Check out these prize-winning medical hacks

Over 700 applicants competed over the weekend in MIT Hacking Medicine’s Grand Hack contest, the largest health care hackathon in the U.S. This year’s winners vied for over $15,000 in prizes in four disease areas: cancer, mental health, surgical outcomes, and assistive technology and rehabilitation. Here are some winners of note:

• Sneasy swab (third place, cancer): an improved nasal swab prototype that uses single-cell RNA sequencing of airway epithelial tissue to detect lung cancer early.
• Baas (third place, mental health): a daily evening journal for patients to record what they’re grateful for, which helps to reframe their outlook and prevent sleep deprivation.
• Intellidose (first place, surgical outcomes): an intravenous delivery system that can be used in operating rooms.
• AltComm (second place, assistive technology): a mobile app to allow patients with speed and physical impediments to rely on eye-tracking and other responses to communicate with their providers.