A recent UT Dallas graduate is making a splash in the ever-growing world of application development for mobile devices. George Mavromaras now runs a small start-up company called Mavro Inc. that markets mobile applications intended for healthcare workers.

George Mavromaras (center) won the UT Dallas undergraduate business idea contest in 2008 with Robert H. Lane III (left). The UT Dallas Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, led by Dr. Joseph Picken (right), sponsored the contest.

The apps help healthcare providers translate medical conditions both en route to a hospital, in the emergency department and in other situations where translators are not readily available.

“My inspiration for the app came from my brother’s experience as a paramedic,” Mavromaras said. “When taking patients to the hospital, language barriers sometimes made it difficult to discern what was going on with the patient.”

Though the inspiration came from real-life experiences, the capital he needed to develop the software came after he won a competition sponsored by the University called ‘Best Business Idea in 2008.’

“I hoped it might be possible for me to win, but when I found out I did, I was honored and very excited about the possibilities,” Mavromaras said. “As part of the award, I received startup capital of about $10,000, and I also got to work with the judges who acted as my mentors.”

He graduated in 2009 with honors in biology from UT Dallas and, although he plans to attend medical school, his business acumen is leading him to an early and promising career as a smart-phone consultant and entrepreneur. Along with his brother, who graduated in neuroscience from UT Dallas in 2007, he has used some of his cash award to create apps for mobile devices. They can be easily downloaded and are based on simple ‘yes/no’ responses from the patient with audio capability. The ease with which EMTs and nurses can get answers to basic medical background questions, Mavromaras says, helps expedite treatment in the hospital.

“We were the first company to develop a medical Spanish guide for iPhone, Android, Blackberry,” he said. “One great part about this project has been the collaboration with other UT Dallas students. The majority of development of this app came from fellow students.”

Currently the Spanish medical app called ‘Audio-Medical Spanish’ has more than 300,000 users, and new apps are expected soon.