Student grudge match

Deepak Rai, Dr. Frank Cave, Shobhit Mahajan, Dr. Ben Harper, Paula Onea, and William Fry

School: Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster, U.K.

Team members: William Fry, Benjamin Harper, Shobhit Mahajan, Paula Onea, Deepak Rai, Frank Cave

Concept: Techtrix was founded earlier this year by five MBA students at Lancaster University. Their first product is a non-intrusive device that will diagnose a hypoglycemic attack in diabetics (which can lead to coma and death), and alert caregivers or relatives.

Worn on the wrist, the GlucoFast device will combine existing technologies to monitor four symptoms: sweat, skin tone, temperature, and movement. While none of these symptoms are definitive indicators on their own, the coincidence of two or more in a diabetic sufferer could signal a potential emergency. The GlucoFast will also track the wearer's precise location. According to the management team, no device like it currently exists. Their own patent and trademark applications are currently pending.

TechTrix targets the 69.8 million diabetics in the world who will suffer at least one hypoglycemic diabetic coma in their lifetime. This includes all type I diabetics, and 15% of type II diabetics (who require insulin for blood glucose control).

The team intends to market GlucoFast as a personal health care product rather than a medical device, allowing them to avoid formal clinical trials and get to market quickly with a product that does not require a medical prescription.

The team plans to sell the GlucoFast device at a unit price of $125, with a life span of five years. The company's revenues will come from up-front fees, royalties or a combination of the two.

Timeline: TechTrix expects to start production by early 2011, after three years of product development. The technology will be sold under license to companies with global reach and established retail distribution channels. - Malika Worrall

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