VCU news

By Anne Dreyfuss
C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research

Virginia Commonwealth University is hosting its first medical hackathon, called HealthHacks, in which students from VCU and other schools will spend 24 hours finding solutions to unmet medical needs.

During HealthHacks, which starts Saturday, Oct. 1, students will collaborate in interdisciplinary teams of up to four participants to address problems that will focus on three major categories: product design and improvement, hospital throughput, and patient experience. Problems will be pitched from patients, physicians, professors, health care clinicians, engineers and industry sponsors. Students are also encouraged to bring their own ideas to the event to work on in a supported environment.

We want to make real solutions to real problems.

“We want to make real solutions to real problems,” event co-founder Sina Mostaghimi said. The fourth-year VCU School of Medicine student worked with senior biomedical engineering student and Honors College member Simone Gregor to create HealthHacks, which will take place in the School of Engineering East Hall. The pair recently collaborated on a video to explain the goals of the event.  

A hackathon is a brief, intense period of innovation during which teams work collaboratively to solve computer science-related problems. A medical hackathon is similar in structure to a traditional hackathon, but the focus is on solving unmet medical needs in addition to computer programming-related problems.

“Computer science hackathons have been around for a while and have gained popularity, but medical hackathons are new,” Gregor said. “We are excited for VCU to be on the forefront of the medical hackathon movement and plan for it to be an annual event here.”

Undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines are encouraged to attend and can arrive as pre-assembled teams or can build a team at the event.

“Based on communication with medical hackathon organizers at other universities, we found that the best teams usually have a mix of talent and ideas,” Mostaghimi said, adding that mentors will be available throughout the event to provide support and guidance.

Technology at the event will include 3-D printers, modeling clay and a variety of computer software. “There are going to be a lot of opportunities for hacking in different mediums,” Gregor said.

In addition to VCU physicians, faculty and staff, industry leaders from fields including medical device manufacturing and product design will be at the event to pitch problems, help with solutions and award prizes. “It is a networking opportunity,” Gregor said. “Hackathons are a great place for students to show off their skills.”

Often students receive internships and job offers from the connections they make while at hackathons.

Industry leaders and faculty will present throughout the event on topics including the process of product development and rapid prototyping.

“The exciting thing about participating in a hackathon is that you have this intense, brief period of innovation where you are working with similarly minded people who are also excited about entrepreneurship, who are excited about medicine, and who want to be on the forefront of creating new things,” Mostaghimi said.

For more information on event sponsorship and to register, visit healthhacks.vcu.edu.