# Cómo escuchar a un paciente me llevó innovar en biomedicina | Ana Ye Zhang | TEDxAlbacete

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xojkfDnjWA
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/0xojkfDnjWA
Generated: 2025-12-10T16:51:47.665+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Ana Ye Zhang transitioned from being a nurse to an entrepreneur by founding Ownmed Innovation to address the lack of discreet, high-quality containment devices for ostomy patients, driven by the personal story of a patient she cared for who suffered social isolation due to inadequate ostomy supplies.

**Key Points:**
- Ana Ye Zhang's initial dream was to be the first in her family to obtain a university degree, achieving this by graduating as a nurse in 2014.
- Her path shifted to entrepreneurship after encountering a patient with an ostomy who lacked adequate supplies, leading to skin irritation and social isolation.
- The speaker realized there was no discreet, high-quality alternative to ostomy bags for controlling continence, noting that 200,000 people in Spain alone require ostomies.
- Her company, Ownmed Innovation, was founded in 2019 to develop an anti-reflux device that sits inside the stoma, giving patients control over waste expulsion.
- The company received validation from key Spanish associations (SEEO, FAPOE, ASOE) and secured funding rounds, though facing a tough financing environment in 2023.
- The core belief driving the innovation is that entrepreneurship means creating impact by solving real problems, emphasizing the need to challenge assumptions (like the lack of existing alternatives).

![Screenshot at 08:08: The speaker poses the central question for innovation, '¿Alguien sabe por dónde hay que empezar si quiero innovar?' \('Does anyone know where to start if I want to innovate?'\), setting the stage for her story about developing the Ostofix device.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/0xojkfDnjWA/00-08-08.png)

**Context:** Ana Ye Zhang shares her journey from being a nurse to founding Ownmed Innovation, a company dedicated to creating better solutions for ostomy patients. Her motivation stemmed from witnessing firsthand the challenges and lack of dignity faced by patients relying on existing, inadequate containment devices, which often led to social anxiety and poor quality of life.

## Detailed Analysis

Ana Ye Zhang recounts her transition from a nursing career, which she pursued to be the first university graduate in her family, to becoming an entrepreneur in biomedicine. This shift occurred after an encounter with a patient suffering from an ostomy who experienced skin irritation and social isolation due to inadequate containment solutions. Realizing that 200,000 people in Spain alone rely on ostomies and face these issues, she questioned why no discreet, high-quality alternative existed. This realization sparked the idea for Ostofix, an anti-reflux device designed to be placed inside the stoma, allowing patients greater control and discretion. She highlights the difficulty of securing funding for a health-focused startup, noting that 25% of startups fail in their first year, and only 3% of total funding goes to women-led startups. Despite these challenges, she secured support from Spanish nursing and patient associations (SEEO, FAPOE, ASOE) and managed to secure funding after two years of effort, culminating in the successful patenting of Ostofix in Europe (2022) and globally (2024). The core message is that true innovation requires taking risks and challenging existing norms to create real-world impact.

### Personal Path

- Dreamed of being the first graduate in her family (nurse, 2014)
- Encountered patient with ostomy issues motivating a career pivot
- Engineering was initially too difficult due to lack of science background.

### The Problem and Solution

- Identified lack of discreet/high-quality ostomy containment devices, affecting 200,000 people in Spain
- Developed Ostofix, an anti-reflux device placed internally to restore continence control and dignity
- The device features a specialized, wide sink for easy bag changing and hygiene.

### Entrepreneurial Journey

- Founded Ownmed Innovation in 2019
- Faced funding difficulties, especially in 2023, as 25% of startups fail in year one, and only 3% of funding goes to women-led startups
- Gained validation from SEEO, FAPOE, and ASOE associations.

### Call to Action

- Emphasizes that entrepreneurship is about creating impact and breaking glass ceilings for women in tech
- Encourages innovators to persevere despite obstacles like lack of funding or market validation.

![Screenshot at 00:05: Slide showing sponsors: CLM Social Innovation Cluster and UCLM.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/0xojkfDnjWA/00-00-05.png)
![Screenshot at 00:08: Title slide for Ana Ye Zhang's talk: 'De enfermera a emprendedora: cómo escuchar a un paciente me llevó a innovar en biomedicina'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/0xojkfDnjWA/00-00-08.png)
![Screenshot at 01:20: Slide illustrating the concept of entrepreneurship as building: 'Resistir, Aprender, Equivocarse, Volver a Levantarse'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/0xojkfDnjWA/00-01-20.png)
![Screenshot at 03:55: Diagram illustrating the stoma, ileostomy bag, and the internal device concept.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/0xojkfDnjWA/00-03-55.png)
![Screenshot at 09:30: Slide listing supporting organizations: SEEO, FAPOE, and ASOE, highlighting patient validation of the technology.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/0xojkfDnjWA/00-09-30.png)