July 23, 2009

Purdue workshop offers tips for assistive technology industry

The workshop, which is free and open to the public, will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Room 208 of the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol St., Indianapolis. Space is limited, so registration is required at https://cathub.org/bootcamp or by contacting Regenstrief at 765-494-9828.

The event is planned in conjunction with "Get Connected," the Statewide Assistive Technology Conference and Exhibition, on Aug. 7 and organized by INDATA and Crossroads Easter Seals of Indiana. That event also is at the IndianaConvention Center.

Entrepreneurs Bootcamp will provide tips on how to craft an innovator pitch, form research collaborations, position research teams for funding, understand the federal regulatory approval process and create sustainable working capital.

The Indiana Center for Assistive Technology  is part of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering in Purdue's Discovery Park. Regenstrief Director Steve Witz and Julie Goonewardene, director of business development for the Purdue Research Foundation and Discovery Park, will lead the program.  Bootcamp speakers include:

* Market Analysis: Steve Brown, president of Boston-based Innovate4Growth.

* Business Plan/Angel Investing: Jeff Warren, a lawyer, investor and Purdue alumnus.

* Regulatory Process/Liability: Gretchen Parker, director of regulatory and compliance services at Indianapolis-based Safis Solutions.

* Valuation: Mike Pelligrino, president of the Indianapolis-based technology appraisal firm Pellegrino & Associates LLC.

"This workshop is for those in the growing assistive technology industry, whether they are creating, using or working with others on assistive technologies," Witz said.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services and Purdue's Regenstrief Center launched the research center in September 2008 to match advancements in technology with the needs of individuals with disabilities. With its statewide reach, the center also is creating an incubator to move research and new technologies quickly from the lab to the market.

The Indiana Center for Assistive Technology project includes BioCrossroads, Fitzgerald & Associates, the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana, Crossroads Easter Seals of Indiana, and the Indiana University School of Rehabilitation Sciences. Purdue's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Engineering Projects in Community Services (EPICS) and the Mann Institute for Biomedical Development also are partners.

The Regenstrief Center, which is Purdue's only integrated universitywide research effort in health-care engineering, was launched in Discovery Park in 2005 to bring faculty together in the areas of engineering, science, communications, management and more, with the goal to find ways to improve the healthcare system.

Writer: Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu

Sources: Steve Witz, 765-496-8303, switz@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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