Seattle-based University of Washington's first annual Health Innovation Challenge winners were announced Thursday, according to a GeekWire report. The competition brought together eighteen teams of science and business students with ideas for bio, health and tech startups.
The first prize of $10,000 was awarded to Engage, a biotech startup that aims to reduce the number of injections given worldwide with contaminated equipment — currently about 40 percent. The company's co-founders demonstrated prototypes of a lid that sterilizes needles as they enter multi-use vials. Second place went to miPS labs, a pre-existing startup already in its beta test phase that is working to freeze cells for use in regenerative medicine later on. The miPS labs team received $5,000.
Multimodal Health, a startup that designs a video game-like platform to engage and motivate patients undergoing orthopedic procedures and rehabilitation, took third place. The company's platform is already being used in pilot projects in Seattle, according to GeekWire.