3 Dream Devices Take Top Honors in Medtech Design Contest

In August, the editors of MD+DI asked you, the medtech community, to put on your creative hats and dream up a device that would tackle healthcare problems both big and small.

You responded, submitting an array of innovative medical device concepts that addressed a broad spectrum of issues. The editors of MD+DI reviewed and debated the merits of each submission, and narrowed the field to 10 finalists. FInalist devices ranged from the simple and practical, such as the Power Pestle, able to automate the manual process of pill crushing, to the very complex, such as the Asensis, an implantable drug-delivery system. And then we put the fate of the contest in your hands.

Voting began in earnest. And now the editors’ 10 finalist scores have been combined with the vox populi to yield the winners of MD+DI's inaugural Dare-to-Dream MedTech Design Challenge.

The runaway winner, when reader votes are combined with editors’ scores, is the mHolter. Submitted by Lorenzo Valacca, the mHolter is a biomedical smartphone app connected to skin electrodes that monitor heart activity around the clock to aid in diagnoses.

"Convenient and user-friendly, the mHolter represents a creative—yet feasible—medical application of smartphone technology," notes Shana Leonard, executive editor of the UBM Canon MedTech Group. "The device presents a modern, meaningful solution for obtaining more-consistent and accurate data that, in turn, can potentially impact decision making and improve patient outcomes."

Nabbing second prize is the MyoSense: Intelligent Athletic Tape, able to collect data on how muscles work and alert the wearer of an injury before it gets worse. The device uses thin skin electrodes and wireless technology. Nicholas Su submitted the first-runner-up entry.

“Both from a conceptual and design standpoint, MyoSense embodies where digital healthcare is headed - creating the 2.0 version of already common devices and procedures," says Chris Wiltz, associate editor of MD+DI. "It takes something (athletic tape) that is already ubiquitous in medicine and improves upon it with Big Data functionality. The result is a device that is not only affordable and therapeutic but also preventive."

Rounding out the winners' circle in third place is the Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Regulator. The entry, submitted by Bob Paddock, was inspired by a personal experience; his wife committed suicide after an excruciating headache that resulted from cerebrospinal fluid leakage.

“The inspiration for this dream device obviously came from a very personal place,” said Jamie Hartford, managing editor of MD+DI. “The Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Regulator is a novel improvement over the standard of care for intracranial hypotension caused by cerebrospinal fluid leaks, a condition that can cause devastating headaches. I like that it uses wireless power transfer, which is really the next step for implantable devices.”

Thank you all for participating in MD+DI’s first Dare-to-Dream Medtech Design Challenge. The challenge is over and the winners will take their spoils, but don’t take off those creative hats. Ever.