Sponsored by the Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library of Medicine, the annual Invent-a-thon, an educational outreach event aimed at high school students, is returning, and looking for teams.

The event will run virtually from April 5-14, with final judging taking place on April 14. 

The event will provide a real-world medical issue and teams will then compete to develop a 3D-printed design to solve the problem. This year's theme has the teams as an EMT in an air ambulance, racing deep into the wilderness to save a friend who suffered a traumatic injury. No other details are known, but you do have a state-of-the-art 3D printer on board that you can use during the flight. The mission is to design a 3D printable trauma kit for use in the field, complete with an array of common medical tools, equipment, and surgical instruments. The entire kit must fit in a 2-foot cube and be printable with no more than four different materials. 

The challenge allows students to see the benefits of the technology. The winning team will receive Metro Community College Fellowships for 75 percent of prototype design coursework, which includes working with UNMC clinicians to design real medical devices. 

Teams of high school students (two to six members per team) from Nebraska are invited to participate in this free event. 3D-printing experience from at least one team member is preferred. Contact unmcevents@unmc.edu for more event and registration information.

Additional support is provided by UNeMed, UNeTech, UNO Biomechanics and Metropolitan Community College Center for Advanced and Emerging Technology.