my startup: Custom CPAP masks for Sleep Apnea patients via 3D Scanning & 3D Printing

[brokenjohninchrist]

1. Leslie Oliver Karpas, www.metamason.com
2. Custom CPAP masks for Sleep Apnea patients via 3D Scanning & 3D Printing
3. This interview was just published about us on my favorite 3D Priting blog:
   http://www.3ders.org/articles/20140...tom-cpap-masks-for-sleep-apnea-treatment.html
4. My career started in architecture, where I encountered my first 3D printer at Washington University in St. Louis, back in the year 2000. Later, I worked as the lead mechanical designer at Performance Structures Inc. for Turner-winning artist Anish Kapoor, and collaborated on over a dozen large-scale modern art pieces, each requiring invention of completely new manufacturing and assembly processes, including the creation of custom large-scale C&C robots & machine tools, dyes, tooling and fixturing. I also spent some time on the UX & ID teams of the interactive holography company zSpace. I was a grad student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena when I decided to start Metamason, which was initially funded by 'The Design Accelerator,' a partnership of Art Center and Caltech.
5. Anyone know any angel investors whose interested in the combination of 3D Printing and Medical Devices?

 

[testimony2share]

@brokenjohninchrist Anything that improves CPAP is an excellent thing.

I don't know of any investors for that, although you might fish around with CPAP manufacturers (without telling them this idea, other than as a way to customize CPAPs).

 

[lidusfabri2]

@brokenjohninchrist I just want to say that as someone with a lot of Apnea in the family, this is an awesome idea and I wish you the best of luck getting it off the ground.

 

[nj123]

@brokenjohninchrist Thanks for the work you're doing with the masks. I'm a 42 year old woman and have been using my cpap machine for several years. I feel like I have to "nuzzle" myself into my mask each night... it's like I'm making my face fit the mask, not the other way around. Each morning I wake up to lines on my face that I HOPE are gone by lunch time. I've often thought someone could make a mint if they had a mask that not only fit better but didn't leave the facial lines. My husband is a physician and if you can get this product going, I am certain he will refer his patients your way. I hope you repair the links on your website-- the Facebook link didn't work and I want to keep up with your progress. Let me know if you need any subjects for your trial study-- I'd be happy to volunteer! Thanks!

 

[brokenjohninchrist]

@nj123 Just fixed those links. Please follow us on twitter / facebook. We should be ready for trials in the not too distant future. Are you close to Southern California?

 

[nj123]

@brokenjohninchrist I'm in Southern Oregon, 20 miles from the California border

 

[brokenjohninchrist]

@nj123 We're down in Pasadena, I'm afraid that might be a bit far to participate in trials. That said, we expect Respere to be on the market by the second half of next year.

 

[overthehill]

@brokenjohninchrist Looks interesting. What do you need angel investment for exactly?

 

[brokenjohninchrist]

@overthehill In the near term paying regulatory consultants / clinical studies as we complete the 510(k) process for our two products to receive approval from the FDA (510(k)s are far cheaper and faster than full PMAs). In the medium term we need to finish out our customization algorithms, an build an app for the structure.io that curates the scanning process, and make sure the platform scales, and connect it to a HIPAA compliant cloud server. In the longer term we'll want to buy our own printers to reduce our costs of production which are currently being executed by service bureaus today.

 

[wdouglas1611]

@brokenjohninchrist Hey, my grandmother sleeps with one of those things, and she hates the mask because it's made a bunch of sore spots on her face. She wore one mask for so long she has bumps on her nose. I really hope your start-up takes off, and if/when it does I would love to order some supplies from you. Best of luck, and you've got a kick ass idea.

 

[pankaj0008]

@brokenjohninchrist Does the patient have to be present or could you use a image depth solution to get a 3d scan?

 

[brokenjohninchrist]

@pankaj0008 We plan to send the patient the scanner packaged with their in home sleep diagnostic kit (gaining a lot of traction right now in the sleep industry)... We're looking at the structure.io and the Fuel3D as our likely scanners. But no, image based scanning doesn't provide the resolution and fidelity we need to create a pneumatically sealing fit.

 

[januaryrose]

@brokenjohninchrist I have actually been scanned by the fuel 3D, and it is terrible. I have not had any experience with the structure scanner though :/

Source: I own a 3D printing, scanning, and design company

 

[brokenjohninchrist]

@januaryrose So I've been working with Stuart and the guys at Fuel, and I wouldn't call it terrible by any measure, just very specific in what its good at.

The ability to capture that quickly for human data capture is pretty special. Granted, the zone of accurate capture gets distorted by shadow in a way that seems a bit weird for those of us used to other scanners. But I've found that if you take multiple scans at different axial orientations, keeping the lenses in about the same spot while moving the flashes that you can stitch together a very accurate result

For those who've never used the Fuel, it behaves like a point and shoot camera that has 3 flashbulbs instead of one. Most scanners you point and 'paint' the target gradually refining the data.

The structure on the other hand has been really impressive, especially for its price- as long as you have it plugged into a powerful GPU. So the way it scans connected to an iPad is night and day different than when you've got it plugged into to dual SLI 680TIs.

 

[januaryrose]

@brokenjohninchrist Yea, thats the issue with scanners, either they are Meh and work Meh, or they are RAWR and require a massive computer...

The Artec Eva that we use has a 4gb 770 OC Edition with 32gb of ram on an i74770k... sucks ram faster than a cheap prostitute... lol

 

[brokenjohninchrist]

@januaryrose And not to mention the Eva, Spider, Go!Scan, and Capture are all $10K+ - $30K... The fuel and structure both scratching at their performance levels for $1500 and $350 respectively is a signal that the scanning market is about to change in a big way.

 

[januaryrose]

@brokenjohninchrist I am not so sure about that. The reason people buy the artecs and the creaforms is that they are VERY good at what they do. The structure is a lot like the Kinect if I recall and frankly, I am still underwhelmed by the fuel scanner. From what I saw at their booth (because I never got my scan sent to me for some reason) The neck area is all out of wack. There has to be a good way here, like using photos or something and having someone in house do it, I feel like sending people scanners and hoping they can figure it out is a long shot. Not that I dont think it is a damn good idea, dont get that twisted, but there are definitely some challenges here for the full implementation of the product. If my company can help, please let me know. More than happy to compare scan data for you and even print sample faces so you all can use them for promotional stuff

 

[brokenjohninchrist]

@januaryrose So the thing with the structure, is they're about to release a lense which will take it from far field AR applications to near field scanning (which it already does a decent job of). The lesnsing should substantially improve the resolution.

With the Fuel, again- it only does a good job of what's near the center of its focus, because its pointed at your face, the neck area is definitely out of wack. The solution, if you weren't on a trade show floor, would be to take a shot of your face (a couple at different axial angles), then take a shot of your neck (at similar additional angles); and then stitch. Its not the smoothest process, but its the fastest capture time (good for humans).

And I'm not saying they out perform the Creatforms and Artecs, but they come close- at a small fraction of the cost, and with software/lense improvements could theoretically pass their more expensive siblings.

But we can talk off line about possible scan data R&D.

 

[januaryrose]

@brokenjohninchrist Oh ok, and do something like agisoft. If it does work as its touted I would definitely consider it

Scanners like the NextEngine blow my artec away, I just wish the next engine was easier to set up for large areas lol. I absolutely see consumer scanners bypassing or at least getting to the 'good enough to be well worth it' phase. I think the structure is there 100% when they fully open up the color scanning.

Heres my email: info@theobshop.com if you're interested

 

[knightoffaith]

@brokenjohninchrist Have you approached any investors?