CTU students win Hack for Healthcare hackathon in Zurich, Switzerland

Student of the Faculty of Architecture Natália Bodnárová, student of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering Vojtěch Petrásek, student of the Faculty of Information Technology Ľuboš Repka, together with student of the Third Faculty of Medicine Vasil Kostin, took the first place in the Hack for Healthcare hackathon and they are going to cooperate with the Geneva-based organization Doctors Without Borders. The competition took place from 26 to 28 November in Zurich, Switzerland.

During the competition, teams of students tackled the use of 3D printing in healthcare and aid in developing countries.

Among the judges were a representative from the Red Cross and a representative from Doctors Without Borders in Geneva, who set the participants a challenge - 3D printed insulin delivery units - that is, using 3D printing to solve insulin delivery in developing countries. Doctors Without Borders has been faced with this problem for several years, but the Czech team of students succeeded in designing an innovative way to produce insulin pens cheaply. "The task of designing an insulin pen was a great challenge for us. Chronic complications of diabetes are to some extent preventable, so it is important to look for ways to start treatment for everyone as soon as possible. For the patient who doesn't have access to pumps, insulin pens are a great option," says Ľuboš Repka - a 6th year student of the Second Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and 1st year student of the Faculty of Information Technology at Czech Technical University.

The solution lies in the design of a universal system into which any insulin cartridge and any insulin needle can be inserted thanks to the use of 3D printing. Moreover, the pen is easily recyclable due to the possibility of reusing the used filament to produce a new insulin pen. "3D printing brings the possibility of inexpensive personalization of the device. It also eliminates large parts of the logistics chain and facilitates more frequent design updates than mass-manufactured products," says Natália Bodnárová, a third-year design student at Czech Technical University.

Hackathon Hack for Healthcare

Foto: Vasil Kostin