The three winning teams at the Health Hackathon each won $2,500. The winning teams, from left: Streamline: An artificial intelligence tool for streamlining the process of developing clinical trial protocols, to get treatments into the clinic more quickly and inexpensively; OnTrack: An app that helps pediatric cancer patients keep up with social contacts and schoolwork during extended treatment, to facilitate a more seamless re-entry to school; Helping Stand: A portable device to help fatigued or frail patients get in and out of automobiles.
SinaInnovations hosted the second annual Health Hackathon, a two-day competition on Friday, October 13, and Saturday, October 14, that drew 90 participants, including students from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and other institutions, plus engineering and software professionals.
“The focus of this Hackathon is to bring together people from diverse scientific backgrounds, business, and even the humanities to develop incredibly creative and impactful solutions to problems in health,” Janice L. Gabrilove, MD, the James F. Holland, MD Professor of Medicine and Oncological Sciences, and Director, Clinical and Translational Research Education Program, Icahn School of Medicine, told the participants. “Having you here has enriched our experience.”
The event, formerly known as the MedMaker Challenge, was sponsored by ConduITS, the Institutes for Translational Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine. In all, 14 teams worked over a 48-hour period on projects related to this year’s theme, cancer. A panel of judges chose three winning teams, which were each awarded a prize of $2,500. The teams, and a fourth wild-card team, will be invited to participate in the Innovation Showcase on February 15, 2018, where they will present their pitches to a panel of entrepreneurs.