Shavini Fernando’s device called OxiWear has allowed her to live alone—and seemed so promising that in 2019 she started a company to sell it. It goes on sale this fall.
was given just two years to live—the result of a late-diagnosed hole in her heart, which caused her to develop a life-threatening condition called Eisenmenger syndrome. The Sri Lanka native, who came to the US to seek treatment at Johns Hopkins, was told by doctors that she couldn’t fly, meaning she wasn’t able to return home—or live alone.
Monitoring blood oxygen is crucial, but the current tool—a fingertip pulse oximeter—doesn’t work as well for people with darker skin tones. So, as any self-described “rebel personality” with master’s degrees in business and computer science might do, Fernando invented a better device. Called, it’s a tiny oxygen-monitoring and emergency-alert system that’s worn on the ear. “When people say no to me, I want to prove them wrong,” says Fernando, who lives in Rosslyn.
Initially, funding was hard to come by. Fernando says she pitched 347 potential investors, many of whom didn’t get why oxygen might need monitoring. It just seemed too niche of a market. That all changed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when oximeters were widely adopted for home use. OxiWear received $1.5 million in funding last October and is currently closing a deal for another $1 million. “This time,” says Fernando, “I didn’t have to pitch anyone.”In October, OxiWear will arrive on the market.
The device is undergoing clinical testing to pursue FDA approval. But initially, it’s finding a market in the sports world, where athletes are using it to monitor themselves in high-altitude environments.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion | As New Covid Boosters Move Forward, Better Outreach Is Needed to Save Lives'Various studies have shown that increased boosting this round could save many thousands of lives.'
Read more »
Here's a simple way to save on retirement's No. 1 expenseYou can potentially save a boatload of cash during your retirement without a budget cut.
Read more »
Local Environmental Advocacy Groups Take Air Monitoring Near Industrial Areas Into Their Own HandsIn a city where air pollution is an environmental justice issue, local grassroots groups are self-installing, funding and monitoring air pollution monitors to understand the specific threats they face and demand change.
Read more »
Dynamo, Sporting Kansas City play to scoreless drawSteve Clark made six saves for the Houston Dynamo and John Pulskamp had three saves for...
Read more »
Nurse saves 3-month-old baby who stopped breathing in the middle of a Spirit flightA nurse revived a baby who stopped breathing on a Spirit airlines flight from Pittsburgh to Orlando, earning rapturous applause from passengers and crew.
Read more »
Trooper escorts family to hospital after pulling them over for speedingThe Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the trooper's actions possibly saved the life of a little girl who was kicked by her horse multiple times.
Read more »