Whether it is the makerspaces buzzing with 3D printing projects, hackathon competitions that span entire weekends or world-renowned research labs churning out publications, the Institute bolsters an innovative student body that truly embodies its moto of “progress and service.”
Tech graduates have, and continue to, innovate in ways that change the way we go about our lives, and continue to impress with their capabilities and skills.
Tech’s inventive spirit does not go unnoticed; the U.S. News 2022 rankings placed the Institute as the fourth most innovative school in the nation. And recently, keeping with this inventive spirit, two students took home the second place award at the national Collegiate Inventors Competition in the undergraduate division.
Students, Stephen Kalinsky and Jared Meyers, are both recent graduates of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering and took part in the 2021 Collegiate Inventors Competition (CIC). Entrepreneurial spirit is a focus of the BME department here at the Institute, and continues to allow tech grads to do great thing with their talents.
The competition has an initial application process where students from across the nation are instructed to submit an abstract of their invention, letters of recommendation from their faculty advisors, literature and patent search synopses, and relevant supplementary items.
After the first application cycle, students and their projects undergo review and finalists for the national competition are chosen.
The finalists are expected to present their inventions to a panel of judges made up of investors and top innovators in order to win cash prizes and a USPTO acceleration certificate.
This year, the judging panel consisted of National Inventors Hall of Fame members and the United States Patent and Trademark Office officials.
Through the USPTO acceleration certificate, young inventors can fast-track patent applications for their specific products and begin marketing them to investors, which is essential for advancing their products in the industry. Kalinsky and Meyers placed as runner-ups for their Augment Health Bladder Management System in the undergraduate category, just behind Harvard University’s Eva Cai for her EarFlow product.
The duo utilized their biomedical engineering background to design a medical device that aids patients with urological problems. Specifically, the Augment Health Bladder Management System is a bladder sensor that fits within a catheter device and alerts users when the bladder is full using notifications that sync to smart watches and phones.
The product is mainly marketed towards individuals who require long-term use of catheters due to spinal-cord injuries or neurological disorders.
The primary positive consequence of the medical device is its non-invasive nature that reduces costs and infections that arise due to catheter usage, which improves quality of life for patients.
Due to their runner-up status, Meyers and Kalinsky have received a $5,000 cash award and a USPTO patent acceleration certificate, which will be instrumental in aiding them in taking their invention to the next level.
At Tech, the students were under the guidance of Marty Jacobsen, a medical device design instructor and design for manufacturing expert.
When asked about the competition and where they see their project going next, Meyers and Kalinsky noted: “We really enjoyed the competition, and we’re so glad we could bring back some recognition for the GT community.
“We’re really excited to keep pushing forward with our mission to bring improved peace of mind and quality of life to the people we serve, as we work to bring our product to market.”
Visit bme.gatech.edu to learn more about Meyers and Kalinky’s win.