Southington Boy Wins Invention Competition at U.S. Patent Office

Let's hear it for the boy! His new invention will help you when wearing one of these.

Great things can happen when you put your mind to it. Just ask this young man.

Courant.com just covered a story about a 13-year-old boy from Southington Connecticut and his invention. Boy oh boy, did he come up with a great one! So good, that he won the "Most Marketable Award" for it.

Lucca Riccio recently went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Virginia to compete with hundreds of students from 15 states. Here's a shout out for Connecticut pride - the state tied Ohio for most awards, with students bringing home 13 of the 43 awards available.

Lucca's invention is the Message Mask, which is explained as a Bluetooth-enabled oxygen mask that has noise-canceling technology, and it helps medical patients communicate more clearly. I was so touched in the story when he talked about watching his grandma wear an oxygen mask and not be able to communicate with people. Lucca told the Hartford Courant via a phone interview:

I'm happy to come up with it now for people in the same situation as her, but I wish I could have made it before she passed so we could communicate with her. It had a really personal effect on me. I really would have liked to have seen my grandma be able to talk to the doctor, my dad and uncle.

Bravo to all of the kids from Connecticut listed in the courant.com article that brought home awards.

Listen to Pam Brooks weekdays from 10-3PM on 95.1 FM, online at i95rock.com/listen-live/ or by downloading the radioPup app for your mobile device.