Priio was joined by Indesign and TWeatherford to provide a short overview of prototyping for small medical device development at the May 18, 2012 INpact meeting, held at Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP in downtown Indianapolis.

Prototyping is a way to brainstorm for possible solutions, research the technology available and plan the construction for any product development project. The presentation covered the basics of the various proto “types” and offered a hands-on examination of the various samples.  (For more information about INpact, a network of product development resources and service providers, please go to www.inpact.org.)

From the presentation:

FIVE PROTO “TYPES”

Proof of Concept • Creates a mock-up from already existing components. • Proves technical feasibility. • Provides a forecast for how much time and money is needed to completely design.

Form Model • This is a form study of the physical shape. • Fashioned physically out of  foam, clay, resin, etc. • Establishes aesthetics for end user. • Used in presentations to gather funding. • Because form is very subjective, it can often require a large number of tweaks to get it right.

Functional Model • This is a physical item that actually works as intended. • Often aesthetics may be set aside to get to functionality sooner. • Provides usage data.

Interactive Functional Model • A whole new level of prototyping (college, as opposed to elementary school) • Additional IP involved (e.g. electronics and software) creates a longer lead time and higher cost to develop. • A potential stage of client discomfort because other proto-types are not as work intensive. • For many non-FDA devices, this is the final stage before production.

Clinical Use Model • This is the highest level of prototyping, requiring much time and detailed documentation. • With properly submitted paperwork, the FDA says, “you can now touch an animal (maybe a human) with it, for collecting use and performance data.” • This is an actual first level of production in a limited number.

For more information about prototypes and the process of small medical device product development, please contact Priio at 317/471-1577

Inflating then popping a balloon is this year’s task of the annual engineering competition sponsored by Theta Tau fraternity at Purdue University.

Granted, to inflate a balloon and pop it doesn’t sound like a particularly challenging task – unless you’re doing it with a large machine which uses at least 20 mechanical steps that show good engineering and great entertainment value.

The contest is based on the outrageous contraptions of Rube Goldberg, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist of the early 20^th century. The idea is to build a machine that takes the most convoluted and creative route to successfully accomplish a simple task.

The event will commence at 9:30 a.m. It is family-friendly, free-of-charge and open to the public.

For more information, please click on www.rubemachine.com.

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“Digi-Key is building a design services network across the country, and they didn’t have anyone in this state,” says Priio president Larry O’Cull. “They investigated by interviewing manufacturing representatives, local vendors and clients – and our name came up very favorably.”

Digi-Key lists a Design Services Provider network as part of a full-orbed service orientation. They provide links and information to their customer base for recommended fee-based service providers to improve project efficiency and hasten time-to-market: http://www.digikey.com/design-services-providers/design-firm/Priio.

Scott Raeker, a Digi-Key spokesperson, wrote in an email confirming Priio’s certification that he enjoyed speaking to the client references. “I feel Priio is an excellent design firm and I look forward to working with [the] team,” he says.

We’ve been hard at working getting everything in order at our new location – 5706 W 74^th Street, Indianapolis (in Park 100).

We hope you’ll join us for munchies and libations as you tour the new digs. (There is lots of color – Sgt. Pepper would be proud.)

“We believe this new space will better support our growth and business goals over the next five years,” says Priio president Larry O’Cull. “We needed more office space to accommodate our recent staff increases, as well as shop space to support our expanding prototyping capabilities.”

O’Cull says the new office space offers good accessibility for clients, being literally yards off the 73rd street ramp off I-465. He’s also excited about the snazzy new floor plan which has a pretty face and a good personality. “Our new space truly embodies and facilitates our integrative/collaborative work environment,” he says. “It totally says‘Priio.’”

Priio will host an open house at their new location on Thursday, November 17 from 5 to 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome. You  may RSVP at lknight@priio.com.

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Havener earned his BSCO from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, then worked at Wavetek (now JDSU), Integral Technologies and Allison Transmission developing software for communications, digital video, security and electronic controls. He is now a welcome member of the embedded software team at Priio.

Havener and his wife have three little daughters and he confesses to being a SciFi fan (as all the best people are).

Priio is happy to announce the addition of Oluwokay “Victor” Johns to our roster of peeps as an embedded software developer.

Victor hails from the Los Angeles area where he earned his BSEE from California State University. After graduation he worked for Modular Mining Systems in Tucson, Ariz., and later worked for Cummins, Thomson, Willtek/Acterna and Technicolor, earning his MSECE from Purdue/IUPUI along the way.

He is crazy good at tennis, and is currently in training for a tournament circuit. (Consequently, he is also extremely good at table tennis and is giving our current champ, Gordon Huang, a run for his money.) When not working his software magic at Priio, he likes music, movies and hanging out with his wife and two grown sons.

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“People are surprised when they realize we have such a comprehensive spectrum of service providers right here in Indiana,” says Priio president Larry O’Cull. “Events like this are helpful because they allow people to ask specific questions and talk to company owners – it’s a chance to go straight to the well, so to speak.”

INpact was formed a little over three years ago to assist entrepreneurs as well as larger companies in the process of product development, starting with early stage research, through design and development, FDA submission, manufacturing and market release.

“INpact is different from most associations in that we’re not just a phone book of names,” says INpact president Jon Speer. “This is a network of capable and proven product development resource and service providers – we know each other and have worked together on many projects in the past. There’s good synergy here.”

For more information, please go to www.INpact.org.

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