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Surgeon designs, patents tabletop eyeglass holder
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by Joshua Mali, MD
I recently started observing that my patients have no place to put their eyeglasses during the ophthalmic exam.
They put them on the side of the slit lamp or in front of it, they give them to a family member, they drop them and even shove them in their pocket. All eye care providers have encountered these scenarios every day in their practices.
Therefore, I designed, manufactured and patented the Mali Eyeglass Holder, which can attach to the slit lamp table – or any table. While my family, friends and patients thought it was a great idea, I wanted to see if I could achieve further validation from the eye care community at large prior to releasing the product for mass distribution and retail sales. I entered the Winning Pitch competition at the American Society of Retina Specialists in 2018 and won Honorable Mention.
I set up Mali Enterprises, developed an e-commerce website and now sell the product online directly to consumers. What started out as an inspiration in the clinic one day has now become a patented product with retail sales.
I have experienced an amazing educational journey by taking this idea, making an invention, obtaining a patent, developing a manufacturing process, executing a marketing strategy, and building a company and brand. Anyone who has a product idea, no matter how simple and elaborate, go for it. You never know where it will lead you.
For more information:
Joshua Mali, MD, is a vitreoretinal surgeon with The Eye Associates, a private multispecialty ophthalmology practice in Sarasota, Fla. He can be reached at: malienterprisesglobal@gmail.com.
Disclosure: Mali is the founder and CEO of Mali Enterprises.