EpiFinder Co-Founder Neel Mehta and Creative Officer Kristi Kietzmann have begun their journey. The two are on a 16-state, 21-day road trip to the American Epilepsy Society’s conference in Washington D.C. That’s right—EpiFinder is driving from Arizona’s Sonoran Desert to the Potomac River, nearly from coast to coast.
At the conference, the largest in the field, we will be speaking about our software and the novel benefits it brings to doctors and patients. We will be sharing the conference floor with the biggest names in epilepsy.
About EpiFinder
For those of you who don’t know, EpiFinder has created software for a better diagnosis of epilepsy. Neel and Robert Yao founded the company 2 years ago. Neel has training in biomedical informatics; Robert in medicine. Together, they and the EpiFinder team have worked to put out an app that changes how diagnoses happen.
Here’s how it works: An epileptologist (epilepsy specialist) sees a patient who may have epilepsy. During this visit, the epileptologist observes the patient. Then they key patient data into the EpiFinder app. Our app’s algorithm processes this patient data and shares the most likely diagnoses.
But that’s not all. We’re now in the middle of a Kickstarter for EpiFinder’s Patient Portal. This feature—the next step in the EpiFinder evolution—will bring a new level of information and convenience to diagnosis.
“Instead of a nurse practitioner or doctor inputting all the information,” Neel says, “patients will be able to put in info from the comfort of their homes.”
More than 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with epilepsy each year. One in 26 people live with epilepsy. There’s a very good chance that if you don’t have epilepsy, you know someone who does.
At EpiFinder, we aspire to help these people. Further, the technology we have developed could be used to better diagnose conditions beyond epilepsy. Epilepsy is just the beginning.
Our mission in attending the D.C. conference is to share information about our Patient Portal, and about EpiFinder in general. Our road trip turns that mission into a journey.
Beginning the Road Trip
Neel and Kristi piled their bags into their ride, a black Nissan Rogue, at nine in the morning. The first day of the road trip brought clear skies and open spaces. Neel and Kristi drove north through Arizona, noticing an unusual number of law enforcement activity for the holiday weekend.
Soon, they crossed into New Mexico. From here, the flatlands stretched on and on: dry plains and brush, power plants, and the occasional railway.
A diet of EDM and hip-hop kept our road warriors in high spirits. The goal was to land in Albuquerque by 6:00 p.m., a goal thwarted from early in the day (when Neel’s alarm misfired).
Nevertheless, Neel and Kristi pulled into Albuquerque in time for the best kind of New Mexican comfort food: enchiladas with spicy green chile.
We’ll share more about Neel and Kristi’s times on the road. We’re going to be blogging about people they meet, ideas they have, and experiences that inspire them.
If you’re up for an adventure, ‘like’ us on Facebook. We would love for you to follow along on our journey!
