JAIM TIMELINE
8/19 BOOTCAMP AT STANFORD BIODESIGN
The program started off in late August when 9 JAIM participants, or biomedical and engineering students selected from a larger pool at UCLA and Stanford, all gathered at Stanford University’s Byers Center for Biodesign. Here, they received a lecture and workshop by Dr. Fumiaki Ikeno and Lyn Denend from the prestigious Stanford Biodesign fellowship program and later were guided around the facility to witness the various medical device innovations that were generated there.
8/20 BOOTCAMP AT UCLA
A business case workshop at UCLA led by Raffi Simonian from Innovate@UCLA.
8/21-27Â VISITS TO CARE SETTINGS IN THE LEADING GRAYING NATION OF JAPAN
JAIM participants from UCLA & Stanford flew over to Japan to meet the medical students from Japanese universities. They together visited a variety of dementia care settings including hospitals, assisted living facilities, and rural homes to interact with dementia patients and their caregivers, gaining direct exposure to dementia-related needs.
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Thank you to the following facilities that allowed JAIM to visit:​
The University of Tokyo Hospital, Outpatient Center
Observed the check-up process of 2 different Lewy Body dementia patients & their families. Saw the familiesʼ struggles as cognitive and physical abilities declined while BPSD symptoms aggravated.
Ginmokusei, Urayasu site and Funabashi site
Assisted living facilities at the frontiers of dementia care in Japan. Residents run candy shops, serve as waiters at the dining halls, and utilize the latest technologies such as auto-driving wheelchairs.
Home care setting in rural Osaka
Observed the reality of dementia care for the majority of Japanese citizens as a home care nurse checked up on an old couple, both with Alzheimerʼs, living in isolation and helplessness.
Gourmet Kineya Shakaikoken No Ie
Nursing home and daycare center embedded in a shrine, open to the community. Emphasis on the residentsʼ mental and spiritual well-being.
Group Home Ikiiki Higashi Toyonaka
Nursing facility very integrated into the neighborhood. Children in the community come to chat or do homework with residents. JAIM participants got one-on-one interaction, folding origami and singing songs to overcome language barriers.
8/28-30 PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
& DEMO DAY IN OSAKA AND TOKYO
After specific issues faced by those living with dementia and their caregivers were identified, the last 3 days in Japan were spent ideating solutions. In a matter of 24 hours, the 3 teams of 3 students each had a physical prototype built for their medical innovations.
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The program in Japan ended after two important presentations. The first one was a pitch + demo to Dr. Sawa (a cardiovascular surgeon and leading medical device innovator in Japan) and Dr. Fumiaki Ikeno (faculty at Stanford Biodesign, innovator, & and investor) who both said were impressed by not only the amount of progress the students made in a week but by the uniqueness of the needs that were identified and the approaches taken by our program.
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After the demo session, JAIM visited the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Kasumigaseki. The teams presented before Mr. Yoshiaki Ishii, the head of the Startup and New Business Promotion Office within the ministry, who commented that the combination of perspectives from Japan and the US allowed for innovations never before seen in Japan.
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SEP~DECÂ BACK IN CALIFORNIA
THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
Equipped with findings and resources from the leading graying nation, JAIM participants spent the next 3 months refining their prototypes, creating compelling pitches, and visiting clinical sites in the US to conduct user hearings and testings.
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AND BEYOND...
JAIM participants will continue to refine prototypes while looking at clinical trials in the long run. They will apply to medical device startup accelerator programs, aim to raise investor funds, and continue showcasing their products at conferences as vast financial and expert support is needed.
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In order to ultimately launch the products, support from investors, entrepreneurs, collaborators, and those who can raise awareness will be tremendously appreciated. If you can support these innovations in any way, please reach out to us.