yuFlu
Role
ex co-founder, CTO
Service design
All UX (from physical to code) and development
Link to yuFlu
(I no longer support this page)
(I no longer support this page)
Problem
You know when you feel like getting sick, and you are not sure if it is a flu, cold, maybe allergies coming on? Or maybe you feel so terrible that you need to go to the doctor to try to figure it out?
Solution
What if there was a simple nasal swab kit you could use at home and find exactly what was going on in matter if a few hours? Well that's exactly what we are working on at yuFlu. Using NGS (next generation sequencing) we are able to take a small nasal sample and tell you exactly what is ailing you right away. No more doctor or ER visits needed. Then you can get the medication you need directly to feel better faster.
About yuFlu
yuFlu concept
Something I kept hearing at work, at home, and with friends, "I feel like I am getting sick" or "My head is all stuffed up, but I am pretty sure it's allergies". I always thought that it would be easy to confirm with a quick sequencing of a nasal sample. But that would be crazy expensive and complicated for a one-off sample. Although thousands of samples? Now that would cheap and easy - and incredibly informative.
Now if you hear your daughter sniffling, unsure to go to work to infect others, or it is too early for allergy season - you can simply swab to check. Completely avoid the hospital (where if you are not sick you are almost assured to get sick.)
Doesn’t this already exist?
There are PCR-based tests that can simply say if you have influenza, and report type A or B, but nothing comprehensive that can say if there are other flu-like organisms. But the best part is you don't need to take the yuFlu test at a hospital! Just pick one up at home or drugstore and drop it off. Also With NGS we have the additional benefits of:
- As new respiratory strains evolve, we can keep on top of the latest
- We create a flu forecasting map to see where the strains are spreading in real time
- Keep non-severe cases out of hospitals, reducing strain on the healthcare system
- Prescribe what you need with a tele-doc appointment
- Reduced misdiagnosis and antimicrobial resistance, and keep antibiotics for when you need them
the yuFlu system
the yuFlu app wireframe and prototype
Building the send-out kit
yuFlu send-out kit concept
We needed to develop a kit to send out to customers. The goal was giving clear instructions to users so they could reliably perform getting a consistent clinical test sample of nasal secretions from the back of the nose and throat, also known as a Nasopharyngeal swab kit. While not new, I wanted to focus on creating a great user experience to make sure people understood what kind of sample we needed without using any of the hospital or clinical lingo, making the nasel swab kit accessible to all users.
The images on the left show the prototype of the kit look and feel I developed on top of the Longhorn swabs we used.
The current state of Yuflu
Lessons learned
After some disagreements about direction with other members, I have separated from involvement with Yuflu. Such a great lesson and experience in working with others. Even if you want to see your original idea through to something great, fighting an uphill battle can be grueling. Always be careful in who you share ideas and do business with.
