Aisha Purvis - Founder of Sensmart
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For this Interview, we’ve are thrilled to get to chat to Founder of Sensmart, Aisha Purvis!
Tell us a bit about you and what drives you.
I have always been a motivated and energetic person, consistently striving for success throughout my career. Beyond my drive to achieve, I have a strong passion for identifying and addressing shortcomings. My best friend often jokes that I have an even stronger sense of justice than Batman when it comes to implementing strategies and solutions to enhance service delivery and ensure the best outcomes for the public.
Why did you start Sensmart?
My background is in healthcare, where I've provided care and support to vulnerable adults and children with various needs. As a student nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw the challenges First-hand, particularly with malnourished patients from care homes with degenerative disorders, leading to prolonged hospital stays. Additionally, caring for my own daughter with Rett syndrome during a regression phase deepened my understanding of these challenges. This experience inspired me to explore innovative ways to promote choice and independence for those who cannot communicate traditionally, such as using sensory methods like olfactory stimulation.
Tell us about your Innovation.
Sensmart provides a distinctive combination of products and services aimed at transforming dietary management in clinical settings. Our flagship product, Numenyu®. Numenyu® is the UK's first fully registered and trademarked multisensory menu system, integrating visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory stimuli to enhance dietary experiences for individuals with impairments or disabilities.
Key Features:
Visual: High-contrast images and videos of meals to assist with recognition and choice.
Auditory: Voice descriptions and related sounds for better understanding and engagement.
Tactile: Braille and textured surfaces to facilitate easy navigation and interaction.
Olfactory: Custom scent pots offering a preview of meals, enhancing anticipation and enjoyment.
Benefits: Numenyu helps overcome communication barriers, reduces malnutrition and dehydration, minimizes food waste, and improves patient satisfaction and health outcomes.
How important do you think innovation is in healthcare?
Innovation in healthcare is absolutely critical. For example, in the UK, about 3 million people are currently malnourished, leading to over half a million hospital admissions last year alone. This results in prolonged hospital stays and costs the NHS over £23 million annually. By implementing innovative solutions in care homes and clinical settings, we can better manage and treat malnutrition, potentially reducing hospital admissions, shortening patient
stays, and cutting down on food waste—ultimately saving costs and improving patient outcomes.
What kind of design/manufacturing support have you received during the development process since you started out?
As Numenyu® is an innovative new product, we needed support to manufacture prototypes from our initial concept. We began with Barclays Eagle Labs for our First prototypes, which were tested by the VOICE® panel through NICA and the IOCT program. E3 Design, particularly Marc and his team, played a crucial role in developing our Final MVP. They deeply understood my vision and went above and beyond, introducing new features to enhance the product's design and usability.
What have been some of the challenges you have faced in the development stage?
One of the main challenges has been securing funding. I've bootstrapped my start-up for the past three years, relying heavily on public funding and grants, which are time-consuming to apply for and difficult to navigate, especially as a full-time parent, caregiver, and employee. Fortunately, being accepted into the Challenge North of Tyne program with Innovation Super Network provided crucial funding to secure a patent for my product. However, the ongoing struggle to obtain additional funding remains a significant challenge.
What has been the most rewarding part of this process?
Being invited to participate in a short film on the BBC morning live show interview by Dr Ranj, this really highlighted the importance of the work we are doing and the support from the public in achieving our goals has been outstanding.
What does the future look like for Sensmart?
We are currently conducting two trials: a real-world evaluation at an NHS trust where Numenyu® is being tested, and a university trial. Based on the results, we aim to secure investment to develop a digital menu and mobile app, which will allow us to offer a customized service to providers and scale our business. Additionally, I recently became a member of Women On Boards CIC® who advocate for policy changes addressing inequalities faced by female entrepreneurs. One of Sensmart’s key values is we aim to support female parent caregivers in their business ventures and drive economic growth through entrepreneurship by advocating for changes at both governmental and societal levels.
What would you say to anyone thinking about starting a business to create a new Medical Innovation?
Don’t be afraid to shout out and approach people for help and support that you require,
attend networking events and utilise your contacts. Reach out the organisations such as
E3Design, NICA, Innovation Super network, CPI, Health Innovation.
This Blog post is part of E3Design's September 2024 Newsletter
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