MEDTEC | MECHA

MECHA, the Medical Electronic and Coding Hackathon, is an annual event of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, jointly organized by the Department of Medical Technology and Medical Faculty Science and Technology Community (MFSTC).

Objectives

  • To encourage medical undergraduates to engage in innovation in the Medical Technology sphere and to gain experience in related technical approaches such as prototyping and product development cycles.
  • To promote multidisciplinary collaboration among medicine and engineering disciplines for efficient and effective problem solving within the broader theme of Medical Technology.
  • To create a platform to showcase and to recognize Medical Technology related inventions of undergraduate students.
  • To facilitate patenting and productization of the high-calibre intellectual properties in Medical Technology.
  • To promote entrepreneurship and commercialization of Medical Technology.

MECHA 2023

The first hackathon of the series was conduct under the brand name MECHA 2023 starting from 28 August 2023 to end parallel to the Colombo Medical Congress 2023 on 7 December 2023.

MECHA 2023 was conducted under 2 categories, medical undergraduate category, and open undergraduate category. The 2023 event held along six competition tracks.

  • Assistive devices and smart prosthetics.
  • Diagnostics, point-of-care testing, and medical imaging.
  • Medical robotics and interventional devices.
  • Technology assisted wellness, including physiological parameters and cognitive performance assessment, meditation and mindfulness.
  • Telemedicine, remote monitoring, and human-digital twin.
  • Body-worn sensors and autonomous medical systems.

Winners – Open Category

1st  Place
Team FlashGuard
Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa.
Project: Smart Glasses for Photosensitive Epileptic triggers

2nd  Place
Team Bionics
Faculty of Engineering, University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Project: Twin-View Pupillometry (A Dual-Lens Solution) for ICU patients

3rd  Place
Team BioSense-AI
Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa
Project: Capturing and analyzing vital parameters through sensors and a mobile app.

Winners – Med-Student Category

1st  Place
Team Just-Medics
2020 A/L Batch
Project: Digitalizing CHDR – A digitalized version of the CHDR

2nd  Place
Team BioTech
2018 A/L Batch
Project: MediLanka Heart – A CVD risk prediction tool based on risk factors

Joint 3rd  Places
Team Delta
2021 A/L Batch
Project: ThyroAid – A support app to keep track of Hypothyroidism

Team CureQuest
2019 A/L Batch
Project: MedVigil – A support app for patients with chronic disease

Competition Rules

  1. Team composition and registration
    1. Participants of either category will register as teams of 2 – 4 members.
    2. Medical undergraduate category will comprise of a team of 2 – 4 medical undergraduates who are currently enrolled in a medical degree programme.
    3. Open undergraduate category will comprise of a team of 2 – 4 undergraduate students who are currently enrolled in any undergraduate programme.
    4. A student shall represent only one (01) team and a team can compete under one (01) category only.
    5. A team of medical students can compete under either medical undergraduate or open undergraduate category (but not both categories) as per their technical competency.
  1. Team Registration
    1. Team nomination shall be submitted to the hackathon organizers for prior approval, under the category (medical undergraduate, open undergraduate) the team wish to compete.
    2. Each team shall submit the details of the team (team name, contact details names of the team members and date of birth, educational institute/s and academic years of each member.
    3. Team can have an academic mentor. If available, the team shall mention the name, contact details and the institutional affiliation of an academic mentor.
    4. The team nomination will be collected solely via a Google form.
    5. The team shall nominate one member as the team lead.
    6. After registration, each team will be offered further instructions on the proposal development.
  1. Ideation and proposal submission
    1. Each team shall submit a proposal outlining its project, which will be evaluated and approved by the hackathon organisers.
    2. Each proposal shall align with one of the hackathon tracks.
    3. The proposal shall limit to 1000 words and shall consist of following sections as a structured Google form and a PDF document.
      • Team name
      • Title of the project
      • Track
      • Problem statement (include reference is required)
      • Project goal/s
      • Proposed approach (include reference is required)
  1. Prototyping and the final submission
    1. A minimum viable product (MVP) shall be ready by the final submission deadline.
    2. The final submission shall consist of a prototype description form and a demo video.
    3. The prototype description form shall limit to 2500 words and shall consist of following sections as a structured Google form and a PDF document.
      • Title of the project
      • Track
      • High level design
      • Technology used (include reference is required)
      • Claim/competitor analysis and any other evidence (e.g. usage data, awards received etc)
      • Images of the prototype – up to three (03)
      • Schematic diagram – up to two (02)
    4. The demo video shall be limited to 10 minutes and the design, and the functionality of the prototype shall be clearly demonstrated.
      • The demo video shall be shared with the hackathon organizing committee as a YouTube link with the prototype description form.
      • Please note that the teams are not permitted to use the official logos of the Faculty of Medicine – University of Colombo, Medical Faculty Science and Technology Community (MFSTC) or MECHA hackathon in the demo video.
  1. Judging
    1. Shortlisted teams are required to attend the onsite judging session together with the working prototype.
    2. Winners will be announced at the CMC session and their prizes awarded.