Evan Roebke has always been full of ideas.
“When I was younger, I used to fill loose-leaf pieces of paper with sketches — just like the weirdest designs,” he recalled. “I’ve always been interested in creating something.”
CELEBRATING SUCCESS: UToledo recognizes the Class of 2024 with a series of stories featuring students receiving their degrees at fall commencement.
That drive for invention has served him well at The University of Toledo, where the bioengineering senior early and eagerly availed himself of the resources available through the UToledo Business Incubator and Technology Transfer Office. As he looks toward commencement on Saturday, Dec. 14, then a move to Wisconsin for a full-time job with the medical software company Epic, he’s continuing to work with staff in both offices to tease out the commercial potential for two devices for use in physical therapy.
He and four collaborators developed one of these devices — for use in rehabilitation following lower-extremity injuries — ahead of the College of Engineering’s Senior Design Expo on Friday, Dec. 6.
“My goal is to positively impact as many people as I can,” Roebke said. “I feel like I can do that by developing products to help them.”
Roebke, of Kalida, Ohio, credits his father and two older brothers whom he calls his heroes for his interest in bioengineering. His father is an engineer, his brothers are orthopaedic surgeons; Roebke sees the career path he’s chosen as a blend of these two professions — as well as one that can readily accommodate his penchant for invention.
He’s also graduating with a minor in entrepreneurship, family and small business.
UToledo attracted him for its affordability and the strength of its College of Engineering. He’s also benefited from a Choose Ohio First for Engineering Entrepreneurship (COFFEE) Scholarship, which has provided entrepreneurship-oriented resources and support in addition to renewable tuition assistance.
(UToledo offered the COFFEE Scholarship, funded under a state program that supports students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics, to students admitted between 2017 and 2020. For information on current Choose Ohio First scholarships, go to UToledo’s Choose Ohio First website.)
UToledo’s College of Engineering is one of just eight engineering colleges in the country to guarantee at least three semesters of paid work experience for engineering science students under an integrated co-op program.
As Evan Roebke begins a full-time job with a medical software company based in Wisconsin, he’ll continue working with Business Incubator and Technology Transfer Office staff to tease out the commercial potential for two medical technology devices.
Roebke has completed five of these co-ops — two semesters with Boston Scientific, one based in Indiana and one in Minnesota, during which a highlight was his work on a new pacemaker prototype; one semester with Cook Medical, based in Indiana; one clinical immersion alongside healthcare providers at The University of Toledo Medical Center; and one research co-op under Dr. Eda Yildirim-Ayan, an associate professor in the bioengineering department whose work in tissue regeneration piqued his interest even before he began his first semester at UToledo.
His research co-op led to a first-author publication credit in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Life in 2022.
Roebke’s COFFEE Scholarship is responsible for his freshman-year introduction to the Business Incubator, which serves the campus and the broader community with business startup and entrepreneurial assistance programs. He’s since cycled through a few ideas with the support of incubator staff — some admittedly more viable than others, as he’s learned in the course of learning how to develop an idea for a commercial market.
“Evan is intelligent and driven and always looks for unique ways to solve problems for those around him,” said Jeanine Bragg, the incubator’s operations manager. “Our team is helping him develop two medical technology devices, but we’ve assisted him with four different projects during his time as a student. From assessing project viability through customer discovery and building a brand identity to prototype development and creation of a pilot program, he’s been very committed to commercializing these products.
“We’ve enjoyed working with Evan as a student and look forward to providing ongoing support after graduation.”
One of the two devices that the senior will continuing to develop through graduation is designed to assist those with limited mobility to stand from a seated position. He came up with the idea while observing his own grandmother, he said, and is working toward a prototype and pilot study with a home healthcare provider based in Perrysburg.
The other is a device on which he’s collaborating with four classmates: Zane Bates, Abdel Bayazid, Kassidy Gall and Ray Hohl. Landmetrics Pro is their senior design project, although they did not display it at Friday’s Senior Design Expo in light of an outstanding patent application with UToledo’s Technology Transfer Office.
The inventors intend to develop a device that will be used by doctors and physical therapists to assist in rehabilitation following lower-extremity injuries.
“The Technology Transfer Office was happy to support the team by assisting with the preparation and filing of a provisional patent application, which should occur soon after graduation,” said Yuriy Yatskiv, an innovation ambassador and technology licensing associate in the office.
“If you think about someone who has torn their ACL, they don’t trust their leg to fully bend. They adjust their gait, and they land differently on their feet than they would if they hadn’t injured their ACL,” Roebke said. “We’re developing a device to help doctors and physical therapists better assist patients with these limitations.”
