Currently Dr. Erickson and the participants in the meal response studies are the main stakeholders. More broadly, stakeholders also include medical doctors and patients who could use a similar device for future studies. Having ease of a medical test is important for patients as it is less disruptive and less invasive than current diagnosing methods; instead of having to sit in a doctor’s office, patients would be able to wear the device and resume their normal activities. Once enough diagnostic information is collected, drug researchers and insurance companies might be impacted by our device, as they will be interested in developing and clearly defining diagnostic symptoms as a result of our device’s findings.
Along with future patients those in the medical profession are stakeholders for the device. Nurses and lab technicians are likely going to be the ones who are answering the questions about the device and attaching the device to the patient. This means they will want the device to work effectively to reduce the burden they feel with setting up the device properly.
Other researchers interested in studying IBS will benefit from this device because it will provide them an easier method to track IBS flares or diagnose IBS depending on the needs of their studies.