Amanda Jack graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University in Paediatric Nursing. During her university placement in a busy plaster room, Amanda was inspired to create Mediscot Ltd, a medical device development company that specialises in solving complex medical problems. Her first product is Plaster Masta — a new method of cast removal without the need for a saw. Amanda has now launched and patented Plaster Masta and is currently developing a second product.
How Mediscot got started
Amanda originally worked in the travel and tourism sector before moving to Children’s support with the NHS. It is this role which motivated her to return to education and start her nursing degree at Glasgow Caledonian University. During her studies Amanda was placed in a children’s hospital and was asked to carry out in a plaster cast removal.
Seeing the distress caused to patients by this procedure, Amanda conducted a lot of research and discovered there were no other removal devices on the market.
Amanda then began to develop Plaster Masta, a solution that could be used as an alternative to the saw. She entered the early workings of her idea into a UK-wide innovation competition and was selected as the winner.
What happened next
Amanda was put in touch with SIE through the University’s business department. Amanda’s initial idea took shape into a product; a unique chemical solution that when applied to a set cast reverts the cast back to a semi-original state allowing the cast to be unwound rather than being cut with a saw.
Mediscot was registered as a business in February 2012. She got the product to a prototype stage and started to move forward to patent her idea.
Plaster Masta has many advantages: it is a mobile solution, it is safer, more efficient and it relieves the anxiety factor of casting. Amanda believes that there are specific areas that would particularly benefit from using Plaster Master, namely: paediatrics, geriatrics, those with additional learning needs, those with mental health needs, those in rural areas and the solution can even be used on animals.
Next steps for Mediscot
Amanda is due to graduate in November 2013 and is looking forward to concentrating on Mediscot full time.
Amanda is currently working with a global company to develop a partnership for her business. From the partnership, she hopes that the company will help the cast removal solution reach its full potential. She is also busy developing Mediscot’s second product which she patented in May.
Amanda is making a difference in healthcare and hopes that other students will consider entrepreneurship in their sector as a viable career option.