Katharina is a young woman from Germany with the ambition to change the world for the better. The last two years of the pandemic have been troublesome for Katharina whose grandfather was hospitalized with a heart condition. Due to the hospital restrictions brought about by COVID-19, her family could not communicate with her grandfather whilst he was in hospital. Not being able to know his condition was an agonizing experience that Katharina wanted to spare others from in the future.

Not only in times of a pandemic, but also due to distance or the inability to speak, many families struggle to maintain communication with those in hospital. They often have to rely on medical personnel who are unable to communicate with every family relative due to the lack of tools and understaffing.

Strong dedication and belief

Katharina knew she needed to keep up to date with her grandfather’s progress during his hospitalization. “What if the hospital staff had an easy way to send a message to the families? I had an idea of how to do this and assured myself that I will get this done,” said Katharina.

Katharina signed up for Germany’s Samsung Solve for Tomorrow. She did not have a team or a detailed plan but was more than certain that she wanted to create a tool that improves communication between the hospital and patients’ families.

Making the idea come to life

Solve for Tomorrow gave her the chance to learn everything she needed to make her idea a reality. She went through a boot camp, attended coaching sessions and seminars, and benefited from mentoring with tech, industry, and Samsung experts. Katharina quickly had her plan in place for the new tool: EP-Checkup.

“With EP-Checkup, medical staff can send a voice message to the patients’ family members. The voice text makes the tool easy to use for already understaffed nurses,” explained Katharina. “Solve for Tomorrow gave me the first opportunity to share my idea with others. I could develop, refine, and realize my idea into an actual tool thanks to my mentors. I had great mentors, they kept me on track and focused. ”

What started from a seed of an idea is now growing into a new opportunity. Katharina has recruited a team and has been funded by Samsung to continue to expand on the capabilities of her start-up. In time, Katharina’s idea will come to full bloom, helping many families in the future stay in touch with their loved ones whilst in hospital.