College Students Vie for Tech Breakthrough Glory

Environmentally friendly showerhead, a jump shot monitor to improve basketball performance, and biomedical devices that treat disease headline technology prototypes to be presented June 22

NEW YORK, June 12, 2013 – The next technology breakthrough may be incubating at Washington University in St. Louis, where a team of engineering students have designed a prototype of a pocket-sized meter that allows patients to self-manage asthma, cystic fibrosis, and other respiratory diseases.

Or at Tufts University, where students have developed a unique showerhead that changes color during prolonged use of hot water, saving precious energy.

Washington University and Tufts will bring their ideas and visions for a better and brighter future to Indianapolis on June 22, joining eight other engineering teams competing in the 7th Annual ASME IShow.  The American Society of Mechanical Engineers will present I-Show in conjunction with the Society’s Annual Meeting at the JW Marriott.

ASME IShow will feature mechanical devices intended to improve quality of life – the inventions of the best and brightest students representing tomorrow’s engineers, scientists, technology innovators, and business entrepreneurs.

Criteria for the cash awards that go to the top three teams include a practical design and sound business plan encompassing such aspects as target markets, financing, and intellectual property protection.  The teams will be judged by a panel of business experts, venture capitalists, and intellectual property specialists.

“The real challenge for the participants in ASME IShow is to design a product or system that demonstrates potential in the broader marketplace and that bring improvements to people and to the world,” said Thomas Loughlin, the executive director of ASME.  “ASME IShow is a great test of a student’s engineering skills and business aptitude.”

A team from Brigham Young University will present Shot Coach, a technology for the game of basketball that uses sensors embedded in the wristband of a player and attached to the rim to collect a range of data.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology will have three teams at ASME IShow, one of which will discuss a flameless pot that heats liquids and precooked food using a unique chemical reaction.

The ten participants in the 2013 ASME IShow are:

Bournemouth University (United Kingdom) Innovation: Epidural Needle Insertion Simulator, a biotech device that provides feedback about spine biomechanics.

Brigham Young University Innovation: Shot Coach, a device to track the arc of a basketball shot, player form, and other aspects of shooting.

Harvard University Innovation: Theratech, a biotech device that delivers insulin and other drugs via a patch consisting of a drug reservoir, advanced circuitry, micro-needle, and micro-pump.

Johns Hopkins University Innovation: AccuRIGHT a medical device for the treatment of hypertension, which uses two types of ultrasound: ultrasound imaging for carotid body visualization and a second type of ultrasound to assist in surgical treatment.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Innovation: Coriolis Hematocrit Centrifuge, a portable device aimed at rural clinics that provides healthcare workers with a safe and affordable option to measure blood cells and plasma in a blood sample.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Innovation: HeatWare, a portable and flameless pot for campers, boaters, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Innovation: One Bin, a travel bag featuring multiple compartments to hold virtually all of a traveler’s belongings.

Tufts University Innovation: Uji, a showerhead that changes from green to red during extensive use, encouraging brief showers to save water and energy.

University of Michigan Innovation: TurtleCell, a protective case for smart phone accessories, featuring a retracting mechanism for ear buds.

Washington University (at St. Louis) Innovation: Sparo Labs, a diagnostic tool that helps patients manage asthma, cystic fibrosis, and other chronic respiratory diseases.

Information on the ASME IShow is available at http://www.asme.org/conferences-events/competitions/asme-ishow.

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world.