Thank you for participating in the first BMEStart 2010 competition!
The BMEStart competition is sponsored by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) with support from The Lemelson Foundation, in partnership with IEEE EMBS, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the Council of Chairs of Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering Programs.

Strong BMEStart submissions will define a problem to be solved and document and describe the development of a device, product, or technology designed to improve human health. Examples include, but are not limited to: surgical devices, home health care devices, diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventative applications, rehabilitative and assistive technologies, or other innovations that will have a substantial impact on clinical care and patient outcomes.

The competition is open to all undergraduate student teams at colleges and universities, and students enrolled in senior biomedical engineering capstone design courses are especially encouraged to apply. Multidisciplinary teams are also encouraged to apply, and may include undergraduate students from diverse fields such as business, nursing, physical therapy, life sciences, physical sciences, or other related disciplines. Inter-institutional collaborations are also encouraged; in these cases we require a faculty advisor from each institution. Each team must include at least one engineering student.

Competition registration and materials submission take place online via NCIIA competition tools. There is a limit of up to 3 entries per department within an academic institution, and it is up to each department to coordinate which entries are submitted.

PLEASE NOTE: A faculty advisor must verify his/her support of this competition entry. Applicants will be prompted to verify the support of a faculty advisor in Step 3 of this online competition application tool. Please allow several days for the faculty advisor to respond. The application MAY NOT be submitted without his/her support.

The BMEStart awards will be presented at the 2010 BMES annual meeting in Austin, TX. Winning teams may be invited to give a podium presentation at the meeting, and may also be provided with other NCIIA resources/responsibilities. Cash prizes will be disbursed to the winning team?s department to be allocated at the discretion of the faculty advisor.

2010 competition timeline

• May 14: BMEStart 2010 application deadline
• May 15-July 30: Judging of entries
• August: Finalists are notified
• October 6-9: Awards presented to winners at the BMES Annual Meeting in Austin, TX

Rules for participation

1. The BMEStart competition is open to all undergraduate student teams at colleges and universities. Teams that include graduate students are not eligible for the BMEStart competition, but should consider applying for NCIIA?s BMEIdea competition.
2. Eligible teams must include at least one engineering student.
3. Submissions should solve a clinical problem; feature a novel and practical solution; include a description of potential intellectual property and how it could be protected; and show market potential.
4. The narrative may not exceed ten (10) pages (double-spaced, 12 point font) in total.
5. No more than five (5) optional appendices may be submitted. While not required, applicants are strongly encouraged to include at least one letter of support from the team?s faculty advisor, clinician or an industry mentor, as applicable, as an appendix.
6. NCIIA declares no rights to intellectual property. Team members will have the rights to all intellectual property, subject to the rules of their home institutions, unless assigned to others in exchange for support, sponsorship, or funding. Participants will be expected to have taken appropriate steps to protect the intellectual property disclosed in submissions.

Judging Criteria
Strong BMEStart submissions will demonstrate a mastery of analytical and design skills and capabilities; the ability to manage the product development process; the ability to work effectively in teams; and written technical communication skills. Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Originality and patentability
2. Technical feasibility
3. Clinical utility
4. Endorsement from advisors and/or industry collaborators
5. Economic feasibility
6. Market potential

Basic Proposal Information

Narrative
The narrative may not exceed 10 pages in length (double-spaced, 12 point font). Please include any images referenced in your narrative in the body of the narrative, NOT as appendices. Please prepare a narrative description that includes the following:

• Executive summary. 1 page that summarizes the problem or clinical need being addressed, the design solution created and why it is a compelling solution.
• Description of the problem and clinical need that your product is addressing (no more than 1/2 page). For whom are you solving this problem? What are the benefits to users? How is your solution better than existing products that address the same problem?
• Description of the design, demonstrating key features and functionality (1 page). Paste graphical representations, documentation of functionality and photographs in the document and provide a link to a video (optional).
• Prototype of the final design (1 page). Paste graphical representations and photographs in the document and provide a link to a video (optional).
• Describe what is novel about your approach and, if appropriate, describe the results of a Patent search and/or other search for prior art.
• Describe the anticipated regulatory pathway (510(k) vs. PMA, etc.) (1 page). Consider researching how the FDA has treated similar devices.
• Estimation of product costs (1 page). Provide detailed per unit cost breakdown, including volume discount, for components, final assembly, quality assurance, etc.
• Describe the market. Address the market, competitive landscape, potential market size, and reimbursement strategy.

Be sure to address the essentials, including:

• Problem: What is the problem you have solved?
• Solution: How does your final design solve the problem?
• Competition: What is currently being used to solve the problem and/or what are the anticipated alternate methods that could be in competition with you in the future?
• Differentiation: What benefits differentiate your product? Why will people choose your solution over others?
• Technical Feasibility: Have you validated your design and does it meet customer and performance requirements? Has a prototype been developed to demonstrate proof of key principles?
• Regulatory: What FDA submissions will be required?
• Reimbursement: Do you expect your device to be reimbursable by Medicare/Medicaid? Why or why not?
• Potential Market: Who would your customers be (i.e. who will be purchasing the product) and who would the end users be (i.e. who would be using the product? If possible, quantify the number of potential users and the benefit they would receive from use of the product.

Appendices
In addition to the required 10-page narrative, up to 5 (five) optional appendices may also be submitted. These supporting documents may include (but are not limited to) resumes, letters of support, drawings, photographs, web links, etc.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to include at least one letter of support from an industry mentor and/or faculty advisor, if applicable, who has worked with the team attesting to the quality of the work they have done.

You are also encouraged to submit a 30-60 second video "pitch" about your innovation. A link to the video may be added as an appendix item. These video pitches will help judges differentiate between the team's idea and those presented in other submissions. We recommend keeping the video pitch to 60 seconds or less. State the problem, the innovation, why it is better than what currently exists, and the impact of the team's solution. Please submit this as a link on Youtube or a similar web accessible site. NCIIA reserves the right to use submitted videos for public promotional purposes (on its website, in promotions for future BMEStart competitions). Videos should not contain proprietary information about the innovation. It is the team's responsibility to ensure the video is appropriate for public use.

Apply!