The BMEidea competition was launched in 2004 by the NCIIA, in collaboration with Stanford University Biodesign and the Whitaker Foundation. The competition provides opportunities for extracurricular, team-based educational experiences in design, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The objectives of the competition are to identify and recognize innovative, commercially promising medical devices and technologies developed by entrepreneurial student teams.

Entries are submitted by teams of students working with faculty and industry mentors and evaluated by judges drawn from academia and industry. Winning entries must solve a clinical problem; meet technical, economic, legal, and regulatory requirements; feature novel and practical designs; and show potential for commercialization. Submissions are judged on technical feasibility, clinical utility, economic feasibility and market potential, novelty and patentability, potential for commercialization and benefit to quality of life and care. Prizes include cash awards in the amount of $10K (first prize), $2.5K (second prize), and $1K (third prize); posession of a trophy for one year by the winning team’s home institution; and product development and commercialization resources, including recognition in Canon LLC publications.

The BMEidea competition provides opportunities for extracurricular team-based educational experience in design, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Student teams are required not only to submit inventive designs, but also think through business models and strategies. Unlike in many other student design competitions, students are required to factor real-world market requirements and customer needs into the product conception and design process