Hibiscus Health: Proposing an oral-health screening strategy

Graduate case competition · First-place team proposal

I contributed competitive analysis, a screening concept, and business-model work to a first-place team proposal. Savings and health-impact estimates are projections from the competition analysis.
Author

Ivan De Jesus Rueda

Stage: Johns Hopkins Graduate Consulting Club 2024 case competition. The team developed a product and business-model proposal; this case does not establish clinical validation or deployment of the proposed screening capability.

The competition challenge

The case centered on Hibiscus Health’s smartphone-based facial-screening technology and an accuracy limitation across skin tones described in the competition brief. The challenge was to propose a response to that accessibility problem and a viable strategy for the digital-health market.

My team proposed expanding beyond facial scanning to oral-cavity analysis, drawing on the connection between periodontal disease and metabolic conditions. “Smile scanning” was a product hypothesis intended to address the skin-tone limitation; the competition work did not establish that it solved the problem. We paired the concept with a go-to-market strategy for patients, providers, and payers.

My role

  • Assessed 12+ facial-scanning and metabolic-screening platforms, using Jobs-to-be-Done analysis to identify market gaps and inform the proposed oral-health concept

  • Proposed a dual-pathway concept combining photoplethysmography (PPG) signal analysis with computer vision for “smile scanning,” informed by periodontal and metabolic disease research

  • Developed the “Smile & Subscribe” business-model proposal through subscription-pricing analysis and potential referral-partnership revenue streams

  • Developed a five-year financial model using a 5% revenue-capture assumption and estimating a $1.65 million funding requirement for the proposed expansion

Competition result and projected benefits

  • Hibiscus Health adopted core recommendations from the winning strategy. This does not establish clinical validation or deployment of the proposed oral-health screening capability.

  • First-place victory at Johns Hopkins Graduate Consulting Club 2024 Annual Case Competition

  • The competition model projected $1.2 billion in cumulative healthcare savings over five years and a 90% reduction in preventable periodontal cases among 32.8 million prediabetic adults aged 18–44. These are model projections, not observed health or financial outcomes.

  • Proposed an oral-health differentiation strategy; the case does not establish a first-to-market launch or an IP-protected market position

Concept and business-model artifacts

Illustrative smartphone screening concept combining facial, eye, and oral imagery with a sample risk display; it does not show validated clinical performance.

Screening-concept illustration used to explain the proposal. The displayed risk percentage is illustrative interface content, not diagnostic accuracy, clinical validation, or a measured result of the team’s work.

Competition business-model diagram proposing subscription and referral revenue, provider-network activities, and a data strategy, with logos of potential ecosystem participants.

The proposed “Smile & Subscribe” model combines subscription revenue, possible referral partnerships, and care-coordination activities. Logos indicate potential ecosystem participants, not confirmed partnerships; integration and network benefits are proposed.