Welcome to the latest installment of “5 Questions With…” – Health Tech Idaho’s monthly feature to help you quickly get to know an innovator who is changing the face of healthcare and technology in Idaho.
CEO of 3D Fit
This month we spoke with Mike Gugino from 3D FIT. Mike has spent more than 20 years working in the health and safety field. From working for the largest large agencies within the State of California, to working for the City of Boise, his career led him to realize a huge opportunity with respirator fit testing. We sat down with Mike to learn more about the revolutionary 3D FIT system and his entrepreneurial journey.
1. What’s your current gig?
I am the CEO at 3D FIT, which means I do a bit of everything – the decision-making, filing our patents, hiring and leading our software development talent, developing our beta model, and raising capital.
I started 3D FIT because of my firsthand insight into the challenges of respirator fit testing. When I worked as a Health and Safety Officer for the California Department of Corrections, I was tasked with implementing the respiratory protection program. This involved traveling to every prison in California to perform fit testing—a daunting process involving thousands of individuals who were often waiting in line sometimes for hours.
I discovered that guessing a person’s respirator size just by looking at them was pretty easy, at which point I began dreaming of a more efficient solution: capturing 3D images to measure and predict respirator fit. Back then, the technology required an entire room full of expensive equipment. Fast forward to 2018 – advancements in smartphone technology, like the iPhone’s 3D capabilities, made the idea commercially viable. That’s when I secured my first patents and began turning the dream into reality.
2. What’s your elevator pitch, and how do you deliver on it?
With 3D FIT, we’ve turned a 15-minute process into a five-second solution—all using only the smartphone in your pocket.
3D FIT is a self-administered respirator fit test system that provides a fit prediction using an iPhone in less than five seconds. Traditional fit tests require costly hardware, teams working for days, and deliver inconsistent compliance rates. With 3D FIT, we’ve turned a 15-minute process into a five-second solution—all using only the smartphone in your pocket.
Our system is 92.7% accurate today, and we’re continually improving. We’ll easily approach our ultimate goal of 100% accuracy, surpassing the industry standard of 95%. It’s revolutionary technology that saves both time and money.
3. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned getting to this point?
The entrepreneurial journey is full of challenges. One of the hardest lessons is realizing that almost no one will believe in your vision more than you. It’s easy to feel defeated when others doubt your idea or focus solely on short-term returns. But every time I’ve faced a hurdle—whether it’s limited technology or financial roadblocks—I’ve found that persistence pays off.
Which leads me to my other critical lesson: surround yourself with supportive partners. When you hit those low moments, having someone to cheer you on can make all the difference. It’s about holding onto the vision you started with and remembering why solving this problem matters.
When you hit those low moments, having someone to cheer you on can make all the difference.
4. If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about healthcare right now, what would it be?
We need a greater appetite in healthcare for bold, forward-thinking solutions.Too often, innovation is limited to incremental improvements rather than revolutionary changes. I’d love to see healthcare systems embrace transformative ideas like 3D FIT, which can redefine processes and outcomes.
5. Why are you excited about healthtech in Idaho?
Innovation can come from anywhere—even the land of potatoes.
I’ve always loved the story of the underdog, and Idaho embodies that spirit. When I lived in Northern California and talked to investors, they would perk up when I mentioned where I was from. Now that I live in Boise, I get a different kind of reaction: “really?!” People don’t know what to expect from Idaho, and it’s fun to have something like 3D FIT to blow them away. There’s something thrilling about being underestimated and then delivering something groundbreaking.
Idaho has a unique opportunity to make a mark in healthtech with 3D FIT. Our work with 3D FIT requires access to a diverse population for fit testing data, and we’re eager to partner with healthcare systems here to refine our technology. I’d love all of this to be 100% Idaho. Investors with a long-term vision will see the potential for incredible returns. For instance, there are approximately 80 million respirator users around the world. The math tells the story there.
Technology isn’t about location; it’s about creativity and proving that innovation can come from anywhere—even the land of potatoes.
If you’d like to learn more about 3D FIT, especially if you’re an investor or health system who might be interested in partnering, reach out to Mike at mike@gmngroupllc.com.
