happy about it).  We got the reworked parts back from our prototype vendor, and so it is time to start the two-person assembly line!

 Taking inventory of the new parts

A little rework here and there...

Lasering inscriptions

 

Giving them a bath to remove mold release and dust

And reassembly according to the color combo wishes of our Indiegogo supporters!

Software crunch time --- GO!

This week we are starting on the deep dive into the updated uBox app -- how does it look, how does it work, how does it live?

Feature analysis, wireframing, mockups and use cases galore.  And so it goes.

Engaging Patients

Today was the Connected Health Conference in Santa Clara.

The conference was focused largely on M2M technologies, making use of data, and how devices can be tell you what they're thinking and doing.

I was on Wednesday's health panel, talking about how to engage patients in their own healthcare, which is not an easy task.  My co-panelists were great guys, both hilarious and informed, and it was a great experience to share what I've learned through the development of the uBox.  10/10 would do it again.

Well, hello again, Boston

So, we meet again.....

I am in Boston for a week to build uBoxes with Greddy.  I have been utterly spoiled by San Francisco's weather, and I do NOT miss the humidity! Sure, it could be worse, but still.  bleh.

We got the first shipment of parts from our RTV vendor and I am slightly disappointed... They did pretty well, all things considered, but compared to injection molded parts, they just aren't the same.  I'll have to send back about a third of the parts to be redone, both for cosmetic and structural reasons.

Just part of the process for hardware development!

It's a Connected World...

Sara will be representing Abiogenix and the uBox at the Connected World conference in Santa Clara on June 12th.

She will be on a panel focused on engaging patients in their own care, moderated by Kamal Jethwani of the Partners Center for Connected Health.

In the meantime, they have released this preview, How to Engage Consumers in Healthcare.

You like us, you really like us!

Welp, we won the title of "Company I Want to Have a Beer With" at the In-NOW-vation showcase!

If you'd like to confirm this finding for yourself, contact us to arrange a beer date at the Muddy Charles in Cambridge or the Revolution Cafe in SF....  Fun times abound!

In-NOW-vation

Greddy will be representing Abiogenix at the In-NOW-vation event at the Microsoft NERD center tomorrow April 25th! Vote for us as the company you'd most like to have a beer with! (you know it's true, Jason)

We haven't disappeared...

We've just been a little busy...

I've mostly recovered from my moto accident, and Greddy and I are finishing up getting uBoxes out to our Indiegogo donors and trial partners.  We got snagged by a supplier issue tho, and have had to start a component sourcing search from scratch.  We have a couple of leads who say they can deliver initial parts to us in 30 days, so before the end of May is our new target. The summer is looking to be a time filled with adventure and a lot of data!

I'll admit that we get tired.  But what energizes us is that almost every day we are contacted by someone who wants to use the uBox or wants to give one to someone they care about.  The fact is, such a clinical-sounding issue as medication adherence touches each and every one of us in some way, and Greddy and I want to make a difference. Thanks to you, we are well on our way!

XX in Health

I went to a mixer last night, sponsored by XX in Health, an initiative of Rock Health to connect women in leadership positions in healthcare.

It was inspiring to be around so many women working on so many facets and areas of healthcare, and was a great place to make connections.  I look forward to future events, learning, teaching, and making new friends.

It's not easy...

We were mentioned in an article written by Nina Nashif of Healthbox and Tony Driscoll of Contiuum:

If it were easy, everyone would do it: 3 keys to a winning healthcare startup

They highlight the problem with multiple stakeholders, a problem we deal with every day when asking who will pay for the uBox and reap the rewards of improved medication adherence.

It is not a simple problem, and one we work to answer every day.

Chugging along

We are making steady progress on our app development and hardware refinement. Bluetooth communication is working great, and we are on track to have the first uBoxes ready to ship in March for those who ordered them on Indiegogo.

We are also doing our darnedest to get mention of the uBox in the press, and applying to competitions and exhibition opportunities.

We are hard at work to get the uBox out into the world where it can make a real difference!

Tech Cocktail Startup Showcase

Last night I presented the uBox at San Francisco's Tech Cocktail Startup Showcase.

I found myself sharing the expo tables with more typical hipster-esque startups -- a faster video codec, a new way to meet people at a bar -- but the individuals in the crowd were surprisingly interested in what the uBox had to offer.  People could relate to the difficulty of taking medicine, either from personal experience or that of their family members.

The event was followed up by an article on the Tech Cocktail website:

Not Your Grandmother's Pillbox: The uBox Steps Up Your Medication Game

The uBox can help everyone. Even me.

Last week I was in a hit-and-run accident on my motorcycle.  I'm okay! Nothing broken and my legs are still attached, so all is right in the world.  I am taking pain medication though while I heal.

Even though I have been researching adherence for years, and knew the importance of taking my meds properly, I still found myself trying to stretch out the prescription, or denying that I was in enough pain to need it... I also forgot my meds at home when I really should have had them with me.  I realized that I needed something to help me take them like I was supposed to.  Good thing we had invented the uBox!

I've been using my uBox since then, and by staying ahead of the pain I'm helping my body to heal faster, which will be better for me in the long run. The text notifications also helped my fiancée to feel reassured that I was okay while he was at work.

To hear more about how the uBox has helped us, we have added our story to our Indiegogo page.  Check it out now, and see a real-world example of the effect the uBox had on us!