KK: Tell me how you tested it to validate that it really worked and would be applicable in clinical care.

EM: That ties into the second time I said to myself, “Oh my gosh, I will never do this.” To validate the board, I had to go to London, Ontario, and to Dr. Richard Lubell, a community pediatrician working for Western University, to use his pediatric office as a testing ground. The sample size that we required for a validation study was 160 children, and at that point I said, “oh, no,” because I’d never done something on that scale before. But I did it. I stayed there for four days, and as every child came through Dr. Lubell’s office, I would invite them to participate in the study. I would weigh the child on a pediatrician’s scale and then on the PE Board, and I would record both results. I would also take the child’s height so I could estimate the Broselow Tape reading. Another reason why we picked that location was because there was a study done about the Broselow Tape in the exact same place, so it was kind of the same sample population.

KK: What is your future plan for your invention?

EM: One thing I actually did was to submit the abstract to ACEP and present it. I wanted to be published. It was always my goal to be published before I got out of high school. Another thing I want to do is waterproof the board. Right now, it’s just made out of wood and metal, and the wood, in a rainy condition, could get rotten. I would like to make a plastic model for the PE Board. Last of all, I’d like to patent the board so I could mass-produce it.

KK: What do you think you want to do when you get out of high school? What are your plans?

EM: Well, I am fairly certain that I do want to go into medicine. As for what type, I’m not really certain. I’ve grown up in an environment where my dad is an emergency doctor, so that’s definitely an option. I don’t know yet. It’s too early to decide.

KM: Well, you are only 15.