Raquel Fuentes, the co-founder and president of Avive Solutions, has developed new ways to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Avive Solutions were the youngest founding team to receive FDA approval for a Class III medical device and have been named to Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 list.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Q1. Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your background.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I\u2019m the co-founder and President of Avive Solutions, where we focus every day on revolutionizing how we respond to sudden cardiac arrest. I have a Mechanical Engineering Degree, as well as an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Degree from MIT.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Avive Solutions originated out of a capstone design course at MIT. We developed novel ways to miniaturize, familiarize, and ultimately utilize an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), received a tremendous response for what we had built, and went on to found Avive in 2017. Six years later, we are the youngest founding team to ever receive an FDA approval for a Class III medical device, and were recently named to Forbes\u2019 annual 30 Under 30 list. We are the first new manufacturer of an AED since 2003, and we are ecstatic to be having devices used across the country!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Q2. What made you become\/why did you choose to become a product designer?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n See Q1 response.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Q3. Tell us more about your business\/company, job profile, and what you do.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Everything that we do at Avive Solutions centers around improving survival rates of cardiac arrest. There are over 350,000 cardiac arrests every year, a ~10% national average survival rate that hasn\u2019t changed much in 20 years, and every minute without defibrillation treatment from an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) reduces your survival chances by 7-10%.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The centerpiece of our system of response solution is the Avive Connect AED. The device is usable by untrained bystanders, is the smallest device ever approved by the FDA, and is internet connected with WiFi, Cellular, and GPS capabilities. It fits easily in a backpack or the glovebox of your car, and has a child mode, spanish language mode, and other features to make it as accessible as possible. When activated for an emergency use, it provides audio and visual instructions designed to minimize the number of steps and decisions you need to make during a chaotic, terrifying situation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Utilizing the WiFi, Cellular, and GPS capabilities, we have a platform for automating the maintenance and monitoring of these devices to ensure that they are always ready to help save a life when they\u2019re needed. During and after use of the device, incident data is made available to first responders and the hospital, to improve their ability to take over treatment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Perhaps most exciting to me personally is our 4 Minute City program. We partner with cities and counties to strategically distribute AEDs throughout the community and integrate with emergency services. When a 911 call comes in for a potential cardiac arrest, our AEDs that are nearby that location audibly alert and display a map to help navigate bystanders to the emergency to help. It\u2019s one of the many ways that we aim to change how quickly and how often we get this life-saving treatment to a patient who needs it, and ultimately improve survival rates.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Q4. What does \u201cdesign\u201d mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n To me, the best designs appear so simple that they seem obvious. They are aesthetically pleasing, but more than anything they are useful at each level for which they\u2019re intended. When you want to use or do something, it\u2019s intuitive. When you want to do something more, it remains that way, and when you are trying to do the fullest extent of that thing\u2019s capabilities, it just feels right. A good design is satisfying, it removes barriers or frustrations, and it meets you at your level as a user.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There are designs and products that do a lot of things, and there are designs and products that do almost nothing. A good design is not about how many features or how much something does, but how well it does those things, and whether its right for users and functions its intended for.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Q5. What\u2019s your favorite kind of design and why?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n See Q4 response.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Q6. To you, what makes a \u201cgood\u201d design?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n See Q4 response.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Q7. Congratulations! As the winner of the 2023 NY Product Design Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It is fantastic to receive recognition for everything that the Avive team has been able to accomplish! It speaks to the thoroughness, quality, and importance of the work that we\u2019re doing to make an impact on the survival rates of sudden cardiac arrest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Q8. Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2023 NY Product Design Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n See Q3 response.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Q9. What was the biggest challenge with this project?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The stakes during the use of this device couldn\u2019t be greater. Often, early access to our device and it performing correctly is the only chance that someone in cardiac arrest has at surviving. Designing a product that is as reliable as it is intuitive for one of the most panicked situations in someone\u2019s life requires a great thoroughness in all aspects of the design and development.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n On top of that, AED devices are regulated via the most scrutinous regulatory approval pathway that the FDA has for medical devices. There\u2019s a reason that we are the first new manufacturer to get an AED device approved by the FDA since 2003!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) kills more than 350,000 people every single year in the U.S. alone \u2026 (Read more at NY Product Design Awards<\/a>).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n