Students from Rice University won the $10,000 top prize at the 2009 ASME Innovation Showcase (IShow) for a medical device designed to aid physicians and other health care professionals in evaluating muscle injuries in the hand. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cincinnati received second and third-place prizes, respectively, in the competition, which was held June 14 at the 2009 ASME Annual Meeting in Palm Desert, Calif. 

+ Rice University students Caterina Kaffes, Shuai (Steve) Xu, Matthew Miller, Neel Shah and Jennifer Cieluch won the first prize — and $10,000 — at the Innovation Showcase.

Brown University, the University of Houston, and the University of Michigan also participated in ASME IShow, which bases awards on technical ingenuity, quality of business plans, potential for success in the commercial marketplace, and other criteria. The IShow was sponsored by the ASME Foundation, with support from the nonprofit State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI), and Mechanical Engineering magazine.

Rice University’s entry, the Peg Restrained Intrinsic Muscle Evaluator (PRIME), measures the severity of hand muscle injury in children and adults. According to the students, the diagnostic instrument can aid surgeons and other medical professionals in critical decision-making regarding treatment, neurological damage, and rehabilitation and therapy. A patent is pending for PRIME, the students said.

The team from MIT took second place and $5,000 with a solar thermal system for use in regions lacking access to electricity. According to the students, the Solar ORC produces 3-5 kilowatts-electric of energy, and can be locally manufactured and maintained.

The University of Cincinnati received third-place honors and $3,000 for a medical device that allows surgeons to perform multiple procedures via a single incision in a patient’s abdomen. The Single Incision Laparoscopic tool, or SurgiSIL, features multiple slots that can accept three surgical instruments.

ASME founded IShow in collaboration with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance and the Idea to Product competition to promote technical design innovation, business skills, and entrepreneurship.