Brian Mohika, of Bradford, and Caitlin Miracle, of Merrimac, display the winning logo for CathWear. (Courtesy photograph.)
When Northern Essex Community College alumnus Brian Mohika invented a special kind of medical underwear, it seemed only natural he would turn to the college for help with a logo.
Mohika, of Bradford, awarded graphic design major Caitlin Miracle her first professional assignment and a $200 prize for developing logo for his new company, CathWear.
“It was important to me to get Northern Essex involved,” said Mohika, a 2006 graduate of the college’s Radiologic Technology program. “It’s a creative way to give back to the school that catapulted my professional career.”
Miracle, 20, of Merrimac, submitted one of nearly three dozen art boards created by students for Mohika to consider. She describes her logo entry as a clean, simple design, featuring the universal medical cross inside CathWear’s “signature” pocket.
CathWear will use the logo when manufacturing specially designed underwear for patients wearing leg bags that are attached to a drainage catheter. The now-patented underwear resembles boxer briefs with pockets on each thigh to hold catheter bags and related medical tubes that resist inadvertent pulling.
Miracle said she will use the award to purchase professional design software for her own computer.
Mohika, 38, a Lawrence native, graduated from Lawrence High School in 1996. Following graduation, he joined the Air Force and served two years before enrolling at Northern Essex. After his first “A” in a phlebotomy, he was hooked and went on to earn a bachelor’s in nursing from UMass Lowell
“CathWear restores dignity and privacy during treatment and recovery while improving the quality of life of the patients, who because of various medical conditions and surgical procedures, have to wear leg bags daily to work or school,” he said. He works for Home Health VNA. He and Hector Arce, also a former Northern Essex student and fellow nurse, designed and patented the idea. Edwin Alvarez helped create the business plan to launch CathWear. Their design won first place and fan favorite awards in the 2015 EforAll project, which encourages the use of entrepreneurship and innovation as catalysts for sustainable change in the United States, India, and Canada.