DETROIT-A student team from Wayne State University has been dreaming up ways to solve the world's toughest problems using the magic of software. On April 26, they will showcase their innovation as they participate in the eighth annual U.S. Imagine Cup finals, the world's premier student technology competition hosted by Microsoft Corp. The public has a chance to vote for the only Michigan-based finalists, LifeCode, by visiting http://imaginecup.us/peopleschoice.aspx.

The Wayne State LifeCode team includes (far left) Melissa Hui of Bloomfield Hills, an undergraduate in biological sciences; Fahima Amin Bhuyan of Detroit, a graduate student in computer science; Stephen Markovitch of Roseville, an undergraduate in economics; and Kun Wang of Detroit, a graduate student in computer engineering.

WSU students Melissa Hui, Steve Markovitch, Fahima Amin Bhuyan and Kun Wang of the LifeCode team were selected as finalists in the competition and will showcase their innovation in Washington, D.C. Their project aims to combat diseases through a tele-health data-capture and analysis platform, with the potential to track patient vital signs and profiles in remote, urban, rural and developing areas.

According to the team, this technology is capable of creating a virtual medical clinic environment anywhere in the world by monitoring, capturing and assessing patient medical data for diagnostics, data-mining and trend needs. This low-cost data-capture platform may ensure timely care via basic triage and build a low-cost healthcare infrastructure around their efficient method. More than 14,000 high school and college students throughout the country registered for this year's Imagine Cup, and only 20 student teams were chosen to participate in the finals. They will vie for a chance to represent the United States at the worldwide finals this July in Warsaw, Poland, among students from more than 100 countries and regions.

The Wayne State LifeCode team includes Fahima Amin Bhuyan of Detroit, a graduate student in computer science; Melissa Hui of Bloomfield Hills, an undergraduate in biological sciences; Stephen Markovitch of Roseville, an undergraduate in economics; and Kun Wang of Detroit, a graduate student in computer engineering.

"It's really an honor to be among the 10 software design invitational teams to be selected to compete in the U.S. finals next month," said Hui. "As a veteran team, it's exciting that Microsoft recognized that our concept and prototype have matured over the past year, and gave us another opportunity to compete and showcase the work we've done."

"Wayne State is pleased to have students represented at the Imagine Cup again this year," said Hilary Ratner, vice president for research at Wayne State. "The Imagine Cup is an incredible learning opportunity, and gives students a chance to express their creativity by developing unique and innovative solutions - something ultimately desired by their future employers."

Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit http://www.research.wayne.edu.