Retinac
Co-founder and lead product engineer for developing medical device startup out of Stanford’s Biodesign program
The Team
Elevator Pitch
Retinac is aiming to provide efficeint and accessible testing for diabetic retinopathy to patients located in rural areas.
Driven by a passion for medical device innovation, I joined Stanford’s Biodesign program to deepen my expertise in health technology. Studying Product Design with a focus on health technology made this opportunity a natural fit.
Retinac received Stanfords Biodesign Most Compelling Idea Award at the startup showcase in 2024
Our Product
Our product aims to provide cost-effective way for all diabetics, but especially rural diabetics, to receive early screening of diabetic retinopathy in order to decrease incidence of diabetic retinopathy-induced vision loss.
Our solution is a tool that uses tear-based protein analysis through rapid-ELISIA. Tears are analyzed for VEGF concentration to determine risk of diabetic retinopathy. Recent papers have shown promising data for VEGF in determining diabetic retinopathy risk.
First Prototype
My Role
While developing the idea, value, need statement, and other aspects behind our project, we also assigned specific roles for each team member to take on individually.
With my experience in Product Design and Engineering, I was tasked with the development of the physical prototypes and eventually developing the final product.
The main challenge I am addressing is the extraction of tear fluid, which can often be painful for patients. Through a diligent design process, we aim to create an effective and pain-free method for collecting tear fluid.
We have developed our first prototype and are currently working on refining it to produce a functional prototype capable of successfully extracting at least 5–7 μL of tear fluid.