A medical hackathon is similar in structure to a traditional “hackathon,” however the focus is on solving medical unmet needs through any means, whether it be programming, rapid prototyping, developing flow processes, it's up to you! This is the second year of HealthHacks, VCU's annual medical hackathon, which will take place on November 4 - 5, 2017 at VCU’s Monroe Park Campus in the East Engineering Building. It is a 24 hour period of intense innovation and problem-solving.

The theme of this year's HealthHacks is Pediatrics: Children differ from adults in many ways, including size, development, and body chemistry thus there is a need for medical devices designed to these unique requirements. Major medical device companies often overlook pediatrics as a viable market, and the development of pediatric devices lags behind the development of devices for adults. As a result, physicians often have to improvise solutions or adapt existing adult devices for their pediatric patients. HealthHacks 2017 will focus on solving pediatric related problems from various subspecialties. Students will form in interdisciplinary groups of up to 4, and by the end of the 24 hour period will have a concrete solution, whether it be a rapid prototype, a solidworks 3D design, a new phone app…the options are endless.

At HealthHacks, our motto is aligned with VCU's "Make it Real". If a team chooses to conquer product design, hospital throughput, or patient experience, each team will end the hackathon with a concrete prototype in some form, whether it be physical foam, 3D printed plastic, manipulation of an existing provided device, a new phone app, or a program. We will have mentors from all fields: engineering to medicine to industry, helping guide teams to develop their solutions.

Registration is closed. 

• Clinical Significance
  
• Product Development Approach
  
• Marketing Potential
  
• Technical difficulty/ appropriate and efficient utilization of resources
  
• Potential for additional funding