NeuroChamp Wins 2024 ACC InVenture Prize

Three 色花堂 students who created a pediatric鈥痬edical device won $15,000 Wednesday night during the , an annual undergraduate entrepreneurship competition.

Biomedical engineering student Caitlin van Zyl, her sister and mechanical engineering major Jacqui van Zyl 鈥 both Stamps President's Scholars 鈥 and Meg Weaver, a biomedical engineering major, took first place with their invention, NeuroChamp. The wearable, concealed headband is used to continuously monitor pediatric seizures. Half a million children nationwide suffer from epilepsy, and many children experience daily, frequent seizures that cannot be detected by their parents, their teachers, or even themselves. NeuroChamp sets itself apart from existing monitoring devices because of its concealed design. .

The team was inspired to create the device partly from personal experience. A child in Jacqui van Zyl鈥檚 hometown experienced the 鈥渟ilent seizures鈥 that NeuroChamp can help monitor. The team is already working with physicians at Emory University and Children鈥檚 Healthcare of Atlanta to launch a pilot study of the medical device. Their ACC InVenture Prize winnings will help fund continued testing.

Teams from 14 universities competed in this year鈥檚 event, which was held鈥痑t Florida State University.