A team of University of Wisconsin students who designed a system that helps people with insufficient control over bladder and bowel movements won $10,000 at an annual UW invention competition Tuesday.

The “ActiveCath,” aimed at curbing incontinence, monitors bladder pressure and controls urine flow through the use of a catheter. It was created by a team of five senior biomedical engineering students.

Arin Ellingson, Marty Grasse, Ben Schoepke, Dave Schurter and Jon Sass won the highest honor of the day, the Schoofs Prize for Creativity at UW’s Innovation Days, a competition for undergrads held by the School of Engineering.

“We had great competition,” Schoepke said. “We’re surprised we won.”

According to Schoepke, the group had been working on the project since the beginning of the fall semester. He added they had a working prototype by the end of the semester and have been refining it ever since.

He said the group put in a few all-nighters and worked 18-hour days as the competition approached.

The winner of the $2,500 Tong Prize for best prototype went to UW sophomore Kyle Hanson. Hanson’s entry was a portable dispensing, cooling and transporting unit for kegs of beer. The unit eliminates the need for ice to cool kegs.

Jim Beal, director of Innovation Days, said Hanson’s prototype was “highly crafted” and “resourceful.” …