Choose Your Track

NeuroHack invites you to rethink how we design and develop the next generation of neurotechnologies. Powered by ARIA’s Scalable Neural Interfaces initiative, this hackathon focuses on unlocking new ways to see, treat, and interact with the brain, helping turn neurotech innovations into the norm rather than the last resort. Whether you are inspired by bold hardware ideas or data-driven discovery, NeuroHack gives you the freedom to explore both.

Note: You do not need to choose your track when applying. In the week before NeuroHack, you will be able to connect online with other accepted participants and form teams. There will also be an in-person social the day before the hackathon, giving you the chance to meet collaborators face to face. You can then select your track based on the ideas your team develops.

This event is about bringing together people from diverse backgrounds who share one goal: to solve real problems and explore new ideas at the frontiers of neurotechnology.

🛠️ Blue Sky Concept Track

Got a breakthrough idea for a device that could transform how we diagnose, monitor, or treat brain disorders? The Blue Sky Concept Track is your space to think boldly.

Inspired by ARIA’s mission to reimagine neurotechnology at scale, this track challenges you to prototype or pitch radical new hardware concepts: tools that make interacting with the brain simpler, safer, and more scalable than ever before. Whether it’s a wearable, an implant, something in between or radically different, we want ideas that could shift neurotech from the lab to the world.

You will have access to a number of mentors and experts working in:

• Minimally invasive neurosurgical micro-robotics.

• Wearable technologies and implants for treatment and monitoring. 

• Non-invasive ultrasound-based neuromodulation.

• Novel drug delivery methods for the brain.

• Novel materials for imaging and biosensing.

If you’re an engineer, physicist, designer, or scientist ready to challenge conventions and prototype the impossible, the Blue Sky Track is where bold ideas take flight.

💻 AI Track

Can machine learning unlock the next leap in brain health? The AI Track challenges participants to push the limits of what is possible with neural data, creating models that can see, predict, and understand the brain in entirely new ways.

Participants will gain access to a diverse range of imaging and biomarker datasets. Your mission is to build tools, algorithms, or frameworks that reveal new insights into how the brain works, and how to diagnose or treat its disorders faster, cheaper, and at scale.

You will have access to a number of mentors and experts working in:

• Foundational model development for neuroscience.

• Computational models for data-driven drug discovery.

• AI-driven imaging and diagnosis.

Whether you are a data scientist, neuroscientist, or AI engineer, this track is your chance to bridge computation and cognition, transforming raw data into tools that scale brain understanding and treatment to millions.

Final Challenge: The Pitch

On Sunday, every team will pitch their solution to our judging panel in a 5-minute presentation. Your pitch should explain:

• The challenge you’re tackling

• Your proposed solution and why it matters

• The potential impact your device or research idea would have on medical neuroscience

Both tracks are judged on creativity, relevance, and potential impact - not just technical completeness. This is you chance to show the judges your reasons for focusing on a specific challenegs, and the through process behind your solution.