One Penn student hopes to help Wharton transform its entrepreneurial spirit.
Entrepreneur Magazine has named Wharton junior Aaron Goldstein as a finalist for the Top College Entrepreneur award after he developed FeverSmart, a device that monitors temperature and sends cellphone alerts when a fever spikes.
“I’m trying to do my part to revitalize the entrepreneurial part of Wharton,” he stated. “It’s sort of up-and-coming, and whatever I could do to help the school is great.”
Goldstein was announced as a top-five candidate in August, and voting, which ends Friday, is now underway for the winner of the title.
Targeted towards parents, this smart thermometer, originally dubbed LifePatch, can be used to track children’s temperatures.
“There is an electronic chip in a Band-Aid that sticks on the child’s side,” Goldstein explained. “It sends a system to the cloud and allows [parents] to monitor from anywhere in the world using [their] phones.”
His team is comprised of three other Penn students, including his friend Collin Hill, a Wharton junior.
Hill was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma before his freshman year at Penn. Bouts of chemotherapy damaged his immune system, resulting in frequent infections and high fevers. One day, Hill woke up to a 104 degree fever and was rushed to the emergency room — an experience that propelled him to work toward preventing similar life-threatening situations in the future.
“That was the genesis of the idea,” Goldstein said. He then realized that parents with small children could also benefit from a temperature-monitoring product, and began tailoring it for use by infants and their parents.
Goldstein and his team have started a fundraising campaign for FeverSmart on Indiegogo, a crowd funding website. The hope is to raise $40,000 in order to manufacture the product in China and deliver it to customers.
Goldstein and his team have already designed FeverSmart, and the product is ready for manufacturing once the money is raised.
“All we have to do is to press the button on the manufacturing machine, and start shipping them,” he said. “That’s pretty exciting.”
Recently, University City Science Center’s Digital Health Accelerator agreed to mentor FeverSmart throughout its development. The center also gave Goldstein and his team office space and funding. With these resources, Goldstein said, he hopes to transform the health care system by creating an innovative digital health space.
“With the advent of cellphones, health care is going to be mobile, and it’s going to be preventative,” Goldstein added.
Some day, Goldstein hopes FeverSmart will be sold in stores nationwide.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.