What are your legal considerations here (include specific Acts, policies, and procedures)? What are your social work considerations (include social work code of ethics)?

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Scenario
You are a social worker at a youth  drop-in centre that has multiple service arms including a medical clinic, a housing agency and a counselling service. In a recent staff meeting you have been informed by management that the legislation in Victoria has now changed and that there is a new offence called ‘Failure to disclose child sexual abuse offence’ whereby it is an offence for failure to disclose child sexual abuse and this has come into effect on 27 October 2014.
The offence requires “that any adult who holds a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed in Victoria by an adult against a child (aged under 16) disclose that information to police. The offence applies to all adults in Victoria, not just professionals who work with children, unless they have a reasonable excuse” http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-service-providers/children,-youth-and-families/child-protection
Later in the week you see a fifteen year old girl, Hanifi, who presents at the medical clinic asking for contraception. One of the nurses from the medical clinic, referrers Hanifi to see you as Hanifi has presented with her boyfriend, Akmal, who has just turned eighteen years old. In her handover to you, the nurse tells you that neither Hanifi nor Akmal are at school and are both homeless, either sleeping rough and couch-surfing. She reports that Hanifi came in for a pregnancy test but that it was negative and the couple were very relieved. The nurse reports that due to the new legislation and the difference in ages she is worried that she needs to make a report against Akmal. The nurse is worried that if she tells the couple this, that they might not return for the contraception management services they need. The nurse asks you to speak to Hanifi to assess further if she is ‘at risk’ from Akmal and to assess the organisation’s role in complying with the legislation.
Hanifi is initially reluctant to see you alone without Akmal. Correspondingly, Akmal appears very protective of Hanifi. Eventually Akmal says he will ‘go and get a coffee’ and leaves you with Hanifi for about fifteen minutes.
Hanifi tells you that she has been homeless since she was fourteen due to her parent’s drug-use and that she met Akmal ‘on the street’. Hanifi tells you that she likes Akmal and that he is the only person she has in her life to ‘look after her’. Hanifi says ‘he is a good guy’ and that she thinks she loves him but is not sure, but she knows that right now he is the only one keeping her safe from the other ‘creeps on the street’ and also that ‘he has a car’ which helps her a lot. Hanifi says she ‘doesn’t mind’ having sex as Akmal seems to enjoy it and that they both want to make sure she doesn’t get pregnant which is why they’ve come into the clinic today. Hanifi asks you ‘will you tell the police or anyone’ what I tell you?’ She then says that Akmal would be ‘really angry’ if he knew that the agency was going to tell the police about their age difference and that he ‘wouldn’t let her come back there again’.

Use this scenario to demonstrate your understanding of the differences between social work and legal perspective in practice.
– What are your legal considerations here (include specific Acts, policies, and procedures)? What are your social work considerations (include social work code of ethics)?
– What do you need to know about the legal aspects of this scenario and what legal considerations might your client be considering? (eg: natural justice, privacy and confidentiality)
– What ethical frameworks might you use in considering your legal obligations?
– What organisations might assist you to discuss your client’s legal rights? What legal issues might your client be using?

Explain how you would test any interventions to improve care in a similar situation by changing the process of care.

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SUBDOMAIN  734.3 – ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS & QUALITY  LEADERSHIP

Scenario:

It  is 3:30 p.m. on a Thursday and Mr. B, a 67-year-old patient, arrives at the six-room emergency department (ED) of a sixty-bed rural hospital. He has been brought to the hospital by his son and neighbor. At this time, Mr. B is moaning and complaining of severe pain to his (L) leg and hip area. He states he lost his balance and fell after tripping over his dog.

Mr. B was admitted to the triage room where his vital signs were B/P 120/80, HR-88 (regular), T-98.6, R-32, and his weight was recorded at 175 pounds. Mr. B. states that he has no known allergies and no previous falls. He states, “My hip area and leg hurt really bad. I have never had anything like this before.” Patient rates pain at ten out of ten on the numerical verbal pain scale. He appears to be in moderate distress. His (L) leg appears shortened with swelling (edema in the calf), ecchymosis, and limited range of motion (ROM). Mr. B’s leg is stabilized and then he is further evaluated and discharged from triage to the emergency department (ED) patient room. He is admitted by Nurse J. The admitting nurse finds that Mr. B has a history of impaired glucose tolerance and prostate cancer. At Mr. B’s last visit with his primary care physician, laboratory data revealed elevated cholesterol and lipids. Mr. B’s current medications are atorvastatin and oxycodone for chronic back pain. After the nurse completes Mr. B’s assessment, Nurse J informs the ED physician of admission findings and the ED physician proceeds to  examine Mr. B.

Staffing on this day consists of two nurses (one RN and one LPN), one secretary, and one emergency department physician. Respiratory therapy is in-house and available as needed. At the time of Mr. B’s arrival, the ED staff is caring for two other patients. One patient is a 43-year-old female complaining of a throbbing headache. The patient rates current pain at four out of ten on numerical verbal pain scale. The patient states that she has a history of migraines. She received treatment, remains stable, and discharge is pending. The second patient is an eight-year-old boy being evaluated for possible appendicitis. Laboratory results are pending for this patient. Both of these patients were examined, evaluated, and cared for by the ED physician and are awaiting further treatment or orders.

After evaluation of Mr. B, Dr. T, the ED physician, writes the order for Nurse J to administer diazepam 5 mg IVP to Mr. B. The medication diazepam is administered IVP at 4:05 p.m. After five minutes, the diazepam appears to have had no effect on Mr. B, and Dr. T instructs Nurse J to administer hydromorphone 2 mg IVP. The medication (hydromorphone) is administered IVP at 4:15 p.m. After five minutes, Dr. T is still not satisfied with the level of sedation Mr. B has achieved and instructs Nurse J to  administer another 2 mg of hydromorphone IVP and an additional 5 mg of diazepam IVP. The physician’s goal is for the patient to achieve skeletal muscle relaxation from the diazepam, which will aid in the manual manipulation, relocation,  and alignment of Mr. B’s hip. The hydromorphone IVP was administered to achieve pain control and sedation. After reviewing the patient’s medical history, Dr. T notes that the patient’s weight and current  regular use of oxycodone appear to be making it more difficult to sedate Mr. B.

Finally at 4:25, the patient appears to be sedated and the successful reduction of his (L) hip takes place. The patient appears to have tolerated the procedure and remains sedated. He is not currently on any supplemental oxygen. The procedure concludes at 4:30 p.m. and Mr. B is resting without indications of discomfort and distress. At this time, the ED receives an emergency dispatch call alerting the emergency department that the emergency rescue unit paramedics are en route with a 75-year-old patient in acute respiratory distress. Nurse J places Mr. B on an automatic blood pressure machine programmed to monitor his B/P every five minutes and a pulse oximeter. At this time Nurse J leaves his room. The nurse allows Mr. B’s son to sit with him as he is being monitored via the blood pressure monitor. At 4:35, Mr. B’s B/P is 110/62 and his O2 sat is 92%. He remains without supplemental oxygen and his ECG and respirations are not monitored.

Nurse J and the LPN on duty have received the emergency transport patient. They are also in the process of discharging the other two patients. Meanwhile, the ED lobby has become congested with new incoming patients. At this time, Mr. B’s O2 saturation alarm is heard and shows “low O2 saturation” (currently showing a sat of 85%). The LPN enters Mr. B’s room briefly and resets the alarm and repeats the B/P reading.

Nurse J is now fully engaged with the emergency care of the respiratory distress patient, which includes assessments, evaluation, and the ordering respiratory treatments, CXR, labs, etc.

At 4:43, Mr. B’s son comes out of the room and informs the nurse that the “monitor is alarming.” When Nurse J enters the room, the blood pressure machine shows Mr. B’s B/P reading is 58/30 and the O2 sat is 79%. The patient is not breathing and no palpable pulse can be detected.

A STAT CODE is called and the son is escorted to the waiting room. The code team arrives and begins resuscitative efforts. When connected to the cardiac monitor, Mr. B is found to be in ventricular fibrillation. CPR begins immediately by the RN, and Mr. B is intubated. He is defibrillated and reversal agents, IV fluids, and vasopressors are administered. After 30 minutes of interventions, the ECG returns to a normal sinus rhythm with a pulse and a B/P of 110/70. The patient is not breathing on his own and is fully dependent on the ventilator. The patient’s pupils are fixed and dilated. He has no spontaneous movements and does not respond to noxious stimuli. Air transport is called and, upon the family’s wishes, the patient is transferred to a tertiary facility for advanced care.

Seven days later, the receiving hospital informed the rural hospital that EEG’s had determined brain death in Mr. B. The family had requested life-support be removed, and Mr. B subsequently died.

Additional information: The hospital where Mr. B. was originally seen and treated had a moderate sedation/analgesia (“conscious sedation”) policy that requires that the patient remains on continuous B/P, ECG, and pulse oximeter throughout the procedure and until the patient meets specific discharge criteria (i.e., fully awake, VSS, no N/V, and able to void). All practitioners who perform moderate sedation must first successfully complete the hospital’s moderate sedation training module. The training module includes drug selection as well as acceptable dose ranges. Additional (backup) staff was available on the day of the incident. Nurse J had completed the moderate sedation module. Nurse J had current ACLS certification and was an experienced critical care nurse. Nurse J’s prior annual clinical evaluations by the manager demonstrated that the nurse was “meeting requirements.” Nurse J did not have a history of negligent patient care. Sufficient equipment was available and in working order in the ED on this day.

Task:

A. Complete a root cause analysis (RCA) that takes into consideration causative factors that led to the sentinel event (this patient’s outcome).

1. Discuss errors or hazards in care in the scenario.

B. Use change theory to develop an improvement plan to decrease the likelihood of a reoccurrence of the outcome of the scenario.

C. Use a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to project the likelihood that the process improvement plan you suggest would not fail.

• Identify the members of the interdisciplinary team who will be included in the RCA and FMEA.

1. Explain how you would test any interventions to improve care in a similar situation by changing the process of care.

2. Discuss pre-steps for preparing for the FMEA.

3. Describe the three steps of the FMEA: severity, occurrence, and detection.

Note: You are not expected to carry out the full FMEA, but you should describe each step and how you would go about it.

D. Discuss the key role nurses would play in improving the quality of care in this situation.

E. When you use sources to support ideas and elements in a paper or project, provide acknowledgement of source information for any content that is quoted, paraphrased or summarized. Acknowledgement of source information includes in-text citation noting specifically where in the submission the source is used and a corresponding reference, which includes:

• Author

• Date

• Title

• Location of information (e.g., publisher, journal, or website URL)

Assisted Suicide Argument

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Attached are the first two pages. I need five more pages to  finish the essay plus five sources MUST be from JSTOR site. Must be MLA format with quotation marks.

Your Name

Assisted Suicide Argument

Freedom of Choice, Freedom of expression, Freedom of religion. We live in a day and age when we have the ability to decide, to pick and choose. What does one do when a right, a privilege, a freedom is not always respected. Assisted Suicide has continued to be on the debating grounds. There are those that believe assisted suicide is unconstitutional and those akin to myself that believe it is everyone’s individual right of choice.The constitution however does not have a provision that allows for assisted suicides, and there have been fights in the Supreme Court regarding such decisions. Though assisted suicide is not specified one may argue that it in fact falls under due process.  The case of Cruzan vs. Director, Missouri Department of Health established that the due process clause protects one’s ability to refuse medical treatment, even if this refusal would cause the person to die(“Is There a Constitutional Right to Physician-assisted Suicide?,” ). In this case wouldn’t one be able to argue that this is a method of assisted suicide? By giving the individual the opportunity to refuse life sustaining treatment that will ultimately cause their death.

No one would argue that it is not difficult to watch a loved one suffer from an incurable disease.  There could be little argument that this subject could vary based on if you were directly affected by its decisions. It becomes easy for one to see how there could be extreme grey areas, and why lines are continually drawn regarding what does and does not fit under assisted suicide.  Society continues to try and push and morph the rules and regulations. Though who wants to see unnecessary suffering? Whom wants to suffer themselves unnecessarily if given a choice?

With a growing aging population one must consider the impact and effects of terminal illnesses on the families that are left to watch their loved ones suffer, without the ability to stop their pain or discomfort. Why would we choose to make people suffer if regardless the end result will be the same? The main difference is that with assisted suicide there is a choice. There is the ability to decide something that was not always an option. No more suffering, no pain, the ability to end things on one’s own terms and not have to have ones family and friends watch as they wither away.

On the other hand though it could be argued that who makes us the Supreme Being to choose life or death? Regardless taking another person’s life has always been titled murder. Truth, is this is a decision that once made and executed; minds cannot be changed and the damage cannot be undone.  As time goes on there are more and more people that agree with the ability to have assisted suicide deaths.  Though there will never be a 100% consensus, it becomes necessary to hear the needs of those that reach out and seek assisted suicides.     Due to the Supreme Court decisions made in 1997 it was further affirmed that the government’s interest far outweighs that of the individual. This made clear that the refusal of life saving medical treatment is far different than asking a doctor to aid in ending one’s life   (“Is There a Constitutional Right to Physician-assisted Suicide?”).

Varying States have been able to enact laws that protect ones right to die, though there are those that have chosen not to take the same position on the matter. Literature continues to debate and recant the varying viewpoints. Lines will continue to be drawn, questions and varying viewpoints will continue. There will always be a question of whether or not one side is right over the other.  As the debate continues and States continue to contemplate their stance on the issues, one cannot forget that though the subject is very public this is a rather private matter, one that though we may not see and hear of it still goes on regardless of whom feels it is right or wrong. Regardless we should all have the ability to choose our destiny.
Work Cited

“Is There a Constitutional Right to Physician-assisted Suicide?” FindLaw. N.p., n.d. Web. 03/28/15. <http://healthcare.findlaw.com/patient-rights/is-there-a-constitutional-right-to-physician-assisted-suicide.html>.

Do any of the market approaches appear to offer the possibility of disruption? Why or why not?

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N/B: Each questions should only be a page long and not more than. There are 7 questions to answer in total. Answers to questions 1 and 2 for Example 4 and question 5 can be shorter or a half page to each answer.

Check word doc uploaded file for case examples and questions.
Directions for Examples 1­–5 :

Read the example and construct a coherent response based on the situation described below. Responses should be well-organized, accurate, and demonstrate mastery over course content. Use bullet points, charts, or other techniques to organize your answers in short clear responses.

No credit will be given for information unrelated to the subject area.

Example 1 – Personal Continuous Air Monitor

Patent No. 6,011,479

The radiation detection and measurement industry is a large field encompassing monitoring, measurement and safety aspects of radiation exposure. In the past, the radiation detection and measurement field was related mainly to the Department of Energy, including nuclear weapons production, fuel production, decontamination teams and nuclear power plants. This industry is currently in a state of change with the risk of radiation exposure growing due to the heightened risk of terrorism in the world today. The need for radiation detection and measurement has now expanded into the Emergency Responder teams and areas of the Department of Defense.

Los Alamos National Lab (LANL), a federal nuclear research lab, has developed a technology that is able to detect and measure airborne radioactive particulate in the personal breathing zone of the user. This product is called the Personal Continuous Air Monitor (PCAM) and has significant benefits over the existing Continuous Air Monitoring (CAM) product offerings.

The attributes of the PCAM have the potential to open up new opportunities in the radioactive particulate and Emergency Responder market places. Initial market probing has indicated that there is a strong interest in the PCAM technology since there is no existing CAM product that can be worn by the user or is able to monitor the radioactive worker’s personal breathing zone.

LANL owns the patent for the PCAM technology; therefore, the technology must be licensed from this federal lab if it is to be commercialized.

Certain countries in Europe have more stringent protection and safety requirements than the United States and use nuclear energy on a wider scale. Nuclear radiation detection and measurement is a global industry and there mightbe global opportunities for the PCAM. The International Plutonium industry and nuclear power plant technology areon the increase at about 5­8% per year. Although the grassroots fear of nuclear energy mightcontinue to challenge the growth of the nuclear energy industry, this fear may also benefit the recognition of the PCAM as a needed tool in all radiation related industries.

General Description and Important Technical Attributes

The Personal Continuous Air Monitor (PCAM) is a device that is capable of warning immediately of hazardous nuclear particles in the air. This device will allow people to monitor their own air space environment for airborne radioactivity. The PCAM is a battery-operated airborne particle monitor and recorder.  The PCAM has a filter/detector head that is worn near the breathing zone of a user, containing a filter mounted adjacent to radiation detectorsand a preamplifier.  The filter/detector head is connected to a belt pack to be worn at the waist or on the back of a user.  The belt pack contains a signal processor, batteries, a multi-channel analyzer, a logic circuit, and an alarm.  An air pump also is provided in the belt pack for pulling air through the filter/detector head by way of an air tube. The PCAM continuously samples the breathing zone of the user and alarms, almost instantly, if any of the predefined airborne radionuclides are detected. Once an incident is recorded, the sample filter can be analyzed to determine the user’s exposure level.

The PCAM senses radioactivity in the breathing zone of a user by using a filter capable of trapping radioactive particles with a radiation detector mounted adjacent to the filter. The radiation detector is capable of outputting electrical signals when radioactivity is present. A preamplifier is connected to the radiation detector for amplifying the output of the radiation detector. Electronic means receive the amplified output from the preamplifier for outputting a signal when a predetermined level of radioactivity has been exceeded. An air pump pneumatically draws ambient air through the filter.

Benefits of the Technology

  • LANL’s PCAM technology is unique because it is the only alpha particle radionuclide detector that is small, unobtrusive, and able to monitor the breathing zone of the user.
  • Because the PCAM is battery-operated, it can be carried on the user’s body as an independent unit. Current Continuous Air Monitors (CAMs) are difficult to use in areas that are small or have limited access whereit is particularly important to have the PCAM technology because airflow patterns in these areas are not well-defined.
  • The previously mentioned attributes of the PCAM have the potential to open up new opportunities in both the radioactive particulate and Emergency Responder market places. Currently, many groups represented by the previously mentioned market places maintain fixed CAM products.  There is no existing CAM product that can be worn by the user and is able to monitor the radioactive worker’s breathing zone.

Questions for Example 1 –

You are developing a market research plan for performing a Quicklook on the PCAM technology. List the types of primary and secondary sources you would target for research. For each of your targeted types of sources, identify and explain the goals of your research—types of information to gather or information goals of the interviews.

Example 2

You and two friends have formed a company to try and commercialize the previously described Los Alamos PACM technology.

Founders

Founder 1: You – you bring your business training and knowledge of how to package businesses and get them started.

Founder 2: A PhD nuclear physicist who was the original inventor of the Los Alamos technology and who joined the company because she believes she can make significant improvements to the technology and that there is a large market opportunity.

Founder 3: A former sales and marketing executive for a safety company that sells hazardous materials response equipment to government and industry who sees the market potential for this technology in the same markets he sold to previously.

The company has received a license from Los Alamos and has set up shop in Austin, TX. Each of you has put $50,000 into the company to enable production of marketable units in its present state. The technology works and can be sold in its present state of development.The design of the technology from Los Alamos uses certain materials that are costly and make the units too expensive for the largest and broadest target markets. The PhD scientist has a research and development plan to identify and test new materials that she believes will enable the company to hit the lower target unit price for the largest and broadest markets and allow the company to introduce the product widely.

This research and development plan will require approximately $1 million to complete and the PHD scientist expects that upon completion of the research plan, the company will need an additional $3 million to fully scale up production for the new and improved units.

Expected markets based upon your market research are:

  • In the current form and with no progress on the unit cost – Total available annual markets on the order of $10-$20 million with sales to military and specialty hazardous materials response units possible
  • With planned for decrease of unit cost – Total available market on the order of $300-$500 million and markets in the military and civilian nuclear industry worldwide and more general hazardous materials response units at state and local levels

Development plan for the company:

Years 1-2 – Complete the $1 million research plan anticipated to lower the unit cost and open the broader market

Years 2-3 – Bring an additional $3 million to the company to begin production and sales of the lower priced unit. Expect to hire an additional 10 people in Austin

Years 3-4 –Grow the company with a target sales total of $60 million and growing by year 4. Hire as many as 30 people in Austin with sales staff around the US and EU.Look to be acquired by the safety company for whichFounder 3 previously worked for 2-3X revenues.

Questions for Example 2 – Your co-founders are looking to you to formulate the business plan to make your company’s development and marketing plans a reality. Identify and explain/justify what types of funding/cash generation strategies you would suggest as the funding source(s) that the company could use for: (1) the $1 million research plan, and (2) the $3 million expansion plan. If looking to external sources, describe what significant elements about your company/opportunity you would highlight to the targeted funding source(s) to try and close the deal. Why would they fund you?

Example 3 – Read the following example of a new combined PET and MRI machine.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a medical imaging technique used in conjunction with small amounts of radiolabeled compounds to visualize anatomy function. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses a very high magnetic field to image the structure of the anatomy to very fine detail. A small company, Tiny Imaging, is close to finalizing development of an imaging device that will combine the abilities of PET to visualize function and MRI to visualize structure. The device will be one of a few machines that can actually combine PET and MRI imaging.

It is the combination of MRI and PET merged in one device which opens up new avenues for researchers and medical doctors. The device would provide high-resolution images of the body structure while simultaneously showing the functional activities occurring in healthy and diseased tissue. This device would enable scientists and doctors to simultaneously analyze the structure and function of the brain down to the molecular level. While MRI differentiates between different types of tissue in the body, PET makes the physiological and biochemical activities of the tissue visible. This combined imaging technique holds out great promise for researchers and doctors to exactly visualize cancerous tissue and plan treatments or review treatment outcomes.

The small company, Tiny Imaging, has discovered that Siemens has developed prototypes of a combined PET and MRI device and is close to launching it in the human medicine market. Siemens sold a few prototypes into the large animal medical research field. Based on market research, it appears that the other two major companies in this medical imaging field (GE and Phillips), are not actively researching a combined PET with MRI device and are far behind Siemens in this development.

Tiny Imaging has identified three potential markets for their combined PET and MRI technology. The three markets are the small animal (rats and mice) medical research market, the large animal (dogs and pigs) pre-clinical medical research market, and the human medicine market. Tiny Imaging has completed market research and knows the following things about the three markets:

Small Animal Research Market –

  • This market is dominated by GE Imaging, Siemens, and Phillips Imaging.
  • This imaging market overall is large ($250 million+/yr) and competition between these large companies is intense because all human drugs need to go through small animal testing and the companies react quickly to competitive moves in this market.
  • Imaging using PET or MRI is a common way to examine the effectiveness of the drugs given to the animals.
  • No company yet has developed a combined PET and MRI device for this market.
  • Market research with key small animal research facilities has indicated moderate interest in a combined PET and MRI device.

Large Animal Research Market –

  • This market is served by the same three companies, GE Imaging, Siemens, and Phillips Imaging.
  • This imaging market is small ($50 million/yr) and many of the machines in this market are specialized and not mass produced.
  • Siemens sold fewer than five experimental combined PET and MRI machines into this market and the machines were well received. However, Siemens has announced that it will not manufacture any more combined PET and MRI machines for this market and will instead focus their combined PET and MRI machine on human medicine.
  • Market research with key large animal research facilities has indicated that many of the large animal research facilities are very interested in a combined PET MRI machine to help them compete for grants and do large animal research.

Human Medicine –

  • This imaging market is huge ($1 billion+/yr) and growing.
  • The market is dominated by GE, Siemens, and Phillips.
  • Siemens has announced that it will soon introduce a human medicine combined PET and MRI device and early adopters are lining up to buy the early devices.
  • Phillips and GE do not have a combined PET and MRI device on the drawing board and appear to be far behind in this development.
  • Market research with key human medicine facilities has indicated cautious interest that could grow rapidly if Siemens’ new devices show significant improved patient outcomes.

Questions1 for Example 3 –For each market identified above, evaluate the potential of the Tiny Imaging technology to be either a disruptive innovation or a sustaining innovation in that market. Explain for each market why the technology could be disruptive or sustaining.

Questions 2 for Example 3

The technology developer of the new combined PET and MRI device, Tiny Imaging, is a small R&D company with minimal commercialization experience. The technology is not yet fully developed and is 1 year away from being ready for first sales. The company has the option of launching in any one of the three markets within a year or licensing the technology to someone else. What path(s) to commercialization and value maximization would you recommend for Tiny Imaging? Defend/justify your choice(s) and identify the potential risks and benefits of your suggested approach.

Example 4 – Read the following example of a solar powered ice generation machine.

Cooling and ice creation solutions are needed for applications where available power is variable due to the nature of its generation. This is typically the case for areas dependent upon alternative energy sources such as wind power or areas where power grids are “loosely controlled” with respect to the quality of power available from the power grid such as in developing countries.

An innovation by a Cedar Park, TX company addresses this issue with an ice creation solution which is highly efficient when variable power loads are present. The preferred embodiment of the invention uses solar power to generate food grade ice. This unique ice generation solution can use solar power and a maintenance free ice unit to produce high quality fresh water ice from seawater or other non-potable water sources.  The ice created can then be used for cold storage purposes or be converted to clean drinking water. The preferred embodiment produces 1 ton of ice per day for a unit that costs $100,000 and requires no trained operators or expensive maintenance and no consumables other than water and sunlight.

The nature of this solution allows for ice creation to occur in a variety of areas where conventional ice making solutions are considered problematic due to minimal or low quality available power and/or no access to clean water. This is significant as the availability of ice can serve multiple purposes ranging from medical and food preservation to personal consumption.

The developing company is interested in commercializing the technology but they are small and don’t have extensive commercialization experience. They have identified three markets for their device.

Potential MarketsMarket Benefits
Developing countries, development programs, and medical services providersLower costs through prevention of food spoilage as lost food, and foundation for added economic development (commerce)Path to market likely works with aid groups and governments to deploy units
US FEMAResponse  Lower health costs by transitioning high quality ice into potable “clean” water that may also aid in the prevention of water borne illnesses.Lower costs associated with quicker disaster recoveryLower costs through prevention of medicine spoilageLower costs through prevention of food spoilageLow cost solution for medical requirements associated with storage and medical procedures
MilitaryIncreased efficiency as ice is a motivator for hydration which supports health and force readiness requirements (lowers force readiness costs)Supplemental source for potable water
  

Questions 1 for Example 4 – Do any of the market approaches appear to offer the possibility of disruption? Why or why not?

Questions 2 for Example 4- The technology developer of the solar ice machine is a small R&D company with minimal commercialization experience. What would you suggest as paths to the commercial market for the technology for each of the 3 specified markets (licensing to an existing player or a spin-out company focused on commercialization of this technology with an appropriately experienced team)? Explain your choices and the potential risks and benefits of your suggested approach for each of the 3 markets.

Example 5

A seed stage company has been formed around a licensed technology that has been developed using $10 million in federal funds. The technology is a very early stage biotech product that has shown effectiveness in treating hemorrhagic shockin small studies on rabbits. It has been discovered by a leading researcher at a major university. It is many years away from product sales and has not gone through any formal trials. The belief is that the drug could treat hemorrhagic shock even after the trauma and shock has begun in the injured patient. Shock is a major problem for trauma patients and a major cause of death. The company estimates that the US market is a potential annual market of over$500 million. No drug treatment for shock post injury exists and patients have limited treatment options.

Patents have been filed on the technology, and initial feedback from the patent office has been positive but the patents are not yet issued. The seed stage company has licensed the patent-pending technology from the university. The company has one employee, the CEO, who is a former Business Director from a large drug development company. The innovator will not join the company but will continue to do company directed research on the technology. The innovator has a history of successful products moving into commercialization, including one product with $800 million in annual sales that is the leader in its drug category. The innovator remains at the university and is a technical advisor to the company. The company has $50,000 cash on hand and is trying to raise a $1 million first round of funding to continue the development of the technology and hit a key FDA approval milestone.

Questions for Example 5 – As part of the fundraising process, the company has entered into negotiations with a group of angel investors to invest in the company. The company is seeking a $1 million investment. What is your estimate of an appropriate starting valuation (pre-investment) for the company and why?