To put it simply: Nick Dougherty, Eric Hsiao and Gregory Zoeller always knew they wanted to change the world. Or, at least have a meaningful impact.
In September 2011, however, all the trio of Boston University computer engineering students had was a nine-month senior design project. They had a friendship, maybe, but Dougherty would say they were more acquaintances. "Now, we're brothers," he admitted.
What changed?
Between a mother who serves as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, another who works at the Lyme Disease Research Foundation and a father employed in the state's Executive Office of Elder Affairs, the group knew health care; they grew up in it. Now, they wanted to innovate in the space and give it a voice.
"Being a student gave us access to Mass General," Dougherty said. "We were able to go in and observe how the world's best institution did its work."
While shadowing nurses, a trend slowly emerged. Each patient grew up in a different town, lived through a unique set of experiences and communicated in their own way. "Super specific personalized care is what mattered," Dougherty added, claiming it was then they realized, "One-size-fits-all wasn't going to fit everyone."
With that knowledge in mind, they started building up an iPad application dubbed "Verbal" — what's now become a cloud-based communication platform designed to improve patient care quality with a personalized touch.
Needless to say, the group received an "A" both semesters. What's more, they went on to win the Entrepreneurial Award from Boston University's College of Engineering and began piloting the initial iPad app through an internal review board at Massachusetts General Hospital's Respiratory Acute Care Unit and Thoracic Unit. The pilot went so well, they were encouraged to go commercialize it, which they've done with the help of startup accelerator MassChallenge.
"We were kind of laughed at, at the beginning as to what our business acumen was," Dougherty admitted, reemphasizing the trio's engineering backgrounds. "It speaks to the value of MassChallenge, though. You are not only seen as a good company, but you are a good company."
The Verbal team has made significant strides in the last six months — strides that haven't gone unnoticed by mentors who want to see the company grow.
"I love entrepreneurial teams that attack the basic functional gaps in health care, obstacles that adversely impact large numbers of patients and their families," said Ronald Newbower, co-founder of MGH's Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology, in an email to BostInno. "This terrific team has taken a true 'systems' approach to developing a meaningful and affordable solution — from designing a brilliant user-interface for non-verbal or isolated patients to a back-end infrastructure for overburdened caregivers."
To date, if a patient required a nurse, they would need to hit a call button or ring a bell. For incapacitated patients unable to communicate, the primitive modes of gaining a clinician's attention are increasingly ineffective. With Verbal's iPad app, however, patients can select large picture-based buttons to convey what they need with staff. They're also given the ability to communicate their needs through voice systems and various languages.
Nurses are able to see requests via their desktop, mobile device or iPod touch, and can reply to patients, so patients know when they're on their way. What's more, loved ones synced in with VerbalCare remotely can also see when their family member's care is being delivered.
"I could be in San Francisco and my mom could be in the hospital in Massachusetts, and I could see what's going on," Dougherty explained.
And because clinicians are walking into every room already knowing what they're about to deal with, they can do their job more efficiently, leading to better patient care overall.
"There's great opportunity for the Verbal Applications technology to facilitate communication between our staff, families and the children we serve," said Deanna Dwyer, director of marketing for the Franciscan Hospital for Children, in a statement. "For children who have experienced a medical trauma or have chronic conditions that impede communication, having the right tools can literally give them a voice."
The Boston pediatric center became Verbal's first pilot client, after realizing the connectedness the company offers could decrease travel time from room to room, thereby "allowing for more and better care delivery."
Dougherty said they will only be accepting 20 pilots into their early adopter program. Families, however, will continue to have free access to VerbalCare, which allows for an easier transition from hospital to home. Patients can access the app from their house, and better communicate with loved ones. Clinical staff can also login to the platform, interact with patients and ensure all needs are being met.
That level of ease helps explain why Jodi-Tatiana Charles, CEO and brandographer of The Embargo List, opted to mentor the team when they arrived at MassChallenge. In an email to BostInno, she said:
I became a mentor to the Verbal App team because they pulled at my heart strings. For 17 years, I have been the caretaker for my now 93-year-old grandmother that has lost her voice due to her age and a language barrier. On many occasions, under the watchful eyes of the best medical care in our state, mistakes have been made and she was unable to voice her concerns while alone. Verbal App has the potential of being the second caretaker for families like mine.
Stories like Charles's is what motivates Dougherty to wake up every morning, he said, admitting there is no better feeling than putting a product in people's hands and watching them tear up because they can speak.
"Next year will be about exploring what our product can do," Dougherty said, referencing future plans. "We want to see how we can disrupt health care with better communication."
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Featured Photos Courtesy of Verbal
