VentureWell awarded three student teams $17,500 in our 2019 BMEidea competition. BMEidea is the nation’s premier competition for biomedical and bioengineering innovation, open to both graduate and undergraduate students. It challenges young innovators to pioneer a health-related technology that addresses a real clinical need.
Prizes of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500 will be awarded to the top three winners at the MD&M East Conference on June 11, 2019 in New York.
VentureWell congratulates these three teams that have won the 2019 BMEidea awards.
1st Place – $10,000 Winner: ASTEK, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Rapid detection of bacterial presence in blood, in combination with antibiotic susceptibility, is essential in treatment of blood stream bacterial infections. ASTEK is a device that identifies both bacterial presence and sensitivity to antibiotics in less than one hour. The approach relies on the isolation of bacteria from whole blood using a mosquito inspired microfluidic device, with subsequent visualization of the viable bacteria using fluorescent indicator. The result is quantified using a customized fluorimeter and the results are displayed on a user-friendly graphical user interface.
2nd Place – $5,000 Winner: Minimize, University of Pennsylvania
Essential Tremor (ET) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD) are the two most common movement disorders, with 80 million and 10 million worldwide sufferers respectively. Both disorders are characterized by debilitating hand tremors, which can render everyday tasks impossible and cause psychological distress. Patients have limited options for coping with these tremors. Minimize is a bracelet-like device that uses tuned mass dampers and reduces tremors by up to 95%. It is aesthetically discrete, useful for everyday activities, and effective for most patients.
3rd Place – $2,500 Winner KalEYEdoscope: An accessible, affordable solution to remote AMD Tracking, University of Michigan
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative disease of the retina and the leading cause of adult blindness in industrialized countries. There are currently no effective at-home monitoring solutions for AMD. The KalEYEdoscope is a handheld digital device that delivers at-home monitoring of AMD. The device is designed to accurately identify spontaneous and acute worsening of AMD while being seamlessly incorporated into the user’s daily routine.
To learn more about the competition and see past winners click here.