Congratulations to the seven UW Bioengineering-related teams competing in the 2023 Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge (HIC) March 2. The Bioengineering students are part of 22 regional finalist teams facing off in the competition. Four of the seven teams are part of the Master’s of Applied Bioengineering (MAB) program.

Hosted by the UW Foster School’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, the teams are competing for more than $40,000 in prizes this year.

The competition takes place each March and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students to encourage innovative solutions to major health problems faced around the world. The student teams represent five institutions in the Cascadia Corridor – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia, as well as Alaska – and dozens of departments, majors and programs.

Forty-one applicants submitted proposals and were screened by 100+ entrepreneurs, investors and health professionals from the region.

The awards include a $15,000 Grand Prize sponsored by WRF Capital, $10,000 Second Place Prize sponsored by the Herbert B. Jones Foundation and a $5,000 Third Place Prize sponsored by Fenwick & West. There are also four Best Idea Prizes that award $2,500 each.

To learn more about the prizes and all the finalist teams, read the Buerk Center blog.

Good luck to the seven UW BioE-related finalist teams!

Bacloflow
Bacloflow is developing a time and cost-efficient continuous monitoring system for intrathecal drug delivery catheters so patients and physicians can place greater focus on healing.

Endozene
Endozene is developing a non-invasive, low cost, accessible endometriosis diagnostic kit that accurately predicts whether a patient has endometriosis by detecting microRNAs (miRNAs) in menstrual blood.

LegUp Prosthetics
LegUp Prosthetics is developing a modular, adjustable, below-knee prosthetic for children in low-resource communities.

nanoFLASH
nanoFLASH is developing a low-cost, simplified device for producing nanoparticles for research and drug development.

piezopulse
piezopulse is looking to extend the battery life of even the most advanced pacemakers through the innovative use of materials that can harvest energy from the natural pressure differences in the heart.

SleeveAI
SleeveAI is developing a wearable sleeve that can measure muscle and joint health during exercise to determine risk factors and assist doctors in developing custom treatment plans.

The Cathe
The Cathe is developing a system for remote catheter surgeries where a specialist can perform the surgery remotely for a patient in a much lower-cost environment with the assistance of a local physician.