Student Engineering Design Wins $10,000 in Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge
March 09, 2020
Mechanical engineering student Ed Hall and the interdisciplinary entrepreneurial CatheterX team won $10,000 and second place in the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge on March 5.
The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students at accredited colleges and universities across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia and Alaska.
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections are the most common hospital-acquired infection, affecting 80 percent of patients receiving catheters and causing over 13,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.
The team of engineering and business students pitched the business plan behind the catheter that can flush the urethra to rid the urinary tract of harmful bacterial buildup.
The design started as an engineering senior project under the guidance of our college’s professor John Crepeau and assistant professor Mike Maughan. The device has the potential to save lives, millions of dollars in treatments, and provide peace of mind for patients.
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho, home of the Vandals, is Idaho’s land-grant, national research university. From its residential campus in Moscow, U of I serves the state of Idaho through educational centers in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Idaho Falls, nine research and Extension centers, plus Extension offices in 42 counties. Home to nearly 11,000 students statewide, U of I is a leader in student-centered learning and excels at interdisciplinary research, service to businesses and communities, and in advancing diversity, citizenship and global outreach. U of I competes in the Big Sky and Western Athletic conferences. Learn more at uidaho.edu.