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of open human head with various objects belongs to IPOwatchdog.com
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By
Kenneth Nwachinemelu David-Okafor
Welcome to the sixth installment of this
serialized post.
Hope you have gained some insights; I do not wish
to presume, I do really want to know!
Of course I have the normal feedback mechanisms,
but I want more. Because I am aware some readers interact with articles of the
blog in a non-committal manner and as such would not necessarily fill in the
comment box or sending an email in response.
Some are even put off and do not appreciate
lengthy write-ups. I appreciate our aversion for time-consuming matters.
However I make no apologies for this particular
post: it is about time-consuming venture: "How
To Become A Successful Inventor In Nigeria".
You cannot become a successful inventor in
Nigeria or anywhere else for that matter if you fear reading, learning, gaining
information, getting reference sources and glimpsing how others have succeeded.
It is not all about your idea or your talent
(both which are of course crucial), but your overall strategy. I can assure you
that it is not possible that you read through this serialized post and not
improve on your overall strategy EVEN IF YOU HAVE AN ORIGINAL IDEA.
What is more I have seized the opportunity of a
dearth of information about to become an inventor in Nigeria, to put this work
together.
While writing this post, I got the notion to
clarify some of my earlier reflects on the main reason(s) why there were not
many inventors in Nigeria. In the end I decided it was worth writing down and I
wrote "The Main Reason(s) Why There
Are Not Many Nigerian Inventors" (CLICK HERE).
In this installment I wish to address the point
of what you do after you get an idea, a notion, a concept or a thought which,
hopefully, can go from your mind to a potential market. I would address this in
two parts: firstly, what you should do about the idea, and, secondly, what
others (this is the better choice) should do about the idea.
I
will tackle this objective by considering how you should master the operational
principles and mechanics of your idea as well as you should evaluate your idea
for its originality, inventiveness, scope of use and potential social,
environmental or economic value
Master
the Operational Principles and Mechanics of Your Idea
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR IDEA?
If you may recall from our first installment, I
quoted from the 2016 Encyclopaedia that: …An inventor may be taking
a big step in success or failure.
What you do with the idea you have is one of the most significant steps in determining whether you succeed or fail.
SO, WHAT
YOU SHOULD DO ABOUT THE IDEA?
It is important that you INTERROGATE this idea,
notion, concept or thought you have until you get thoroughly familiar with it.
You will have to explain to people, at some
point, how your idea works, the principle(s) and the mechanics(s). Learn
everything you can about the principle and the mechanics (while at it, see what
links there out or whether there are similar ideas).
When you have completely mastered this aspect
then you need to determine the cadre of people whose help and assistance you
require to succeed with your idea.
PLEASE IF YOU THINK ONLY YOU CAN GET YOUR
INVENTION TO THE MARKET THEN THE CHANCES ARE THAT YOUR IDEA MIGHT NOT BE AS
VALAUBLE AS YOU THINK!
You need help! Do not be reluctant to get
help as it would exponentially improve your chances of succeeding!
By determining the cadre
of people whose help and assistance you require to succeed with your idea, you
would overcome the key fear of any idea conceived. One of the first fear to
overcome is the fear of someone stealing your idea!
Sincerely, many inventors
can attest that there are fewer people whose ideas were stolen as people whose
ideas failed!
Evaluate
Your Idea for Its Originality, Inventiveness, Scope of Use and Potential
Social, Environmental or Economic Value
WHAT
SHOULD OTHERS DO ABOUT THE IDEA?
The most important things others should do for
your idea is to evaluating your idea for its originality, inventiveness, scope
of use and potential social, environmental or economic value.
Some of vital questions need to be answered.
Does your invention offer a unique and better
solution to a real problem? Can it be easily manufactured or integrated into an
existing product? Is there a market for the product? How big is the market?
Will it grow? What is the competition? Will the product be obsolete by the time
the patent is issued? How much will it cost and how long will it take to bring the
invention to market? How will it be sold?
The answers to these questions rely on market
research. Professional firms provide this service for a fee, or to get low-cost
help in this arena, consider contacting business faculty or entrepreneurial
groups at local colleges. They are often willing to have their students take on
entrepreneurial projects.
Retired business executives also may provide
business and marketing perspectives for little or no money. Call your Small
Business Administration or local government agencies for contacts in the
business and academic communities. National and local inventors clubs are also
a rich source of information and advice, as are local distributors of products
similar to your invention.
If, after thorough investigation, the answers to
critical marketing questions lead to the conclusion that your invention has no
commercial potential, you may want to forego patenting. If your goal, however,
is not profit, but to make a contribution to society's body of technical
knowledge, consider filing a Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) application which costs much less than a patent. A SIR puts a patent into
the public domain, preventing others from patenting it in the future.
In countries where the invention culture is
developed they have a bouquet of non-professional/not-for-profit organizations
as well as professional firms which can, objectively, help any prospective
inventor in evaluating their idea for its originality, inventiveness, scope of
use and potential social, environmental or economic value.
I would cite a United States of America example at this juncture
— the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF).
The 2016 Encyclopaedia describes the National
Inventors Hall of Fame as an American not-for-profit organization dedicated to
inventors and their inventions. Founded in 1973, its primary mission is to
"honour the people responsible for the great technological advances that
make human, social and economic progress possible." Besides the Hall of
Fame, it also operates a museum in Alexandria, Virginia and a middle school in Akron,
Ohio, and sponsors educational programs, a collegiate competition, and special
projects all over the United States to encourage creativity among
students. As of 2016, 532 inventors are enshrined in the Hall of Fame from the
past three centuries, including approximately 100 living inductees. Every
February a class of inductees is chosen by the National Selection Committee and
the Blue Ribbon Panel. To qualify, the inventor must have had a U.S. patent
that has improved the welfare of humanity and promoted the progress of science
and technology.
Since its founding the NIHF has evolved. In addition to the exhibits of the artifacts
and documents from the collections of the Patent and Trademark Office, NIHF
also promotes future generations of inventors by sponsoring the Invent Now Kids
program, Camp Invention, Club Invention and the Collegiate Inventors
Competition as well as, with national partners, many ventures and special
projects. Camp Invention, founded in 1990, is a daytime summer camp for
children, with program sites in 49 states. Camp Invention is the only
nationally recognized summer program in the United States focused on
creativity, innovation, real-world problem solving and the spirit of invention.
The NIHF on its website declares that it "is
committed to honoring visionaries, inspiring inventions and challenging the
next generation. Our incomparable archives celebrate the life-changing
achievements of U.S. patent holders, and our innovative programs cultivate the
emerging inventor in every student."
One of other role which the National Inventors
Hall of Fame is able to help the inventor in America play is that of evaluating
a prospective inventor’s idea for its originality, inventiveness, scope of use
and potential social, environmental or economic value.
National Inventors Hall of Fame describes on its
website: "NIHF Inductees empower young inventors through involvement with
the Collegiate Inventors Competition. Since 1990, the mission of the Collegiate
Inventors Competition has been to promote exploration in invention, science,
engineering, technology and other creative endeavors. This programme is a
unique platform for recognizing and rewarding the nation’s most outstanding and
innovative undergraduate and graduate students and showcasing the emerging
ideas and inventions that will shape our future.
"NIHF Inductees serve as judges, evaluating
each entry for its originality, inventiveness, scope of use and potential
social, environmental or economic value.
Finalists earn a trip to Washington, D.C., to
represent their universities and present their work to our illustrious panel of
judges. Winners enjoy over US$100,000 in cash prizes and the opportunity to
patent their inventions.
"In addition, the Collegiate Inventors
Competition offers students an opportunity that is even more valuable than
these prizes — the chance to network with fellow innovators and receive the
incomparable advice and encouragement of National Inventors Hall of Fame
Inductees."
Nigeria as yet has no equivalent of the United States’
National Inventors Hall of Fame BUT THAT SHOULD NOT STOP YOU!
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Dr Dayo Olakulehin, a medical doctor, carrying the D-Box, a portable, battery-powered ventilator specifically to assist unconscious patients breathe. He describes the D-Box as an innovative affordable battery operated ventilator designed to automate CPR bags and deliver controlled breaths to patients with respiratory problems. (Image credits/rights: LigandCorp and Inertia.com
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For inspiration let me share the story of Dr Dayo
Olakulehin who invented the D-Box, World’s 1st Portable Ventilator. I would
excerpt Olakulehin’s story from an interview he granted a health sector
publication, Good Health Weekly. Here
is an excerpt:
In 2012, as a young medical doctor, Dr.
Dayo Olakulehin had a brainwave. His moment of ingenuity came during his
housemanship while he was on duty one night at the Olikoye Ransome Kuti
Children emergency ward, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi
Araba, Lagos. Olakulehin’s idea was to design and build a portable,
battery-powered ventilator specifically to assist unconscious patients breathe.
His belief that such a medical device that
could potentially save millions of lives of patients worldwide was based on the
personal experience he had. As a medic, he noticed that many patients in
respiratory failure requiring ventilator support are unable to access it for
reasons of cost and availability. The current alternative is for health
workers to indefinitely ventilate these patients using a CPR bag and there are
instances in which patients are ventilated for days, with health workers taking
turns to keep those patients alive by manually compressing the CPR bag.
Personal experience
Olakulehin, who told Good Health Weekly, that he had
conviction that a portable, battery operated device that automates the
process of providing ventilator support for respiratory failure patients
anywhere and not just in the Intensive Care Unit, ICU would be a life
saver. I had manually ventilated a 5-year-old boy for four hours and at
about 2am, I fell asleep, only to be awakened by the boy’s father.
“If the child had continued without
ventilation for longer than four minutes, it could have resulted in irreversible
brain damage. “This experience was common among hospital staff at LUTH and
other medical facilities. It was after one of such incidents the idea for an
alternative ventilation method came to my mind. And the D-Box was born.”
But at that point, Olakulehin, who obtained
his medical degree from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, was
handicapped. Although he had come up with such marvellous idea, being a
general practice physician, he had no training in biomedical engineering and
needed to raise funds to execute the capital intensive venture. “I knew
having the idea was not sufficient, I needed to find a way to make it a
reality. I knew nothing about business, patenting or developing innovations.
“I went online looking for help, and I
found a course on Healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship. This course
taught me how to develop a patent. I approached a number of medical device
companies and found out it was a lot easier to sell a product than to sell an
idea.
Speaking in Lagos (January 15, 2016) during the
public presentation of the prototype of the D-Box, he said: “I literally sat on
the idea for three years trying to take the next vital step until I met Mr.
Kunle Soriyan and Thelma Ekiyor of Afrigrants. “This led to the founding
of LigandCorp and shifted my paradigm from focusing on one product to creating
a company that drives medical innovation, particularly among young Nigerians.
As the CEO of LigandCorp, the search for a
prototype developer began and while in Canada, collaboration was formed with
Inertia, an engineering and design company that committed to partnering with
LigandCorp and worked hard to get the prototype ready. Introducing the
D-Box, Olakulehin described it as an innovative affordable battery operated
ventilator designed to automate CPR bags and deliver controlled breaths to
patients with respiratory problems.
While conventional ventilators averagely
cost US$30,000 and low-cost alternatives (still in development) are to be sold
for US$3,000, the D-Box comes at an introductory price of US$300.
DR DAYO OLAKULEHIN NEEDED
HELP AND HE WENT BEYOND NIGERIA TO GET ASSISTANCE!
At this point in time,
Nigeria has not evolved firms such as Inertia which helped engineering & design respectively. Nonetheless there
are ways and means!
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