[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 17 (Friday, January 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5469-5471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01433]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the 2013 NIBIB 
DEsign by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

SUMMARY: The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and 
Bioengineering (NIBIB) DEBUT Challenge is open to teams of 
undergraduate students working on projects that develop innovative 
solutions to unmet health and clinical problems. NIBIB's mission is to 
improve health by leading the development and accelerating the 
application of biomedical technologies. The goals of the challenge are 
(1) to provide undergraduate students valuable experiences such as 
working in teams, identifying unmet clinical needs, and designing, 
building, and debugging solutions for such open-ended problems; (2) to 
generate novel, innovative tools to improve health care, consistent 
with NIBIB's purpose to support research, training, the dissemination 
of health information, and other programs with respect to biomedical 
imaging and engineering and associated technologies and modalities with 
biomedical applications; and (3) to highlight and acknowledge the 
contributions and accomplishments of undergraduate students.

DATES: The competition begins January 25, 2013.
    Submission Period: January 28, 2013, to June 6, 2013, 11:59 p.m. 
EST.
    Judging Period: June 10, 2013, to July 25, 2013.
    Winners announced: August 12, 2013.
    Award ceremony: September 2013, Biomedical Engineering Society 
Conference (exact date to be announced at http://debut2013.challenge.gov/).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: [email protected] or (301) 451-4792.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Subject of Challenge Competition: The NIBIB DEBUT Challenge 
solicits entries that develop innovative solutions to unmet health and 
clinical problems under one of the following categories:
     Diagnostic Devices/Methods
     Therapeutic Devices/Methods
     Technology to Aid Underserved Populations and Individuals 
with Disabilities.
    Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition:
    1. To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, each 
individual on the Student Team must
    (a) Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States;
    (b) Be an undergraduate student enrolled full-time in an 
undergraduate curriculum during the academic year 2012-2013;
    (c) Have his/her own active Challenge.gov account that he/she has 
created at www.challenge.gov;
    (d) Form or join a ``Student Team'' with at least two other 
individuals who satisfy the criteria in (a), (b), and (c) above for the 
purpose of developing an entry for submission to this challenge. While 
it is expected that most of the individuals participating in the 
competition may be students from biomedical engineering departments, 
interdisciplinary teams including students from other fields are 
welcome and encouraged;
    (e) Acknowledge understanding and acceptance of the DEBUT challenge 
rules by signing the NIBIB DEBUT Challenge Certification Form found at 
http://www.nibib.nih.gov/Training/Undergrad_Grad/DEBUT/NIBIB_DEBUT_Certification_Form.pdf. Each entry must include one NIBIB DEBUT 
Challenge Certification Form, completed with dates and the printed 
names and signatures of each individual member of the Student Team. 
Entries that do not provide a complete Certification Form will be 
disqualified from the challenge;
    (f) Comply with all the requirements under this section; and
    (g) Not be a federal employee acting within the scope of his/her 
employment. Federal employees seeking to participate in this challenge 
outside the scope of their employment should consult their ethics 
official prior to developing a submission.
    2. By participating in this challenge, each individual agrees to 
abide by all rules of this challenge and the Challenge.gov Terms of 
Participation (http://challenge.gov/terms).
    3. Each entry into this challenge must have been conceived, 
designed, and implemented by the Student Team. Student Teams 
participating in capstone design projects are especially encouraged to 
enter the challenge.
    4. Each Student Team may submit only one entry into this challenge 
through one member of the Student Team appointed as ``Corresponding 
Student'' by that Student Team. The Corresponding Student will carry 
out all correspondence regarding the Student Team's entry.
    5. The Corresponding Student will submit a Student Team's entry on 
behalf of the Student Team by following the links and instructions at 
http://debut2013.challenge.gov/ and certify that the entry meets all 
the challenge rules.
    6. Each entry into this challenge must describe an original 
biomedical engineering project that falls into one of the following 3 
categories:
    (a) Diagnostic Devices/Methods e.g., sensors, imaging devices, 
imaging agents, telehealth, clinical laboratory diagnostics
    (b) Therapeutic Devices/Methods e.g., implants, biomaterials, 
surgical tools, tissue engineering, drug and gene delivery
    (c) Technology to Aid Underserved Populations and Individuals with 
Disabilities e.g., point-of-care technologies, devices/methods to 
address health disparities, m-health, aids for individuals with 
disabilities (see http://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm#12102 for a 
definition of ``disability'').
    The examples under the different categories above are provided for 
illustration but not limitation. It is possible for an entry to fit 
into more than one category. In such instances, Student Teams should 
choose the category to which the entry is most closely related.
    7. Each entry must comply with Section 508 standards that require 
federal agencies' electronic and information technology be accessible 
to people with disabilities, http://www.section508.gov/.
    8. Each individual on the Student Team must be 13 years of age or 
older. Individuals who are younger than 18 must have their parent or 
legal guardian complete the Parental Consent Form found at http://cphome.s3.amazonaws.com/forms/parental_consent_form.pdf.
    9. Each entry must be submitted as a single pdf file and must 
include the following:
     Cover letter, on department letterhead, from a faculty 
member from the Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering or similar 
department of the institution in which the Student Team members are 
enrolled, verifying that the entry was achieved by the named Student 
Team that is enrolled full-time in an undergraduate curriculum during 
the academic year 2012-2013, and describing clearly any contribution 
from the advisor or any

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other individual outside the Student Team;
     The NIBIB DEBUT Challenge Certification Form (downloadable 
from http://www.nibib.nih.gov/Training/Undergrad_Grad/DEBUT/NIBIB_DEBUT_Certification_Form.pdf) completed with dates and the printed 
names and signatures of each individual member of the Student Team;
     Completed Cover Page (downloadable from http://www.nibib.nih.gov/Training/Undergrad_Grad/DEBUT/NIBIB_DEBUT_Cover_Page.doc listing project title, team member information, and challenge 
category the entry is submitted under;
     Project Description (not to exceed 6 pages using Arial 
font and a font size of at least 11 points) that includes the following 
4 sections:
    (1) Abstract
    (2) Description of clinical need or problem, including background 
and current methods available
    (3) Design, including a discussion of the innovative aspects
    (4) Evidence of a working prototype (results/graphics obtained with 
the designed solution)
    The 6-page limit includes any graphics, but excludes the cover page 
and any references. Submissions exceeding 6 pages for the project 
description will not be accepted. An optional 2-minute video displaying 
the operation of the device/method may be included. However the 6-page 
Project Description must be a stand-alone explanation of the project; 
and
     A completed Parental Consent Form, accessible at http://cphome.s3.amazonaws.com/forms/parental_consent_form.pdf, for each 
individual on the Student Team who is under the age of 18.
    10. NIBIB will claim no rights to intellectual property. 
Individuals on the Student Team will retain intellectual property 
ownership as applicable arising from their entry. By participating in 
this challenge, such individuals grant to NIBIB an irrevocable, paid-
up, royalty-free, nonexclusive worldwide license to post, link to, 
share, and display publicly the entry on the Web, in newsletters or 
pamphlets, and in other information products. It is the responsibility 
of the individuals on the Student Team to obtain any rights necessary 
to use, disclose, or reproduce any intellectual property owned by third 
parties and incorporated in the entry for all anticipated uses of the 
entry.
    11. All entries must be submitted by the challenge deadline, June 
6, 2013, 11:59 p.m. EST.
    12. Entries must not infringe upon any copyright or any other 
rights of any third party.
    13. By participating in this challenge, each individual agrees to 
assume any and all risks and waive claims against the federal 
government and its related entities, except in the case of willful 
misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, 
revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, 
arising from participation in this prize challenge, whether the injury, 
death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
    14. Based on the subject matter of the challenge, the type of work 
that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood 
of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss 
potentially resulting from challenge participation, individuals are not 
required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial 
responsibility in order to participate in this challenge.
    15. By participating in this challenge, each individual agrees to 
indemnify the federal government against third party claims for damages 
arising from or related to challenge activities.
    16. An individual shall not be deemed ineligible because the 
individual used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees 
during this challenge if the facilities and employees are made 
available to all individuals participating in the challenge on an 
equitable basis.
    Prize: One winning Student Team will be selected for each of the 
three challenge categories. The winning Student Team in each category 
will be awarded a $10,000 prize, to be distributed among the members of 
the Student Team. The prize will be distributed equally among the 
Student Team. Each member of the winning Student Teams must provide 
his/her bank information to enable electronic transfer of funds. Two 
honorable mentions will also be awarded in each challenge category, 
without any accompanying monetary prize or travel reimbursement.
    Winning Student Teams will be honored at the NIBIB DEBUT Award 
Ceremony during the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Biomedical Engineering 
Society (BMES) in Seattle, Washington, in September 2013. Updated 
information on the BMES annual meeting can be found at http://bmes.org/annualmeeting. Each winning Student Team will receive, in addition to 
the prize, up to $2,000 toward the travel and registration costs for 
the members of the Student Team to attend the award ceremony. Travel 
must comply with National Institutes of Health policy and applicable 
laws and regulations (http://oma.od.nih.gov/manualchapters/management/1500/), for example:

--Air travel must be by coach class, unless an alternative is medically 
necessary and documented.
--If you choose to drive to the meeting instead of taking a common 
carrier (airplane, train or bus), you may be reimbursed at 51 cents per 
mile, not to exceed the cost of common carrier.
--Limousine/taxi reimbursements are provided to and from airports as 
well as to and from meetings. Receipts are required whenever a fare 
exceeds $75 per trip.
--Per diem rates include lodging, meals, and incidental expenses 
(M&IE). Reimbursement for these varies by city. The current allowable 
room rate and the M&IE for the award ceremony location can be found at 
http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287.

    Honorable mention awardees are welcome to attend the award ceremony 
with funds from other sources; NIBIB will not provide travel 
reimbursement for Student Teams awarded with Honorable Mention.
    Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected: The winning entry in each 
category of the challenge will be selected based on the following 
criteria:
     Significance of the problem addressed--Does the entry 
address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in 
clinical care or research?
     Impact on potential users and clinical care--How likely is 
it that the entry will exert a sustained, powerful influence on the 
problem and medical field addressed?
     Innovative design (creativity and originality of 
concept)--Does the entry utilize novel theoretical concepts, approaches 
or methodologies, or instrumentation?
     Working prototype that implements the design concept and 
produces targeted results--Has evidence been provided (in the form of 
results, graphs, photographs, films, etc.) that a working prototype has 
been achieved?
    The above four criteria will be weighed equally and will apply to 
all challenge categories. Additional Information: For more information 
and to submit entries, visit http://debut2013.challenge.gov/.
    The NIBIB prize-approving official will be the Director of NIBIB. 
Prizes will be paid using electronic funds transfer and may be subject 
to federal income taxes. NIH will comply with the Internal Revenue 
Service (IRS) withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.


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    Dated: January 17, 2013.
Lawrence A. Tabak,
Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-01433 Filed 1-24-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P