BME Students Earn First Place As "Bladder Buddies” Tops Georgia Tech's Fall 2025 Capstone Expo

Two seniors made it possible for biomedical engineering to shine once again during the Georgia Tech College of Engineering’s Fall 2025 Capstone Expo.

Bladder Buddies, comprised of two biomedical engineering (BME) students—Carmen Rai and Samyukta Iyer—alongside teammates from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), tackled a deeply human challenge: improving quality of life for individuals struggling with incontinence. Their solution combines smart sensing technology with user-friendly design to discreetly alert caregivers, empowering patients to maintain dignity and independence.

The team were winners of the Best Overall Project award. For Rai and Iyer, the win was as unexpected as it was rewarding.

“We never expected to hear our name called,” Iyer laughed. “Every project here was so impactful. Winning was just the frosting on the cupcake.”

The team was powered by a deep friendship between the group that has lasted since freshman year. So, it was easy for the group to merge their knowledge and personalities to build a formidable team.

“I got to learn a lot from my ECE teammates, especially because a lot of my focus is on biosignal processing…So, I kind of had a little bit of familiarity coming into this project and was able to contribute a lot to our code,” Rai said. “But at the same time, I think my peer’s skill set helped me learn. And with the biological backing that we had, we were able to solidify our problem into some sort of user need that really helped bring our project together.”

The project’s roots also run deep in personal experience for Rai. “I work in the brain injury department at Shepherd Center,” she explained. “A lot of our patients actually suffer from incontinence, usually due to some neurological problem, and so seeing that firsthand also showed me how it can impact somebody's life in a negative way.”

Bladder Buddies also earned a golden ticket to the InVenture Prize, Georgia Tech’s premier innovation competition, where they’ll compete for funding to bring their prototype closer to reality. “We’re very, very honored,” Iyer said. “Things are happening now. We’re excited to see what’s next.”

The BME community had more to celebrate: Team Lightning McHealy captured the Best BME Project award for their groundbreaking approach to treating chronic wounds using cold atmospheric plasma—a fourth state of matter proven to kill bacteria and promote healing.

“We've been manifesting this. It's been a lot of work here at the end,” said Anna Bosie. “We’re all really proud of each other and the group as a whole for sticking with it and pushing for a great outcome.”

Team members described the journey as challenging yet rewarding: “None of us really had extensive electrical engineering experience. So, being faced with generating plasma was definitely a big learning curve,” Andrew Altman recalled. “And just, you know, figuring it out as we go, I guess was the toughest part.”

Like Bladder Buddies, Lightning McHealy will also compete at InVenture Prize, aiming to transform their research into a market-ready solution.

Other standout teams received Honorable Mentions, including SafeScope, SleepSound, and Leave No Trace, each addressing pressing issues from surgical process improvement to personal health. Team Storks was another project that earned an Inventure Prize golden ticket. The students developed an innovative transport incubator for NICU babies that ensures safe transfers via helicopter or ambulance, reducing the risk of hemorrhage during critical care.

The Fall 2025 Capstone Expo wasn’t just a showcase—it was a testament to Georgia Tech’s culture of innovation and collaboration. With Golden Tickets in hand and big ideas on the horizon, these teams are poised to make a tangible impact far beyond campus.

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