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New York State Department of Health

 82,528

Aging Innovation Challenge

Seeking a breakthrough solution in independent living for senior adults and their caregivers.

This challenge is closed

stage:
Won
prize:
$50,000

This challenge is closed

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Summary
Timeline
Updates26
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Summary

Overview

This challenge is open to all undergraduate and graduate students attending a New York college or university. Faculty may participate on a team with one or more students.

The Problem

Where do you want to live as you age? If you’re like the vast majority of older adults, you expect to remain in your home. But what happens if you are no longer able to perform the normal activities of daily living, such as bathing or getting dressed? How will you get help if you live alone?  Most people do not consider these issues until they are faced with them and struggle to confront their changing needs. This challenge requires you to face these issues, today. Your innovation could make the difference to someone fighting to maintain independence in their home or to a stressed caregiver providing daily assistance to a loved one while maintaining a full-time job.

The reality of life is that we can all expect to be a caregiver or a care recipient at some point in our lives, and many of us will play both roles. The time to create tomorrow’s solutions is now.

 

The Challenge

The New York State Department of Health is looking for innovators to develop prototypes that will assist aging New Yorkers and their caregivers in completing activities of daily living (ADLs). ADLs include: 

  • Eating: Being able to feed yourself by getting food and drink from a container into your mouth.
  • Bathing: Being able to get into and out of a tub or shower and wash your body by yourself.
  • Dressing/Grooming: Being able to put on and take off any necessary items of clothing and manage your personal hygiene.
  • Toileting: Being able to get to and from the toilet, get on and off the toilet, and clean yourself.
  • Transferring: Being able to get into and out of a bed, chair or wheelchair.  
  • Mobility: Being able to get around your home.

Innovators are required to submit a written proposal of their prototype by April 30, 2018. Additionally, selected innovators will be asked to submit a final project by November 1, 2018. By November 15, 2018, five finalists will be invited to make a live demonstration of their prototypes during the week of November 28, 2018.

 

The Prize

The New York State Department of Health has committed $50,000 in total prize money!                                                

 

What Can You Do Right Now?

  • Share this challenge on social media using the icons above. Show your friends, your family, or anyone you know who has a passion for discovery.
  • Start a conversation in our Forum to join the conversation, ask questions or connect with other innovators.

 


Guidelines

The Prize

The New York State Department of Health has committed up to $50,000 in prize money!

  • Up to 5 finalists will receive an award of up to $5,000 dollars
  • 1 Grand Prize winner will receive a prize of at least $25,000 dollars

Timeline

Innovators are required to submit a written proposal of their prototype by April 30, 2018. Additionally, selected innovators will be asked to submit a final project by November 1, 2018. By November 15, 2018, five finalists will be invited to make a live demonstration of their prototypes during the week of November 26, 2018.

 

Pre-Registration Open                                   November 22, 2017

Open to Submissions                                     January 4, 2018

Phase 1 Submission Deadline                        April 30, 2018

Judging Opens                                               May 1, 2018

Semi-Finalist Announcement                         May 15, 2018

Phase 2 Submission Deadline                        November 1, 2018

Finalist Announcement                                   November 15, 2018

Live Demonstration                                        Week of November 26, 2018

Winner Announcement                                   By December 28, 2018                                                                      

 

Live Demonstration Event

During the week of November 26, 2018, the New York State Department of Health will host a public event featuring up to 5 finalists selected by the Judging Panel. Finalists will have the opportunity to make a 15-minute presentation demonstrating or highlighting the impact of their prototype on Activities of Daily Living for the Aging Population. A 15-minute Q&A session led by the Judging Panel will immediately follow.

Judges will score competitors on the Judging Criteria below. Following the Live Demonstrations, judges will reconvene to determine one Grand Winner.

 

Judging Criteria

 

Metric

Description

Weight

Innovation

How does the prototype differ from existing solutions addressing this problem? How is the solution innovative or novel? Strong preference will be given to technologies that provide physical assistance.

 

30%

Impact

Does the solution consider the improvement in the quality of life for aging individuals, caretakers, and the community of New York overall? Does the entrant state the improvement, for whom, and how the solution will increase quality of life?

 

20%

Usability

How likely will this technology be adopted into the daily lives of the aging population? Does the proposal thoughtfully consider the implications of user adoption, including costs, technical setup requirements, troubleshooting, etc.?

 

20%

Implementation

Does the submission demonstrate that the tool/resource can be commercialized? Is the competitor interested in pursuing this opportunity further?

 

15%

Feasibility

In what development stage is the prototype? A concept, minimum viable product, manufacturing, pre-revenue? Innovators can submit a Concept, but the Concept must be beyond the Concept Stage at the time the Updated Proposal is due, on November 1, 2018. If the proposal has not moved beyond the Concept Stage, it will be removed from consideration.

 

Is the robustness of the solution's proposal supported by proof or demonstration of concept, pilot/test trials, and/or simulations to substantiate that the technology is or will be operable and feasible?

 

 

15%

 

Submissions

To be accepted into the competition for judging, submissions must, at a minimum:

  • Provide an explanation of the concept behind the prototype;
  • Describe which ADL or ADLs the prototype addresses and how it can be used
    • Eating: Being able to feed yourself by getting food and drink from a container into your mouth.
    • Bathing: Being able to get into and out of a tub or shower and wash your body by yourself.
    • Dressing/Grooming: Being able to put on and take off any necessary items of clothing and manage your personal hygiene.
    • Toileting: Being able to get to and from the toilet, get on and off the toilet, and clean yourself.
    • Transferring: Being able to get into and out of a bed, chair or wheelchair.
    • Mobility: Being able to get around your home.
  • Describe the expected social impact and how the technology will help people age in place;
  • Identify and compare the prototype to any existing technologies available in the marketplace;
  • Provide video of the prototype that demonstrates how the technology can assist an older adult with one or more ADLs;
  • Detail the usability and implementation of the proposed technology; and
  • Provide the methodology used to develop the technology.

Submission Forms:

All submissions must be submitted via HeroX.com.  To begin your submission, click ACCEPT CHALLENGE above.  

Phase 2 Submission: 

The phase 2 submission form will be available from May 15 to November 1, 2018.  Based on the evaluation of the Phase 2 submissions, up to five finalists will be invited to the Live Demonstration Event. At the Live Demonstration event, innovators must be able to demonstrate some functionality of a working prototype and describe the pathway to commercialization. Any submissions still at the concept stage will not be considered.

You may answer the following questions using your answers from the Phase 1 submission form or you may provide a revised answer. Character limits include spaces.

  1. Team: Please provide a current team roster with each team member’s full name, student status (undergraduate student, graduate student, or faculty member), school and field of study. Please indicate the team lead and if any team members were added or removed (2000 characters)
  2. Team: Are you or any member of the team an employee representative, dealer, or agent of the New York State Department of Health? (Yes/No)
  3. Have you created a prototype of your technology? (Yes/No)
  4. Development: Describe what progress has been made on your prototype since the April 30th submission deadline (1000 characters)
  5. Development Forecast: Define the future development milestones that are achievable prior to the live demonstration event during the week of November 26. (1000 characters)
  6. Please provide a PDF document describing your prototype and a video showing how your prototype works.
    • • The PDF document should be no more than 5 pages and include photographs, diagrams, and/or illustrations with a brief summary or description to clearly indicate how your technology works and how it is used by an older adult and caregiver, if applicable. 
    • • The video should show how your technology can assist an older adult with the activities of daily living that your prototype impacts. Upload your video to Youtube or Vimeo and then copy and paste the link here. While your video may be unlisted, please ensure it is not password protected.
  7. Assistance: Please describe how your prototype aims to assist older adults? Strong preference will be given to technologies that provide physical assistance. (1000 characters)
  8. Technology: What core technology does your prototype leverage in order to be functional? (1000 characters)
  9. Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): Select all Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) that your technology would impact.
    • Eating: Being able to feed yourself by getting food and drink from a container into your mouth.
    • Bathing: Being able to get into and out of a tub or shower and wash your body by yourself.
    • Dressing/Grooming: Being able to put on and take off any necessary items of clothing and manage your personal hygiene.
    • Toileting: Being able to get to and from the toilet, get on and off the toilet, and clean yourself.
    • Transferring: Being able to get into and out of a bed, chair or wheelchair.
    • Mobility: Being able to get around your home
  10. ADL Impact: Describe how your technology would impact each selected ADL. (5000 characters)
    • Ensure you address each ADL you selected in the question above. For a technology to impact an ADL, it must *directly* support in the completion of the task.
  11. Caregiver Impact: If required, describe how a caregiver might interact with your prototype. How would this impact the quality of life for caregivers in New York? (500 characters)
    1. Consider if a caregiver is required in the initial setup and/or use of your technology.
  12. Competitive Analysis: List all competitive or related technologies. Identify and compare your prototype to these existing technologies. (5000 characters)
    • Ensure you consider direct and indirect competitors. Emphasize how your technology is different from your competitors.
  13. Innovation: Our judges are prioritizing cutting edge technology. Make your pitch as to why you should be considered as a top Innovator for this competition. (1000 characters)
  14. Adoption Rate: Thoughtfully address how the Aging Population will adopt your technology into their daily lives. Discuss the potential barriers and mitigation strategies that exist with the adoption of your technology. (1000 characters)
  15. New York Community Impact: It is 2030. Imagine that your technology has been widely adopted and implemented. Envision and describe how New York as a community would be impacted. (1000 characters)
  16. Related Industry: Does your prototype rely on technology that has been implemented in an unrelated industry? If so, describe how it may be useful to apply for assisting the Aging Population. (1000 characters)
  17. Implementation: Knowing what you know now, update your plan to commercialize your prototype. Wherever possible, list: required partnerships, budget, timeline, necessary resources, FDA approvals, manufacturing needs, etc. (5000 characters)

 

 

Eligibility

The challenge will be open to New York’s college and university communities, including both undergraduate and graduate students, including students that have graduated during the 2017-2018 academic year. Faculty may participate if they are part of a team with one or more students. It excludes employee representatives, dealers, and agents of the New York State Department of Health. Innovators may participate individually or in teams. All teams must identify a lead team member to whom communication can be directed.

Submissions must be made in English. All challenge-related communication will be in English. Submissions must be made online (only), via upload to the HeroX.com website, on or before the stated deadlines. All uploads must be in PDF format. No late submissions will be accepted.

No specific qualifications or expertise in working with aging or long-term care is required. Innovators must comply with all terms of the Challenge-Specific Agreement.

By the April 30th Submission Deadline, innovators must have the capacity to design a prototype of their idea. At the Live Demonstration event, innovators must be able to demonstrate some functionality of a working prototype and describe the pathway to commercialization. Innovators can submit a Concept, but the Concept must be beyond the Concept Stage at the time the Updated Proposal is due, on November 1, 2018. If the proposal has not moved beyond the Concept Stage, it will be removed from consideration.

 

Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights will remain with the innovator, in accordance with the terms provided in the Challenge-Specific Agreement.  

 

Additional Information

  • By participating in the challenge, each competitor agrees to submit only their original idea. Any indication of "copying" amongst competitors is grounds for disqualification.
  • All applications will go through a process of due diligence; any application found to be misrepresentative, plagiarized, or sharing an idea that is not their own will be automatically disqualified.
  • All ineligible applicants will be automatically removed from the competition with no recourse or reimbursement.
  • No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the competition.
  • Void wherever restricted or prohibited by law.
  • Teams may be required to provide personal identifying information to receive a monetary prize award.
Timeline
Updates26

Challenge Updates

The Aging Innovation Challenge in the News!

Dec. 20, 2018, 9:09 a.m. PST by Kyla Jeffrey

Congratulations once again to all competitors, finalists, and winners in the Aging Innovation Challenge! 

Together you are making it easier for older adults to age in place.

 

The Aging Innovation Challenge and the teams who participated were featured in local media outlets across the state. Check out all the press coverage here! Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments and we'll add them to the press page.

 

If there is interest in entering further competitions with the aging-related innovations they have created, the following organizations sponsor these types of competitions and/or are useful places to learn about what others are doing in the field of aging services and innovation:

 

1) LeadingAge (will have 2019 submissions for an event held in October 2019)

https://www.leadingage.org/awards

 

2) Aging 2.0 Optimize (will have 2019 submissions)

https://www.aging2.com/optimize-2018/

 

Other aging-related innovation events:

3) What's Next Boomer Business Summit

http://www.boomersummit.com/home/about-us/

 

4) Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit Business Plan Competition

http://www.boomerventuresummit.com/index/

 

5) American Society on Aging

https://www.asaging.org/aging-in-america

 

Happy Holidays and thank you once again for your participation and contribution to the Aging Innovation Challenge!


Co-Winners of New York State Department of Health Aging Innovation Challenge Announced

Nov. 30, 2018, 1:20 p.m. PST by Kyla Jeffrey

Corning Community College and Syracuse University Teams Win Share of $25,000 Top Prize 

PHOTOS of the event are available here

Aging Innovation Challenge Highlighted Breakthrough Solutions in Independent Living for Older Adults and Their Caregivers

ALBANY, N.Y. (November 30, 2018) – The New York State Department of Health today announced the co-winners of the Aging Innovation Challenge, a crowdsource competition developed in partnership with HeroX to generate innovative solutions to assist older adults and their caregivers in carrying out activities of daily living. The Challenge was open to all undergraduate and graduate students attending a college or university in New York State. The co-winners were selected from five finalists, which were narrowed down from a field of 24 semi-finalists, originally selected from 35 submissions.

“This year’s event showcased some of the best young entrepreneurial minds New York’s college and universities have to offer,” said New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard A. Zucker. “It was an honor to name GripM8 and Pneu-Strength as the co-winners of the Aging Innovation Challenge for their creative and far-reaching solutions to improving the quality of life of aging New Yorkers and their caregivers.”

A panel of expert judges, including Commissioner Zucker, evaluated the five finalists' innovations to determine which team would be named the winner of the first-ever Aging Innovation Challenge presented by the New York State Department of Health and HeroX.  Judges scored the innovations based on a 15-minute presentation made by each team demonstrating their prototype and how it would improve the quality of life of aging adults and their caregivers. The judging panel also consisted of: Christian Cotichini, CEO, HeroX; Kristina M. Johnson, Ph.D., Chancellor of the State University of New York; and Laurie Orlov, Founder, Aging in Place Technology Watch.  

Sharing equally in the $25,000 top prize was GripM8, an assistive eating device targeted to people who have motor control issues that inhibit their ability to feed themselves, designed by a team from Corning Community College and Pneu-Strength, an inflatable seat cushion device that provides physical assistance to older adults in standing up from and sitting down on a chair or a couch, designed by a team from Syracuse University. The winning innovations each earned $12,500, plus $5,000 which was originally awarded to each of the five finalists. 

 

The Finalists:

  • GripM8 is an assistive eating device targeted to individuals who have motor control issues that inhibit their ability to feed themselves. The device features numerous slots in which silverware can be inserted, thus augmenting the user's current forks and spoons. GripM8 restores independence and boosts confidence at meal time.
    • School: Corning Community College
    • Team members: Stephen Epp, Christopher Herrmann, Anna Leonard, Samantha Orr, Rosemary Anthony and Sri Kamesh Narasimhan
  • Pneu-Strength is an inflatable seat cushion device that provides physical assistance to older adults in standing up from and sitting down on a chair or a couch.
    • School: Syracuse University
    • Team Members: Ruby Batbaatar and Kalia Zizi Barrow
  • mRehab is an in-home upper limb rehabilitation tool for lifespan eating self-management utilizing 3D printing and mobile smartphone technology. It provides customized tools, helps users set personal programs and motivates users to participate in the daily rehabilitation more effectively. The aim of the project is to promote function-oriented tasks and let the user engage more in the rehabilitation management.
    • School: University at Buffalo, SUNY
    • Team members: Chen Song, Matthew Stafford, Zhuolin Yang, Dr. Wenyao Xu, Dr. Jeanne Langan, Dr. Lora Cavuoto, Mr. Heamchand Subryan and Dr. Sutanuka Bhattacharjya
  • PediCure is a toenail trimmer for the elderly that provides comfort, confidence and self-sufficiency in the grooming experience. It is a two-part product that consists of a platform for the foot and an extension arm with a battery-operated nail trimmer attached to the end of the arm. 
    • School: Cornell University
    • Team members: Jialin Ke, Jonathan Pao, Joshua Zhu and Stacey Wong
  • StairPro is an innovative system that provides older adults safe and easy access to stairs and other barriers without additional assistance from caregivers and helps reduce the risk of accidental falls. StairPro has two mechanical legs that can be added to any standard walker, transforming it into a stairclimbing walker to provide access to any type of stairs. StairPro also has a smart alert system that provides sound and light signals to alert older adults of stairs, objects and obstacles to prevent falls, as well as an automated flashlight for low-lit environments. StairPro gives older adults independence at every step, both indoors and outdoors. 
    • School: Cornell University
    • Team Members: Paulina Villacreces

About HeroX

Founded in 2013, HeroX exists at the intersection of crowdsourcing, competition and collaboration.  The HeroX crowdsourcing platform brings together global communities of problem solvers to deliver breakthrough solutions to social, economic and strategic challenges. www.herox.com.

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Contact: New York State Department of Health

518-474-7354, Ext. 1

press@health.ny.gov

facebook.com/NYSDOH

twitter.com/HealthNYGov

pinterest.com/nysdoh

health.ny.gov


Demo Day has STARTED!

Nov. 29, 2018, 9 a.m. PST by Despina Maliaka

Demo day is finally here! Tune in using the link below:

http://gc.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/6360345e9b4149cc8741934dc825860…

Enjoy, and good luck to our finalists.


Join us LIVE for demo day!

Nov. 27, 2018, 1:59 p.m. PST by Despina Maliaka

Calling all innovators and followers - 

As our finalists prepare for demo day, we want to invite you all to tune in this Thursday at 12pm Eastern Time to watch as our top 5 teams compete for the grand prize! You can access the live stream using the link below:

http://gc.mediasite.suny.edu/Mediasite/Play/6360345e9b4149cc8741934dc825860…

**Please note that this link will only go live at 12pm ET on Thursday, 11/29.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

 


Congratulations to our Finalists!

Nov. 15, 2018, 9 a.m. PST by Despina Maliaka

Congratulations to our Finalists!

After careful review by the judging panel, we are excited to announce the following 5 teams as the finalists to the Aging Innovation Challenge!

Each of these teams have won $5,000 and will progress onto the third - and final - round of the challenge. Here, they will have the opportunity to give a live demonstration of their prototype to a panel of industry experts for the chance to take home the Grand Prize - an additional $25,000! The demonstration will be held at SUNY Global Center in NYC on the afternoon of November 29th.

The finalist teams (in no particular order):

  • StairPro: promoting independence at every step!
    • StairPro provides older adults safe access to stairs without additional assistance and helps reduce the risk of accidental falls.
  • GripM8: The Most Versatile Assistive Eating Device
    • GripM8 is a hand-held device with multiple slots where silverware can be inserted to assist with grip while eating.
  • mRehab: In-Home Upper limb Rehabilitation Tool
    • A user-centric in-home upper limb rehabilitation tool for life-span eating self-management using 3D printing augmented smartphones.
  • PediCure
    • PediCure is a toenail trimmer for the elderly, that provides comfort, confidence, and self-sufficiency in the grooming experience.
  • Pneu Strength
    • An inflatable cushion that assists in standing up and sitting down.

Regardless of whether you were selected as a finalist, we invite everyone to register to attend the live demonstrations by using the following link:

Save Your Seat at the Live Demonstrations

We greatly appreciate the contributions of all teams. The evaluation panel was blown away by the quality and quantity of submissions received. If you submitted to Phase 2 and are not a finalist, we will be reaching out to you directly over the coming weeks and we hope to have the opportunity to meet you at the live demonstrations.

NYSDOH and HeroX


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Jialin Ke's team Jialin Ke's team
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Paulina Villacreces's team Paulina Villacreces's team
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