As part of the Whole You Living Lab open innovation platform, the company announces its advisory group and vision to improve the health of the world together, one innovation at a time

SAN JOSE, Calif. (January 29, 2015) – Whole You, Inc., a Mitsui Chemicals’ company dedicated to providing innovative solutions that allow those with sensory and physical mobility challenges to live life to the fullest, has teamed up with crowd-sourcing company InnoCentive to challenge people from around the world to create innovative solutions for those with oral and vision challenges. In the oral space, Whole You is looking for solutions to incentivize compliance encouraging regular use of oral appliance to motivate patients to effectively manage obstructive sleep apnea. Additionally, the company has launched a vision challenge asking for ideas about other services vision care providers can offer to optimize a person’s health and well-being. One solver from each category that recommends the best idea in each category will be awarded $15,000.

Whole You is simultaneously announcing its advisory group, which consist of professionals with expertise in sensory and physical mobility areas. The advisory group will provide input and guidance to the development of the company’s sensory and physical mobility innovation efforts, while judging Whole You challenge submissions, accordingly. Current members include:

• Rupa Balachandran PhD., CCC-A Program Director Audiology, Associate Professor Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of the Pacific
• Dr. Ting-Ling Chang, DDS, Clinical Professor and Section Chair of Prosthodontics at the Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, UCLA School of Dentistry
• David Green, Social Entrepreneur, MacArthur Fellow and Ashoka Fellow
• Dr. Moshe Lewis, MD, MPH, Chief, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehab, California Pacific Medical Center, St. Luke’s Campus
• Dr. Katayoun Omrani, DDS Orofacial Pain specialist, Los Angeles Pain Clinic; Dentist at the Headache, Orofacial Pain and Sleep Apnea Program at the Cedars-Sinai Pain Center
• Dr. Frank Spors, MS, PhD, Assistant Professor at the College of Optometry at Western University of Health Sciences

“We have identified many sensory and physical mobility challenges that individuals face and believe that an open innovation approach is essential to creating truly ground-breaking products that we know the market needs,” said Hiromi Inagaki, chief innovation officer, Whole You. “The partnerships with our advisory group and InnoCentive demonstrate our commitment to tapping in to great minds that are aligned with our vision – to deliver innovative solutions to for those with sensory and physical mobility challenges.”

All Whole You partnerships and collaborations, including the open innovation challenges and continually expanding advisory group, will all be a part of Whole You’s Living Lab, a unique, interdisciplinary innovation network where a broad range of experts – in collaboration with people living with sensory and physical mobility challenges and needs – come together to develop solutions that will optimize health, well-being and experience to unlock human potential.

“One of my main goals is to provide my patients with the best solutions available so they can live life to the fullest, and Whole You is now on the frontline of this innovation,” said Dr. Ting-Ling Chang, DDS, Clinical Professor and Section Chair of Prosthodontics at the Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, UCLA School of Dentistry. “I am pleased to be a part of the company’s platform that encourages ongoing discussion that will drive enhancements in the dental industry. I look forward to seeing what solutions will come from the InnoCentive challenge.”

To provide a solution to one of the InnoCentive challenges, please visit: www.innocentive.com/pavilion/wholeyou.

About Whole You
By combining open innovation with wide range of partners, material innovation, and deep understanding of market needs, Whole You Inc., a Mitsui Chemicals company, is committed to offering solutions that allow those with sensory and physical mobility challenges to live life to the fullest. Through Mitsui Chemicals’ acquisitions of Dentca and PixelOptics and Panasonic Healthcare’s technology, Whole You and its partners will push the boundaries of technology to greatly improve how life is experienced by millions of Americans.

Whole You is headquartered in San Jose, CA. For more information, please visit www.whole-you.com.

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H+K Strategies
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