NeuroChamp Wins 2024 ACC InVenture Prize

Three Georgia Tech students who created a pediatric medical device won $15,000 Wednesday night during the 2024 ACC InVenture Prize, an annual undergraduate entrepreneurship competition.

Biomedical engineering student Caitlin van Zyl, her sister and mechanical engineering major Jacqui van Zyl — both Stamps President's Scholars — 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. Watch their pitch for the competition.

The team was inspired to create the device partly from personal experience. A child in Jacqui van Zyl’s hometown experienced the “silent seizures” that NeuroChamp can help monitor. The team is already working with physicians at Emory University and Children’s 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’s event, which was held at Florida State University.