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A THREAD ON WHAT THE HELL I'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST YEAR!
So many of you may know that this time last year I moved to Berlin with @charleshvl for a “career break” and to pursue our language learning hobby.
So many of you may know that this time last year I moved to Berlin with @charleshvl for a “career break” and to pursue our language learning hobby.
After a careful few months planning, letting out our flat and saying goodbye to our friends in Newcastle (CrossFit gym featured below) and family in the Midlands, we set sail on the ferry to the mainland via Amsterdam (not sure I would recommend) and began our Berlin adventure.
We had one week of student-style language-learning fun, with a healthy dash of exploring and club-going… before Corona hit.
Unfortunately, of course our language school closed, as did all Berlins social venues, like the rest of the world.
We figured that being stuck in our flat, without jobs, during a global pandemic wasn’t the fun time out we’d planned.
So repacked our car (for the second time in 10 days) and hurried back through the closing borders of Europe, hopped on the ferry at Calais...
Given that lockdown was imminent and our flat had been let out, we moved in with the in-laws and began working part time in the local hospitals.
To pass the time, we decided to pick up another interest we both shared - computer programming/developing.
@Charleshvl, came up with the fantastic idea of building *the* go-to app for paediatrics - featuring all the common calculators and a resuscitation log.
@Charleshvl, came up with the fantastic idea of building *the* go-to app for paediatrics - featuring all the common calculators and a resuscitation log.
So we set about learning to code, with all the frustrations that come with learning something new.
It was a humbling experience but little by little, we began to build something that we became proud of.
It was a humbling experience but little by little, we began to build something that we became proud of.
After 6 months of trial and error, learning and building, despair and thrilling satisfaction, we were basically there.
A fully functioning app!
We thought the hard part was done...
Little did we know, the minefield of medical device regulations, eventually finding out that publishing it may cost us 5 figures to release and 4 figures to “maintain”.
We thought the hard part was done...
Little did we know, the minefield of medical device regulations, eventually finding out that publishing it may cost us 5 figures to release and 4 figures to “maintain”.
Having built it in our own time, and with no intention of charging users, this was a total non-starter.
So after some careful consideration we decided to repurpose the app with the intention of it being used for teaching and training instead.
So after some careful consideration we decided to repurpose the app with the intention of it being used for teaching and training instead.
So if you’re a health-worker, in paediatrics or looks after children, @dotKidUK is now available on iOS and Google Play!
http://www.dotkid.co.uk .
http://www.dotkid.co.uk .
We’d still love for it to be used in clinical practice one-day but in the meantime we hope it brings a little useful and overdue tech-assisted simplicity to the care of paediatrics and neonates!
It's been one of the most rewarding thing we’ve done and we're absolutely set on a career building useful health tech to help drag things into the 21st century.
If you have any questions about the app, my programming journey or potential collaborations, drop me a line! :)
If you have any questions about the app, my programming journey or potential collaborations, drop me a line! :)
... and now onwards and upwards to our next project! 
