Joshna Seelam is closing in on her target.
The VCU graduate student is one of three members of Kilo Medical Solutions, a Richmond medical device startup that’s getting ever closer to launch.
The company's product, called the Brise-Solette, is placed on climate-controlled incubators in neonatal intensive care units, controlling lighting for infants. It uses a film to limit light, programmed to change between opaque to transparent.
If successful, the product could save big money for hospitals and save caregivers from headaches. Decreasing the length of NICU stays by just a few days can significantly cut costs for providers, insurance companies and families.
For now, Seelam is waiting on a manufacturer to develop the film technology before heading into the FDA approval process. Kilo raised $25,000 through competitions and seed investments to secure a patent for the Brise-Solette, and is aiming to join the NSF iCorp in September for more funding and a customer acquisition strategy.
The startup began as a senior-year capstone project for classmates Seelam, Kashyap Venuthurupalli, Aniket Kulkarni and Chandana Muktipaty, who's no longer with the company. They won the Design in Excellence award for the capstone, and soon after presented the Bris-Solette idea at the National Academy of Inventors as the only fully undergraduate team.
“After the presentation we had tremendous positive response from clinicians, industry experts and parents," Seelam said. "They shared stories about having their babies in the NICU and wished the product existed earlier.”
In 2018 the students received a grant from VentureWell, a national organization that supports early stage inventors. Then they won the "Biggest Social impact" award at the Splash! Pitch Competition at the SITW music festival, and they won first place in this year’s SCOREcard pitch competition.
The co-founders are enrolled in the Master of Product Innovation program at the VCU da Vinci Center, a collaboration of several VCU schools focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The masters program for us is unique because we have a close relationship with the director," Seelam said. "We communicated to them that we are doing this because we want to start this business and take it to the next step.”
Since the beginning of the summer, Kilo has been restructuring its business plan and applying in an effort to build its investment portfolio. Starting in 2020, Seelam said, they want to have conversations with investors and start raising money as they develop a second version of the prototype.
