2018 DreamCatchers MedTech Hackathon Hong Kong Rallies the Younger Generation into Innovating New Technologies for Healthcare and Healthy Ageing

The team Echo Eco, was awarded first place at the 2018 DreamCatchers MedTech Hackathon and received the prize from Dr. David Chung, the Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology Bureau. The team is looking for a way to increase the efficiency of taking and reading echocardiograms for patients with cardiac concerns in HK in order to improve their ability to receive proper treatment.

The first runner-up, Anae Mirror, is working on a device to take frequent Hemoglobin measurements in haematology patients receiving chemotherapy, in order to decrease complications and costs from untreated anemia.

The second runner-up, AccuHeart, is looking for a way to improve the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in symptomatic patients showing no ECG changes to decrease the incidence of complications arising from delayed treatment.

The finale of the week-long competition, a group photo with all the participants from the 2018 DreamCatchers MedTech Hackathon.

(Hong Kong – 30th June, 2018) – The 2018 DreamCatchers MedTech Hackathon Hong Kong, running for the third consecutive year and co-organised by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU), concluded today at the Hong Kong Science Park. It is the only Hackathon in Hong Kong focused on healthcare technology. This year’s theme was “Automating Medical Care”. A pitching competition was held for the participants, and the team Echo Eco, was awarded first place.

The competition was well aligned with HKSTP’s mission to facilitate the development of healthy ageing technology platform, subsequently raising interest in the advancement of healthcare technology. The competition attracted young people from the United States, Shanghai and Hong Kong to join. During the 7-day Hackathon, participants are required to solve healthcare issues through innovative thinking and come up with solution prototypes. In the final round, they need to present their solution prototypes and business plans to a group of professionals from the business, scientific research, and medical sectors.

The event commenced on 24th June and involved a total of 55 students from Stanford University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Hong Kong universities to form 10 teams. The Hong Kong students partnered with local entrepreneurs who are based at Science Park. Members of each team came from a variety of background, including medicine, dental, engineering, business, computer science, and biomedical disciplines. During the past week, they visited hospitals to learn more about the existing healthcare issues the hospitals were facing. At the same time, under the guidance of university professors, doctors, innovators, and business experts, participants targeted at addressing the dilemma faced by different specialisations such as neurology, cardiology, ophthalmology, radiology, nephrology, geriatrics, dentistry and liver transplantation. They designed solution prototypes and business plans that can potentially enhance healthcare service quality, as well as presented their proposals to raise funds from investors, entrepreneurs, and medical professionals.

Mr. Albert Wong, Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP, said: “Through facilitating collaboration and communication between team members from different professions, the DreamCatchers MedTech Hackathon promotes the creation of new ideas and innovative healthcare technology, hence fostering the development of and healthy ageing. There is great potential in the healthcare technology field, and HKSTP underpinned this with the launch of the Healthcare Devices Innovation Hub (HDIH) earlier this year. The hub was designed to promote the development of healthcare and bio-pharmaceutical industries, throughproviding consultation as well as shared facilities, in a bid to accelerate the research and development of healthcare devices in Hong Kong.”

Professor W. John Kao, Vice President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global) of the HKU, said: “We are especially honoured to have the professor and elites from Stanford University to share their experiences in biological design at our event this year. Collaboration among participants was always one of the goals over the years, and having Shanghai Jiao Tong University opens up the opportunity for students from the University of Hong Kong understanding of the healthcaretechnology industry. The program also provides students with practical knowledge and experience to join the industry when they complete their studies.”

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