Earlier this month, TechAlliance sent two London locals to Detroit for the annual cross-border Hacking Health competition. The weekend long competition was hosted by our sister organizations, TechTown Detroit and WETech in Windsor. It featured hundreds of competitors with backgrounds in healthcare, software engineering, design, and entrepreneurship, all coming together to form teams. The teams were challenged to identify a problem in the healthcare system, prototype a solution and create a business plan to monetize it over the course of the weekend.
As a participant, I was blown away by the caliber of projects that emerged and how easy it was to get the help that we needed during the weekend. Every hour, a new mentor with a different skill set came in to our team’s room to help us push our solution forward. Every 2 hours, gourmet snacks and meals were served to help keep us going. Come Sunday, all teams pitched to a full room of eager onlookers and a panel of judges from hospital innovation, venture capital and medicine.
As the teams slid into their seats and awaited the chance to pitch their hard work, the room was buzzing with energy. Teams went up and one by one blew the room away, pitching everything from a drug interaction checker, to an early stroke detection system to a leprosy response network. One of our London teams, MediMeals, led by Priscilla Cheung, stole the show with their crowd favourite solution to hospital meal planning for patients.
Coming home, London’s two competitors took home 4 out of nine prize categories, including crowd favourite (MediMeals), 3rd place overall (Supports) and best presentation (Supports).
To learn more about Hacking Health in London ON, email morgan.rosenberg@techalliance, or join us at our next Drinks For Health event on June 29th after work at Olive ‘R. Twists. Sign up here.
Also, be sure to support our newest London company, Supports, as they work to address the problem of caregiver burnout and depression. Visit their website here.
