Raising a newborn comes with it's challenges, but when you also have to contend with a medical condition which means inserting a feeding tube for your new baby, the stress can become overwhelming at times said Hunter Valley man Adam Geosits.
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Adam, from Singleton and Jess Hay of Gloucester, experienced first-hand, the difficulties of trying to attach a feeding tube for their baby.
Their son Matty was born with a rare condition called MED-13L Syndrome, which meant he had to be tube fed for the first two years of his life.
"Matty was always pulling his tube out and the adhesive was just not sticking. We had to constantly change the tape - it was a difficult and traumatic process for everyone, but especially for Matty," Jess said.
Adam said it would often mean they had to make a trip to hospital to have an x-ray to make sure the feeding tube was in his stomach and not in his lungs.
For the past 10 years the pair have been working together to design a slimline, transparent feeding tube adhesive that can be applied by one person and couldn't be easily pulled out by tiny hands.
"Our design is simple to use and is a major improvement on the current feeding tube system that takes multiple pieces of sports tape and two people to install," Jess said.
Adam and Jess were now seeking funding support for a clinical trial in the neonatal unit at John Hunter Hospital for their product, called EzyAid.
After working through two patents, developing a working prototype, undertaking a mini trial evaluation at John Hunter Hospital, and sourcing a manufacturer in America, they have spent $100,000, mostly of their own money.
"We won a $30,000 Beyond Bank grant a few years back, as well as an MVP grant from NSW Government and a smaller Pozible campaign at the start from friends and family, but the rest has been funded by us and we have not paid ourselves anything," Jess said.
Matty is now a happy 10-year-old and as he no longer required to be tube fed, EzyAid has become a project driven purely by passion to help other people going through the same journey.
The costs have mostly been patent fees, design, and prototype which Design Anthology Newcastle completed and company registration.
Funding push for tube feed proposal
"There has been no blueprint for getting our product to market so there has been a bit of trial and error," Adam said.
"The next stage of the process is to get TGA approval, get the product into a clinical trial at John Hunter Hospital and then step through commercialisation and distribution," Jess said.
"This is going to cost upwards of $200,000, which is why we are asking for support".
But they are also open to the idea of partnering with a medical company, selling the product or accepting financial assistance from a venture capitalist or philanthropist to get EzyAid to market as soon as possible, and to start helping tube-fed people, their families and health professionals.
In terms of the medical efficacy of the product, clinical nurse consultant, Justine Parsons said the EzyAid product had the the potential to be a staple product in healthcare facilities.
"In my role as the Clinical Nurse Consultant for the Neonatal intensive Care Unit of John Hunter Children's Hospital, I often review new products on the market.
"I have been working with Adam and Jess for some time now with regards to the EzyAid tube fixation device, offering clinical expertise and practical ideas.
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"It has been wonderful watching the development of the product and seeing the commitment and passion that they have for improving care for infants and children requiring long term tube placement.
"I wholeheartedly believe that the EzyAid has the potential to be a staple product in healthcare facilities, as well as for use in the community. I am happy to continue to support Jess and Adam as they progress this product through to market."
In addition to babies that need feeding tubes, EzyAid can also be used for the elderly, cleft palate patients, cancer patients, patients with cardiovascular disease, patients with feeding issues associated with stroke, anorexia, dementia, diabetics, cystic fibrosis sufferers and animals requiring surgery and sedation and many other reasons.
How you can help
To support the development of this piece of medical equipment, visit readyfundgo.com/project/ezyaid.
