8 Health Hackathons Drive Affordable Medical Technology …
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engineer from Canada and physicians from the US and Uganda. The group has raised
hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money and has started to conduct tests at
clinics in the field. AIR, though designed for a local problem in Uganda, also has a
large potential market in the US and Europe. Multiple successful startups coming
out of MIT Hacking Medicine’s health hackathons can be found in resource-rich
settings; they include Smart Scheduling, Podimetrics, PillPack, Cake, and Twiage.
8.4 Conclusions and Future Directions
Involving all stakeholders in a local context can catalyze innovation for and by the
bottom of the pyramid. This provides an opportunity to rethink how we approach
global health, shifting the focus to co-creating accessible and affordable solutions,
harnessing the potential of emerging markets, and seeking applications of innovative
ideas to better health outcomes elsewhere (Mauser et al. 2013; Witty 2011).
Although one of the most exciting outcomes of a hackathon could be the start of a
successful company, we acknowledge that this is a rare occurrence. It is not our intent
to imply that the primary goal of a hackathon is to start a company. Rather, at the core
of these events is exposure to innovation and the establishment of new networks. We
aim to inspire local stakeholders to attempt solving problems that intimately affect
their lives and to form a network of like-minded individuals.
Hackathons can be criticized for generating short-lived project ideation but no
sustainable solutions. We are working on strategies to maintain innovator stamina
as teams go through all stages of the solution development process (De Passe et al.
2014; Gardner et al. 2007). Resources that allow teams to work on their projects
after the hackathon are key. CAMTech is providing this support to hackathon-spurred
global health innovations via awards for teams that make the most progress after the
hackathon, Innovation Awards, and the Online Innovation Platform. While Research
and Development for LMICs has frequently lacked significant investment by large
multinational corporations, the hackathon movement’s promise of open-source innovation has encouraged forward-thinking life sciences companies to engage in health
hackathons around the globe (e.g., the GE Research and Development Center and
the Biocon Foundation in Bangalore, India) (Morel et al. 2005a, b; Witty 2011).
Health hackathons can serve as a launching point that engages the community and
demonstrates the existence of passion and ability to solve local problems in culturally
appropriate and sustainable ways with promise to improve health outcomes globally.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank MIT Hacking Medicine, MGH Center for
Global Health, and CAMTech for their guidance and support of this work. They would also like to
thank the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science for fellowships to join the CAMTech
team in health hackathons in India.
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engineer from Canada and physicians from the US and Uganda. The group has raised
hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money and has started to conduct tests at
clinics in the field. AIR, though designed for a local problem in Uganda, also has a
large potential market in the US and Europe. Multiple successful startups coming
out of MIT Hacking Medicine’s health hackathons can be found in resource-rich
settings; they include Smart Scheduling, Podimetrics, PillPack, Cake, and Twiage.
8.4 Conclusions and Future Directions
Involving all stakeholders in a local context can catalyze innovation for and by the
bottom of the pyramid. This provides an opportunity to rethink how we approach
global health, shifting the focus to co-creating accessible and affordable solutions,
harnessing the potential of emerging markets, and seeking applications of innovative
ideas to better health outcomes elsewhere (Mauser et al. 2013; Witty 2011).
Although one of the most exciting outcomes of a hackathon could be the start of a
successful company, we acknowledge that this is a rare occurrence. It is not our intent
to imply that the primary goal of a hackathon is to start a company. Rather, at the core
of these events is exposure to innovation and the establishment of new networks. We
aim to inspire local stakeholders to attempt solving problems that intimately affect
their lives and to form a network of like-minded individuals.
Hackathons can be criticized for generating short-lived project ideation but no
sustainable solutions. We are working on strategies to maintain innovator stamina
as teams go through all stages of the solution development process (De Passe et al.
2014; Gardner et al. 2007). Resources that allow teams to work on their projects
after the hackathon are key. CAMTech is providing this support to hackathon-spurred
global health innovations via awards for teams that make the most progress after the
hackathon, Innovation Awards, and the Online Innovation Platform. While Research
and Development for LMICs has frequently lacked significant investment by large
multinational corporations, the hackathon movement’s promise of open-source innovation has encouraged forward-thinking life sciences companies to engage in health
hackathons around the globe (e.g., the GE Research and Development Center and
the Biocon Foundation in Bangalore, India) (Morel et al. 2005a, b; Witty 2011).
Health hackathons can serve as a launching point that engages the community and
demonstrates the existence of passion and ability to solve local problems in culturally
appropriate and sustainable ways with promise to improve health outcomes globally.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank MIT Hacking Medicine, MGH Center for
Global Health, and CAMTech for their guidance and support of this work. They would also like to
thank the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science for fellowships to join the CAMTech
team in health hackathons in India.