Ideas for treating sleep apnea and measuring brain oxygen saturation won the Olvi Foundation Neurochallenge innovation competition this year. The competition took place on 8-9 November in Kuopio.
This year, new solutions were sought to promote brain health among working-age people, and the event kicked off with a seminar on the theme on 7 November. More than 50 researchers, entrepreneurs, students and other professionals from different fields took part in the event. The teams presented a total of 14 solutions, two of which received an honourable mention and two were awarded from a prize pool of €20,000.
Doctoral researchers Aravinth Ravichandran and Purbanka Pahari from the University of Eastern Finland were awarded a prize of €12,000 for the idea of Quiscent, an optics-based obstructive sleep apnea treatment device. Sensing a breathing obstruction during sleep, it will use optical neuromodulation technology to initiate normal breathing again.
Ravichandran works at A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences and Pahari at the Department of Technical Physics.
A prize of €8000 was awarded to Ramesh Ekambaram, PhD, student at OAMK, as well as MPH student Mikias Lewoyehu Wondie and project researcher Samuli Lipponen from the University of Eastern Finland, for the idea of OXIBAND, a wearable cerebral oximeter to measure brain tissue oxygen saturation using infrared light technology.
Honourable mentions were given to MyNursie and AIvoSense teams for their app ideas: a migraine self-monitoring app and a monitoring and support app for nicotine dependence.
The teams said they gained valuable guidance, inspiration, encouragement, pitching experience and contacts from the event, among other things.
The general goal of the event was to enable the emergence of new solutions to significant brain health related challenges by combining different skills, know-how and, for example, research knowledge as well as technological, design, and business perspectives. The teams had two days to identify a problem relevant to the theme of the competition, to study possible solution options, and to create a preliminary solution concept. The teams were assisted by a facilitated innovation process and hard-core mentors. Specific challenges were also provided by company partners.
The ideas were evaluated on the basis of their novelty, feasibility, impact, and scientific validity. The Jury consisted of Mikael Fraunberg, Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at Oulu University Hospital, Pasi Sorvisto, Director of Spark Finland, Minna Hendolin, Director of Impact at the University of Eastern Finland, Jarno Mikkonen, Senior IPR Advisor at the University of Jyväskylä, and Minna Aronen, Board member at Olvi Foundation.
The event was co-organised by Neurocenter Finland, Kuopio Brain & Mind, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, the University of Eastern Finland, and Business Center North-Savo.
The original story and group photo: Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Savonia Article Pro: Neurochallenge 2024 – Solutions for better brain health among working aged with a national innovation competition
