Inventors' Digest - January/February 2003

The man who cured spaghetti syndrome

Deerfield, IL., resident Bruce Glass has always kept a low profile. To many local residents he is known simply for his coaching on the soccer field and his penchant for fun with kids. Ask 250 hospitals across the country about Bruce, however, and this fun loving father becomes a respected inventor and businessman drawing praise running the length of miles of electrical cords. This is because Bruce's first invention, the "Cord Caddy," an organizational system for patient monitor cords, has been deemed the solution to that dreaded mess called cord clutter or "spaghetti syndrome."

Specifically, "spaghetti syndrome" is the tangle of cords that hospitals workers deal with from all the monitoring equipment vital to emergency rooms, ICUs, operating rooms and other critical care patient areas. Prior tot the invention of the Cord Caddy, dangling and entangled cords made application of the monitor leads to patients inefficient. Nurses were forced to waste valuable time identifying the right cord from an unorganized mess. In addition, the "spaghetti syndrome" produced patient areas that were unsightly, as well as a challenge, when it came to infection control. The Cord Caddy, designed and distributed by Bruce's company, Evolution Medical, Inc., is now hailed as a revolutionary invention that contributes to higher standards of medical care.

After graduating from Western Illinois University with a B.A. in Business in 1982, Bruce went to work for his father's company, Construction Specialties, a manufacturer's representative for products geared toward the health care industry. During this time, Bruce repeatedly noticed medical facilities that looked as if cords were taking over like overgrown vines.

"I was so sure that the performance of doctors and nurses was negatively affected with all these cords falling every which way," said Bruce. "I also couldn't help notice how unsanitary and unsafe it all seemed with cords lying all over the floor, presenting both infection control and tripping hazard issues. The question I had was how could nurses and doctors work under such intense life-threatening conditions in such tangled chaos: That's when I came up with the idea to design a solution."

While still working for his father, Bruce set to work on the design phase. By January 1998, Bruce had established his company Evolution Medical Products, Inc., and patented what he called the "Cord Caddy," which could accommodate and individually store multiple medical monitor leads and cords. Among other unique characteristics, the Cord Caddy features a release mechanism that saves valuable time for medical personnel; when a specific cord is needed, a rotating hook allows for its instant release.

The Cord Caddy was an immediate hit in hospitals. One hospital administrator told Glass that he "had been searching for years for a product that would organize the paraphernalia necessary to care for the critically ill child. Your product has not only brought organization to our madness, but also has solved infection control issues and decreased the number of lost and broken cables."

Given the Cord Caddy's warm reception by the health care industry, Bruce could not help thinking that this same concept could be designed for use in multiple other arenas. As he looked behind office desks, home entertainment areas, and various other industrial and commercial work areas, he realized that with the recent onslaught of technology came more and more wires, cables, and cords. By August 2002, he had redesigned the original Cord Caddy in a plastic, consumer friendly and less expensive model so that it could have expanded applications in all these different business or home environments. In addition, he formed Evolution Marketing Products, Inc., as the corporate base for this second generation Cord Caddy.

"I am putting the final touches on the packaging and running the Caddy through some last tests," said Bruce. "The product should hit the market within about a month. I am very confident that this new version of the Cord Caddy will be every bit as successful as the first, plus some. Consumers seem to be attracted to anything that will put a bit more organization into their workspace."

The hospital version of the Cord Caddy, which includes a monitor-specific mounting bracket, retails for about $200.00 depending upon the size unit. Initially, there will be one size for the second generation consumer version which will retail for around $16.00.