Benjamin Heck Email & Phone Number

Georgetown, Texas, United States

I am leading a new startup company driving innovations in healthcare and the well-being of humanity. I was working on creating a new noninvasive ventilation (NIV) mask called the OralEase™ mask, which aimed to provide NIV therapy while enabling healthcare professionals to access the patient's mouth. This would be used for performing upper endoscopic procedures in high-risk patients as well as for hospitalized patients on NIV requiring oral hygiene care to prevent hospital-acquired infections. I produced several prototypes, including a few highly functional prototypes. I devised and performed design verification testing. Most tests were passed, but we had issues with adequately sealing the cushion to the face. I got a team of highly-qualified,experienced professionals and wrote a NIH SBIR application. Unfortunately, our application was denied funding and I determined that there was little freedom to operate based on current patents in the field. Starting in December 2022, Dr. Chakravarthy Reddy pushed the idea of shifting focus to bronchoscopy. Since then, I have designed 6 full prototypes of a single-use bronchoscope (Bronchoscopus Rex™) which has significantly better suctioning capabilities than anything currently on the market. I wrote a provisional patent application covering several features advantageous for suctioning, end-user satisfaction, and enabling more instruments to be used with single-use bronchoscopes. The provisional patent application was slightly revised by Thompson Patent Law to add greater legal protection and filed in early July. Currently, we have a website up and running, have conducted a suction bench study proving the superiority of our prototypes over competitive products, are filing a second patent application, are attending pitch events, have a well-thought out business plan, are bringing in outside teams for certain parts of the device, and are optimizing the design for production, functionality, and user experience. Stay tuned!

Georgetown, Texas, United States

*Performed background research*Applied in January and was selected to pitch for MedTech Innovator pediatric division*Worked with clinicians to enhance design around the user's needs*Used Fusion 360 to design prototypes such that they could be mass produced through injection molding and designed molds for liquid silicone injection molding valves and cushions*Used UV Resin Printing and FDM printing to make prototype pieces (nasal mask, nasal mask cup, ball joints, elbow, and mouth mask) and to make molds (nasal mask cushion molds, mouth mask cushion molds, and valves)* Designed packaging for shipping conditions*Overmolded cushions and valves onto rigid components*Developed SOPs in accordance with FDA Design Control regulations 21 CFR 820.30 for documenting design input (Marketing Requirements and Specifications SOP), design output (Specifications and Prototype SOP), design verification (Verification Testing SOP) and conducting design reviews*Devised and updated design and development plan, wrote design input documentation, design output documentation, devised verification testing plan in accordance with SOPs and 21 CFR 820.30*Conducted design reviews with experts (pulmonologist and biomedical engineer) following creation of design and development plan, design input requirements, prototype, and verification test plan in accordance with 21 CFR 820.30 (e)* Wrote 34 page business plan outlining regulatory and reimbursement strategy, key milestones, sales and marketing of the product, the clinical need, the company's mission, competitive products, advantages, technology used, the market, channels through which the product would be delivered to users, a manufacturing process, financials (cashflow, profit strategy and breakeven analysis, and financials and revenue model), and an exit strategy.* Created labeling to accompany product in accordance with 21 CFR 801* Worked on second product capable of providing both high flow nasal oxygen and CPAP/BiPAP

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

I was tasked with the responsibility to set up and program a bioreactor that can replicate the mechanical effect (axial strain and vibration) of the voice on the response of human vocal fold fibroblasts. I achieved this through LabVIEW programming and fabricating new T-flasks, valves to prevent leakage, and both adding more electrical components for greater amplification from the DAQ board and repairing previously used components for their use in the current bioreactor. The bioreactor was programmed such that the voice coil actuators would apply vibrational stresses at user-defined frequencies (100 Hz to mimic voice) when the samples containing human laryngeal fibroblasts were stretched maximally to a cyclic axial strain defined by the user. This was around 25% to mimic stretching of vocal fold during speech. The program enabled cyclic running where an active period of 8 hours was followed by 16 hours of rest. This will be used in a study to look at ECM components produced by the fibroblasts as well as the stress-strain response of the scaffold-ECM material. This research will advance knowledge in developing tissue-engineered vocal cords for those with laryngeal cancer or injury.

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

I was tasked with the responsibility to set up and program a bioreactor that can replicate the mechanical effect (axial strain and vibration) of the voice on the response of human vocal fold fibroblasts.I achieved this through LabVIEW programming and fabricating new T-flasks, valves to prevent leakage, and both adding more electrical components for greater amplification from the DAQ board and repairing previously used components for their use in the current bioreactor. The bioreactor was programmed such that the voice coil actuators would apply vibrational stresses at user-defined frequencies (100 Hz to mimic voice) when the samples containing human laryngeal fibroblasts were stretched maximally to a cyclic axial strain defined by the user. This was around 25% to mimic stretching of vocal fold during speech. The program enabled cyclic running where an active period of 8 hours was followed by 16 hours of rest. This will be used in a study to look at ECM components produced by the fibroblasts as well as the stress-strain response of the scaffold-ECM material. This research will advance knowledge in developing tissue-engineered vocal cords for those with laryngeal cancer or injury.

Salt Lake City, Utah

I worked in Dr. Dorval's research lab alongside a group from Northeastern university to better understand a proposed form of brain stimulation known as temporal interference. In this, I developed a model of the brain in MATLAB needed to calculate the electric potential at each location throughout the brain. In addition, we created Hodgkin-Huxley compartmental axon models to see the effects of myelination, orientation, and position on the effectiveness of temporal interference stimulation.

Research with Dr. Weiss in AngiogenesisPerformed cell cultureUsed confocal microscopy to view vessel growth

Master Of Science - Ms, Bioengineering And Biomedical Engineering, 4.00

Activities and Societies: 2021 Men's Tennis Team, won Best in Engineering at Bench to Bedside 2021 for Aether Elbow (Non-invasive.

Bachelor'S Degree, Biomedical Engineering, 4.00

Activities and Societies: Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society, Utah Men's Tennis Team Fall 2016, Neural Engineering Research GroupGraduated Summa.

High School Diploma

Activities and Societies: National Honors Society, National Tennis PlayerValedictorian and first recipient of Distinguished Student Award.