University of Cincinnati Students Win at Health Idea Expo

More than 140 ideas from Greater Cincinnati universities and the community were showcased at the Innov8 for Health Idea Expo at General Electric Aviation Learning Centre in Evendale, Ohio on December 2.

 One idea from University of Cincinnati students Pooja Kadambi, computer engineering, and Joe Lovelace, BSME ‘11, surfaced as a first-place winner. Their innovation, called the Icshiban, captured the attention of judges for its unique and pioneering stroke detection headband designed to save lives. They each received $1,000 to further the idea.

 Charles H. Matthews, PhD, professor and executive director of the UC Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research, admired the work of the students, both who were in his graduate entrepreneurship new venture creation class.

 “The Ischiban team has worked very hard conceptualizing and developing the science, and now the business model, for this innovative stroke detection device,” says Matthews.

 Of the 29 unique idea submissions from UC, 10 became semifinalists and eight then became finalists. Congratulations also to College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) students, Joe Bova, with a second-place finish for his one-handed kitchen workspace idea; Priya Chawla, for a fourth-place finish for Med.net, an RFID-based patient record management system; and Carl H. Lindner College of Business student, Amin Shawki, a Marvin P. Kolodzik Business Scholar with marketing, entrepreneurship and information systems majors, as a semi-finalist for his mobile-tracking idea.

The Innov8 for Health Idea Expo is a community-wide initiative to encourage creativity and innovation in health and health-care field through partnerships with local organizations and universities. The expo is hosted by General Electric and the Greater Cincinnati Health Foundation, with the mission to improve health, attract and retain top talent and create jobs in the region.

 “The 2011 Challenge was focused on improving care transitions for people with chronic conditions,” says Craig Osterhues, GE Health executive and organizer for Innov8 for Health, “The university students and entrepreneurs in the community rose to the challenge with incredible ideas.”

A full list of the winning ideas from other Innov8 for Health Idea Expo teams can be found online at innov8forhealth.com/blog.