RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Health hackathons: theatre or substance? A survey assessment of outcomes from healthcare-focused hackathons in three countries JF BMJ Innovations JO BMJ Innov FD All India Institute of Medical Sciences SP 37 OP 44 DO 10.1136/bmjinnov-2016-000147 VO 3 IS 1 A1 Olson, Kristian R A1 Walsh, Madeline A1 Garg, Priya A1 Steel, Alexis A1 Mehta, Sahil A1 Data, Santorino A1 Petersen, Rebecca A1 Guarino, Anthony J A1 Bailey, Elizabeth A1 Bangsberg, David R YR 2017 UL http://innovations.bmj.com/content/3/1/37.abstract AB Background Healthcare-focused hackathons are 48-hour platforms intended to accelerate novel medical technology. However, debate exists about how much they contribute to medical technology innovation. The Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech) has developed a three-pronged model to maximise their effectiveness. To gauge the success of this model, we examined follow-up outcomes.Methods Outcomes of 12 hackathons from 2012 to 2015 in India, Uganda and the USA were measured using emailed surveys. To minimise response bias, non-responding teams were coded as having made no progress.Results 331 individuals provided information on 196 of 356 projects (55.1% response rate), with no difference in responses from teams participating in different countries (Cramer's V=0.09, p=0.17). 30.3% of projects had made progress after a mean of 12.2 months. 88 (24.7%) teams had initiated pilot testing, with 42 (11.8%) piloting with care providers and 24 (6.7%) with patients. Overall, 97 teams (8.1 per hackathon) drafted business plans, 22 (1.8 per hackathon) had filed patents on their innovations and 15 (1.3 per hackathon) had formed new companies. Teams raised US$64.08 million in funding (average US$5.34 million per hackathon; median award size of $1800). In addition, 108 teams (30.3%) reported at least one member working on additional technologies with people they met at a hackathon. Individual confidence to address medical technology challenges was significantly increased after attending (t(1282)=192.77, p 0.001).Conclusion CAMTech healthcare hackathons lead to consistent output with respect to medical technology innovation, including clinical trials, business plan development, securing investment capital/funding and new company formation.