When the organizers of MIT’s Breast Pump Hackathon launched their first event in the spring of 2014, they quickly realized they had struck a nerve. The event resonated powerfully with new moms aghast that in the golden age of the iPhone, this essential device had not improved with the times.
More than a year later, one of the designers that participated in the contest is hoping that that same enthusiasm will propel her product closer to the market. Boston resident Susan Thompson, the engineer and designer behind the “Gala Pump,” is launching a Kickstarter campaign Tuesday aiming to raise $40,000 in one month.
The funds will pay for a clinical trial of the device in about 30 women, Thompson said. The pump is designed to be easy to use in work environments, and uses compression and suction for more effective pumping experience.
Thompson attended the MIT Breast Pump Hackathon’s follow-up event held in September last year while 40 weeks pregnant. She’s been developing the Gala Pump for several years, and trying to fund her design since 2012. The hackathon gave her the opportunity to meet others with similar goals.
A few months later, Thompson formed Kohana Inc. with two others she met at the hackathon, and that team won $10,000, the top prize at the MIT $100K Accelerate contest (one of three competitions within the institute’s business plan contest). Initial models of the device are being built by Northeast Biomed, based in Tyngsborough, Mass.
Susan Thompson, husband Andrew, and children, Keegan (age 4) and Caleb (9 months).
A crowdfunding campaign could be a boon for Thompson, in part because the breast pump seems to evoke strong opinions from users who want to improve them. And even a year after the event, a chatty Facebook group created around the hackathon continues to engage new moms who trade tips about pumping, get opinions about designs, and look for volunteers to try devices.
“It had a huge impact on awareness. It brought to light how much of a problem there is,” Thompson said, and she hopes to make good on that momentum.
But besides seeing the trial through, Thompson hopes a fully funded campaign could help convince investors fund her design. “We’re at a tipping point,” she said.