General Electric (GE) hosted its first Industrial Internet of Things hackathon, powered by Predix, using big data to improve healthcare in Saudi Arabia. The hackathon took place at the GE Saudi Technology and Innovation Center located in Dhahran Techno Valley, held on August 25 and 26.

During 30 hours, over 15 teams of entrepreneurs and developers from across Saudi Arabia worked with real but anonymized data about the radiation dose levels used by medical imaging machines, such as CT scanners, across the Kingdom.

Using Predix, GE’s software and application platform for the Industrial Internet of Things, the teams competed to create an app that will monitor and compare radiation doses.

The goal of the hackathon was to help healthcare institutions identify facilities and technicians where patients are receiving higher or lower than usual doses, and thus where further training might be warranted.

Predix can connect machines, data, and people in new ways to power the digital industrial companies of the future. It provides the operating system to securely collect and analyze data in real time so that they can operate faster, smarter, and more efficiently.

The winning team was Data Scroungers. The four-juniors team from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) built a map of the Kingdom with bar graphs to identify the radiation doses and easily showcase the data. The team then deployed their app on the Predix platform and are currently looking for ways to expand the solution.

The team was awarded a $ 5,000 cash prize, based on their solution’s originality, growth potential, user experience, and functionality on Predix.“It is fitting that the first Predix Hackathon in the Middle East is taking place in Saudi Arabia,” said Ali Saleh, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for GE in the MENAT.

“We have a robust pool of young, digitally-minded university graduates and undergraduates, entrepreneurs and professionals. They all share a drive to take the Kingdom into the digital era by working on challenges that matter for their country.”

Throughout the hackathon, GE digital experts, digital partner Tata Consulting Services, and Saudi-founded innovation organization Hobby District provided support and guidance for the teams, brainstormed and strategized sessions to support their application development.