Arkansas Students Reimagine Healthcare at UA Little Rock AI Hackathon
A week ago, they were strangers from communities across Arkansas.
By the end of the AI Hackathon and HealthTech at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, they had become teammates, budding entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers, developing innovative solutions focused on dementia care, maternal health, insurance access, mental health, and patient services.
Resonate Wins $10,000 Grand Prize
The hackathon’s top honor and $10,000 grand prize went to Resonate, a music therapy platform designed to improve access to music therapy for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
The idea was inspired by a story shared by a dementia care professional who described a patient who began humming along to a familiar song after years without speaking. The experience demonstrated how music can help unlock memories and create meaningful connections for people living with dementia.
The Resonate team developed a platform that creates personalized music playlists based on a patient’s preferences and uses AI-powered voice analysis to help caregivers identify emotional states and recommend music that may provide comfort and support. The team focused particularly on making music therapy more accessible and affordable for families in rural and underserved communities.
“The question is not whether music therapy works, but rather how to make it accessible and affordable,” the team told judges during its final presentation.
Team Resonate included Aras Erdag and Brodie Smith of Little Rock; Cami Gonzalez, Satya Achanti, and Shreyan Movva of Bentonville; Joshua Davis of Conway; Koree Arndt of Bella Vista; and Tanvi Virani of Lamar.
Team members said collaboration played a major role in their success throughout the week.
“This experience was really fun,” said Satya Achanti. “We learned a lot of different things from different workshops, and we had a lot of teamwork and a lot of dedicated time that we spent. We stayed up late many nights, and we’re very happy that we won.”
Shreyan Movva credited the team’s ability to work together throughout the competition.
“Overall, team contribution and team cooperation helped us a lot, and it feels great to win,” he said.
For Koree Arndt, one of the most valuable aspects of the experience was the opportunity to collaborate with students from across the state.
“My team’s amazing. I’ve met so many amazing people, and I’ve loved the chance to work on leadership, work on developing my skills in tech, and just building things, because I love to build,” Arndt said.
InsuraMatch Earns Second Place
The second-place prize of $5,000 went to InsuraMatch, a platform designed to help users better understand and navigate health insurance options.
The team focused on addressing the confusion many consumers face when selecting healthcare coverage. Their platform uses conversational AI, educational resources, and cost-comparison tools to help users understand insurance terminology and identify plans that best fit their needs.
The InsuraMatch team included Blessing Itodo of Little Rock, Dilasa Yaman of North Little Rock, Eric Wang of Cave Springs, Ishmam Solaiman of Little Rock, Krish Mehta of Conway, Pfeiffer Slaveski of Centerton, and Yogi Patel of Little Rock.
Materna Takes Third Place
The third-place prize of $3,000 went to Materna, a wearable health monitoring platform designed to support pregnant women in rural Arkansas
Combining a wearable bracelet, mobile application, and AI-powered monitoring tools, Materna allows healthcare providers to remotely monitor patient vital signs and identify potential health risks. The team developed the project to address transportation barriers, healthcare deserts, and limited access to prenatal care in many rural communities across the state.
The Materna team included Ali Rizwan of Cabot, Alyson Chapman of Centerton, Sach Gulmammadov of Jonesboro, Isidora Adeloa and Ivonne Barbosa-Melgarejo of Little Rock, and Kshitiz Khatiwada and Pronita Ghimire of Monticello.
Students Tackle Diverse Healthcare Challenges
Other teams also developed solutions addressing a wide range of healthcare and wellness concerns.
The team behind Mind Bloom created an AI-powered student wellness platform designed to help schools identify and support students experiencing stress and mental health challenges. Team members included Anay Pandit of Benton, Hannah Robertson, Jake Hu, Luke Wang, Rudra Pratap Mukherjee, and Vishak Meenachi of Little Rock, Joel Johnson of Bentonville, and Tanisha Virani of Lamar.
Another notable project, Bro 2 Bro, focused on improving mental and physical health outcomes among Black men by connecting users with support groups, healthcare resources, mentors, and community organizations through trusted spaces such as barbershops and churches.
Students also developed Sirona, a solution aimed at reducing emergency room wait times and improving patient flow.
While the projects varied in focus, they shared a common goal: using technology to address real-world healthcare challenges affecting Arkansas communities.
Over the course of the week, students transformed ideas into prototypes, business plans, and presentations evaluated by healthcare and industry leaders. In the end, 30 students won a combined $20,000 in prize money, but, more importantly, demonstrated what can happen when some of Arkansas’s brightest young minds spend a week reimagining healthcare.
“What I was most excited about coming into this event was to meet the people,” Arndt said. “I’ve met so many amazing people, and I’m just so grateful to have the opportunity to be here and do what I love.”