INTRODUCTION 

On Thursday, January 13th  MASHs Invitation class competed for their chance to showcase their project for the “Project Invent.” A qualified panel of 4 judges with innovation and technical experience critiqued and judged our 3 teams of the day. All teams presented their inventions with amazing conviction and did lots of research to help solve issues surrounding events in the NICU and separation anxiety with parents and kids. 

SNUGGABEAR

The Snuggabear focused on kids from the age group of 6 months to 6 years old who deal with separation anxiety and the entertainment of children. Some features of the bear include calming interactive LED lights that respond to the tone of the baby, an audio playback recorder that can play voice recordings or music. The bear is also made up of a soft material in order to help soothe the child. This product is hoping to eliminate children’s dependency on iPads and other electronics while simultaneously helping to soothe children and lower the risk of separation anxiety and depression with kids.  The cost of the bear goes up to around 130 dollars to own with a detailed breakdown of where this number comes from. A future goal for this group is the ability to have a Bluetooth remote to control the bear from a separate location. A question from a judge was how safe the LED with the eyes and the nose would be for the children and if they had any plans on how to make sure this feature is as safe as it could possibly be. They also had the intent to make their project cheaper than competitors so it would be an achievable purchase for parents. 

LIMA

Team Lima wanted to pinpoint the issue of parents who are unable to see their children who are in the NICU due to COVID 19 restrictions, their solution for this is “The Lima”, this is a hand made up of hospital regulated soft material with a heated palm and a speaker that can help relay their parent’s voice to the child. The product’s total is 138 dollars. This product is meant to bring comfort to the child in the NICU and to help the parent grow at ease. This team is looking forward to making a more complete version of their product with some future goals including a Bluetooth recorder instead of a handheld. According to research done by this group the ability to bring this comfort to the child can help actually improve the survival rate. 

H.A.R.T 

Team H.A.R.T is focussing on comforting parents of children in the NICU, they created a stress ball for the parents. The features of this stress ball include a simulated heart rate of the parent’s child or another loved one. This recorded heart rate is able to stay in the stress ball forever even after losing said loved one. They pointed out how their idea of the recorded heartbeat and vibration within the stress ball is unlike anything else in the market. Their total is 93$ and they intend to sell this product in stores within hospitals. 

AWARDS

After rigorous discussion and criticism from the judges, the results were in. 3rd place went to Lima 2nd was Snuggabear and 1st place was the H.A.R.T! Team H.A.R.T now has the opportunity to continue on and compete for the chance to win funding for their invention!

Team SnuggaBear 

Jamie Larson, Augusta Kosco, Octavia Kosco, and Carliegh Conrad 

Team Lima 

Zander Hamil, Silas Lashbrook, Martin Thornton, Zachary Travis, Jayda Wilson, 

Team HART 

Wynn Harkwrrd, Sam Engles, Camden Hall, Jayden Headrick, and Abby Zolnai