Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/686754
t m c » p u l s e | j u n e 2 0 1 6 24 24 Working Together What happened when 40 strangers spent a weekend at TMCx hacking solutions for unmet health care needs B y C h r i s t i n e H a l l A vni Patel holds up a long, clear tube with a funnel attached to the top while teammate Brian Dawson fills the tube with red-colored artificial snow to simulate blood flow. When the "blood" gets stuck, they turn on their device and watch the red mixture begin to flow freely through the tube. That prototype chest tube device, to help prevent retained blood product syndrome (RBS) follow- ing heart surgery, led Patel's and Dawson's team, SpaceApples, to a first place win at the inaugural TMC Biodesign Hackathon. The Biodesign program unites a group of individu- als from diverse backgrounds—engineering, medicine, business, computer science, design and research— to create digital health solutions and new devices for unmet health care needs. Hackers, some of whom are also finalists for the next Biodesign program, came from places as far as Europe, representing various academic disciplines and some of the best academic institutions in the world. "One of the key factors to the success of this year's hackathon was the diversity of the hackers," said Farzad Soleimani, M.D., associate director of TMC Biodesign and assistant professor of emergency med- icine at Baylor College of Medicine. "This also goes to highlight how competitive our program has become." For the 40 participants, it was a weekend spent doing what they love. One team, 5 Tries Design, became an audience favorite for its exoskeleton mate- rials solution to alleviate back strain for physicians who have to wear heavy lead aprons for hours. This was the first hackathon for Jeric Bautista, a mechanical engineer at Re:3D, and one of the 5 Tries teammates. "I thought it was fun and also interesting how far you could make progress on a real need," he said. "Toward the end, we got really good feedback, and it was good to hear how well our product aligned with radiologists' and cardiologists' needs that were in attendance." With all fun aside, for half of the participants, it was also an audition for Biodesign's highly competi- tive, one-year innovation fellowship program. The idea to do a hackathon came about when program leaders Sandeep Burugupalli and Soleimani wanted an interactive and engaging way to meet potential Biodesign candidates and evaluate their skill. "In many ways, the Biodesign program is a The members of the SpaceApples team put the finishing touches on their pitch presentation for their chest tube device for the TMC Biodesign Hackathon. Their idea wowed judges during the competition, earning them first place and a check for $2,000.