In the foreground is the 2016 Invent-a-Thon trophy, a 3D-printed model of a light bulb that is lit with LEDs. In the background, Will Payne, an officer of UNMC’s 3D Maker’s Club, prepares one of the competitors’ presentations on the iEXCEL center’s MultiTaction Wall.
OMAHA, Neb. (April 22, 2016)—A team of juniors from Millard South High School took top honors at the inaugural 3D Printing Invent-a-Thon held Friday at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Michael F. Sorrell Center.
The first-place design was for a device developed and 3D-printed in less than a day. All three participating teams were from local high schools, and were tasked to deliver a solution that would help people who suffer from multiple sclerosis. All teams were given two days to research the problem, develop a concept, and then design and print a prototype.
Harrison Pruitt, 17, and Ryan Hendrickson, 17, won first place for an exoskeleton that would help MS patients walk more easily. Pruitt’s and Hendrickson’s prototype resembled a jointed leg brace with a solid support strapped to the outside of the leg, from the heel to just above the knee. Their device would include servomotors that would provide the wearer powered-assistance when walking.
Millard South junior Harrison Pruitt demonstrates the winning design of the 2016 3D Invent-a-Thon to a panel of judges and about 28 onlookers Friday evening at UNMC’s Sorrell Center.
The runner-up designs also focused on helping MS patients’ difficultly with walking. One team proposed a counter-balancing device that would help offset the wearer losing balance. The other device was a self-contained seating system that strapped to the legs so the wearer could sit and rest virtually anywhere.
The 3D Invent-A-Thon was a part of the Nebraska Science Festival, week-long series of science-related events and activities held every year across the state. The Invent-A-Thon was one of several events held and hosted by UNMC. It was sponsored by the UNMC Makers club, the McGoogan Library of Medicine and UNMC’s technology transfer and commercialization office, UNeMed.
Tyler Scherr, one of the event’s organizers and an officer in the one-year-old 3D Maker’s Club, said the competition “exceeded expectations,” despite it being the first year of the event. But he was more impressed with the contestants, all juniors from Millard South and Brownell-Talbot High Schools.
“One team had their design and was ready to print in four hours. It made me feel old,” said Scherr, a 30-year-old UNMC grad student who complete his PhD this spring. “I can almost guarantee that they would have beaten us (3D Makers Club) or at least printed faster.”
The winning team was awarded free tickets to the Nebraska Science Festival’s headline event, “An Evening with LeVar Burton.” Burton is best known for his work in television, particularly his portrayal of the popular character Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” The winners were also presented with a 3D-printed trophy that looked like a large light bulb mounted to a thick base. LED lights inside the based gave the bulb a soft glow.
Hendrickson said his teammate, Pruitt, should be the one to take the trophy home.
“He needs a lamp,” Hendrickson said.
