All summer, the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs has hosted several events called the Innovation Creation Series. The program was meant to encourage innovators to develop new technologies which may help improve the quality of life for veterans. The conference has four main goals: to improve the quality of life and care for veterans, to create an open space for shared technology and designs, to encourage the rapid development of prototypes, and to spread awareness for veterans' assistive technologies. The series reached a pinnacle at the Make-a-thon competition. On July 28th and 29th, inventors and engineers from around the country gathered at the VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, for a 2-day competition.
Participants listened to speakers discuss the areas of opportunity for improving veterans' quality of life before breaking off and getting to work. Each innovator pitched an idea and was subsequently placed on a team based on his or her idea. From there, the teams got to work creating an idea that encompassed their pitches. The VA Hospital provided the materials and technical guidance needed for the teams to build a prototype of their designs. Late in the afternoon on the 29th, each team demonstrated their prototypes to the judges. Some of the ideas pitched included a pill and insulin module complete with an alert system and a variety of advanced prosthetics. The winner of the contest will receive $20,000 and their creation will be entered into the NIH 3D systems catalogue, where people all across the world can access it.
The veterans who attended the event were grateful that so many people wanted to help them out.
Eric Young, a former Marine who lost his arm in combat, told WRIC News, "For me, I don't think that there's a better thank you you could give me."