Prototyping and Validation Grant: VeinOptima

Aalto Student Builds Vein Visualization Device to Help Nurses Find Veins Faster.
 

Zahra Deljoomanesh saw a problem in a hospital ward and decided a business student could fix it. A small grant from Aalto University gave her the push to find out.

Zahra Deljoomanesh was spending time in hospital wards with children going through cancer treatment when she first noticed it.

Between the visits, she kept seeing the same thing. A nurse trying to find a vein. Trying again. The patient already tired from being sick, now having to wait through another attempt. Then she saw it happen with a baby. A mother in the corner watching, helpless.

She went home and couldn't stop thinking about it.

"I found a real problem," she says. "And I thought I should do something about it. So I just jumped in."

A business student tackling a clinical problem

Zahra is a second-year master's student in International Design Business Management at Aalto University. Not medicine. Not engineering. Design and business.

That background is exactly what the problem needed. Finding veins in sick patients is one of the most common procedures in healthcare. And it still regularly goes wrong, not because nurses lack skill, but because the tools haven't kept up.

Zahra looked at it as a design failure. A broken experience that nobody had fixed from the user's point of view.

"I found a real problem and I should address it. I should make something out of it."

She didn't wait to feel more qualified. She started moving.

The grant that turned an idea into a prototype.

VeinOptima existed in iterations. Zahra had built two prototypes already, learning what didn't work. But the third version required a different approach entirely. That's where the grant came in.

"We couldn't afford to buy the components we needed. It was just an idea in our minds and we didn't know if it would work or not. We needed to validate it, and we couldn't afford to."

Then she went to an event at Aalto, an evening with founders from VentureLife, and heard about the Validation and Prototyping Grant from Aalto Founder School, Design Factory, and Innovation Services.

"At that time I was like: this is my place. Right time, right place."

She applied. The grant came through.

With the funding, she visited a hub in Finland that had the components she needed and tested them in person before buying. The prototype moved from idea to something she could hold and iterate on.

Something else happened too. A contact in Canada who had been watching the project, interested but not yet convinced it was real, saw the progress and joined the team.

"It was a first start with maybe a small amount of money, but a big change in our team."

The grant also gave her credibility she didn't have before.

"Even when we are looking for investors, we are telling them: somebody trusted us. It's Aalto University, it's Founder School, we got the Validation and Prototyping Grant. They think the product is worth building. So why shouldn't you invest in us? It's a good reputation.

The Part That Rarely Gets Talked About.

If you ask Zahra what's been the biggest challenge, she doesn't mention technology.

"The main hurdle has been financial. I need to cover my living expenses, and it's tough to work a part-time job while trying to be a serious founder. There are so many things happening during the day that doing both is almost impossible."

She worked part-time until April, then made a choice. She chose VeinOptima.

"If I had had stronger financial support, I would have been able to make even faster progress."

This is something many student founders feel, but few say openly. Zahra says it plainly and practically.

What's next?

VeinOptima is now part of a healthtech accelerator programme, working with experienced mentors to turn the prototype into a fundable company. The goal is a registered company, investment raised, and a product that reaches beyond Europe to wherever this problem exists.

Zahra is still a student. Still figuring it out. Still showing up.

"There are always experts at Aalto I can reach out to and ask questions. They are always open to help. You just need to ask."

"Everything is ready for you".

If you're an Aalto student sitting on an idea right now, Zahra has one thing to say.

"Take risks. Take ownership and just move on. If you really commit to your idea, it will go somewhere good. You will meet a lot of people. And if you really want to do something, you will get there. Just try hard."

"If you're an Aalto student and you have an idea, why wouldn't you go for it? Everything is ready for you."