Joel S. Douglas is an American patent agent and business executive who pioneered the first alternate-site glucose meter used to treat millions of Americans affected by diabetes.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Douglas graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering in 1977. He earned his Master's degree in computer science from the University of New Haven in 1982.

LifeScan

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As a program manager at Johnson & Johnson's blood glucose monitoring company, LifeScan, Douglas was part of the team that won the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence in 1995. LifeScan was later purchased for $2.1 billion by the global investment firm Platinum Equity in 2018.

Career

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In 1996, Douglas and Karen Drexler co-founded the diabetes monitoring company Amira Medical Inc. The company was a privately held corporation with about 160 employees. In 2001, Amira Medical was acquired by the Swiss healthcare company Roche for an undisclosed sum.[3]

In 2004, the Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry (MD+DI) named Douglas one of the 100 most notable people in the medical device industry. He is the inventor of 103 patents.

Douglas is a University of Connecticut Academy of Distinguished Engineers member and sits on the National Association of Patent Practitioners' board of directors.[4]

Joel is the founder and president of Menlo Park Patents, a patent services provider.

In 2010, Joel and his wife Heidi established the Joel S. and Heidi S. Douglas Engineering Scholarship at the University of Connecticut.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Methods and apparatus for expressing body fluid from an incision".
  2. ^ "100 NOTABLE PEOPLE in the Medical Device Industry". Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Amira Medical Acquired By Hoffmann-La Roche".
  4. ^ "University of Connecticut School of Engineering".
  5. ^ "Douglas Family Establishes Scholarship".