Jorge
Odon is an Argentinian car mechanic who has invented a simple device
which could save millions of lives of mothers and babies. The story of
his invention is remarkable and instructive.
It all started when he was shown a YouTube video of a trick to remove a cork from inside a bottle. He won a bet by demonstrating the trick to a friend. The secret is to insert a plastic bag into the bottle, inflate the bag around the cork and then pull it out. Later that night he had a brainwave – he could use the same principle that extracted the p cork from the bottle to extract a baby during a difficult childbirth. He developed the idea and discussed it with people – most of whom thought he was crazy. But he persisted. He patented the concept and gained the support of a leading obstetrician in Buenos Aires, Dr Javier Schvartzman who helped him develop and improve a prototype device. This gained the attention of the World Health Organisation whose chief co-ordinator for maternal health, Dr Mario Merialdi, was intrigued by the idea.
Over 5 million babies and over a quarter of a million mothers die in childbirth every year – mainly in the developing world. Odon’s invention could potentially save many of these lives because it is inexpensive and relatively easy to use. The product will be manufactured by Becton Dickinson and will be available at low cost in developing countries.
There are some helpful lessons for innovators in this story:
a) Take a different view. We tend to think of childbirth as something biological or medical. But if we view it as a mechanical process then it is natural that a mechanical device can be used for improvement.
b) Spot a weird connection. Odon watched a video of a cork in a bottle and saw an analogy with a baby in the birth canal. A solution in one field can be applied in another if the connection can be found.
c) Outsiders can find radical solutions. Odon knew nothing about obstetrics but this turned out to be an advantage. He thought like a mechanical engineer not a doctor.
d) A radical idea initially looks absurd and needs support. Putting a plastic bag around a baby in the birth canal sounded ridiculous at first so the open-minded support of Shvatzmann and Merialdi was crucial to the survival and development of the idea.
Jorge Odon is now celebrated for his invention. He said “I woke up one night with this idea, it almost felt magical. What I cannot understand is how I came up with a solution to help babies be born. I’m moved by the potential of this invention and I’m especially grateful to the doctors who first believed in me.”
It all started when he was shown a YouTube video of a trick to remove a cork from inside a bottle. He won a bet by demonstrating the trick to a friend. The secret is to insert a plastic bag into the bottle, inflate the bag around the cork and then pull it out. Later that night he had a brainwave – he could use the same principle that extracted the p cork from the bottle to extract a baby during a difficult childbirth. He developed the idea and discussed it with people – most of whom thought he was crazy. But he persisted. He patented the concept and gained the support of a leading obstetrician in Buenos Aires, Dr Javier Schvartzman who helped him develop and improve a prototype device. This gained the attention of the World Health Organisation whose chief co-ordinator for maternal health, Dr Mario Merialdi, was intrigued by the idea.
Over 5 million babies and over a quarter of a million mothers die in childbirth every year – mainly in the developing world. Odon’s invention could potentially save many of these lives because it is inexpensive and relatively easy to use. The product will be manufactured by Becton Dickinson and will be available at low cost in developing countries.
There are some helpful lessons for innovators in this story:
a) Take a different view. We tend to think of childbirth as something biological or medical. But if we view it as a mechanical process then it is natural that a mechanical device can be used for improvement.
b) Spot a weird connection. Odon watched a video of a cork in a bottle and saw an analogy with a baby in the birth canal. A solution in one field can be applied in another if the connection can be found.
c) Outsiders can find radical solutions. Odon knew nothing about obstetrics but this turned out to be an advantage. He thought like a mechanical engineer not a doctor.
d) A radical idea initially looks absurd and needs support. Putting a plastic bag around a baby in the birth canal sounded ridiculous at first so the open-minded support of Shvatzmann and Merialdi was crucial to the survival and development of the idea.
Jorge Odon is now celebrated for his invention. He said “I woke up one night with this idea, it almost felt magical. What I cannot understand is how I came up with a solution to help babies be born. I’m moved by the potential of this invention and I’m especially grateful to the doctors who first believed in me.”
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