COEUR d'ALENE - Four Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy students are on the brink of a scientific and medical breakthrough.

Natalie Magnus, 13; Ashley Kaitz, 13; Steven Goncalves, 14; and Johnny Stenburg, 14, all of Coeur d'Alene, have created a prototype for the "Migraine Detector," a small device worn on the ear like a hearing aid. It uses sound waves and advanced technology to detect changes in the brain, such as any constricting or expanding of blood passageways. Once excessive changes are found, the device releases nutrients into the wearer's body to counteract and lessen or prevent the migraine.

"That would be in the future, of course," Natalie said with a smile.

These eighth-grade inventors already won regional recognition in the 2014 22nd annual National Science Teachers Association/Toshiba's ExploraVision contest. Their team was one of six regional winners selected out of thousands of entries in 16 states and two Canadian provinces.

Now, they may be heading to Washington, D.C., to show off their invention at the White House or the Smithsonian Institution and to be named among the top eight innovative teams in the nation.

"It was kind of a shock," Natalie said.

"Yeah, we didn't expect to get this far," Ashley added.

The team met Monday afternoon at the school to finish work on the website. They have been working on the project since October. They meet at least twice a week, even during spring break, to perfect the paperwork, research, video and website describing the uses and benefits of the "Migraine Detector." They will submit everything by Friday. They'll find out within a couple months if they have won national status, which means $10,000 savings bonds for each of them as well as an all-expense paid trip to D.C., a visit to Capitol Hill to meet members of Congress, an awards gala and sightseeing.

And plenty of bragging rights.

"It started as a school project, and it bloomed a little bit," said the students' earth science teacher and coach Jean Robinson.

Robinson said this is the first time a team from Idaho has ever done so well in the NSTA/Toshiba's ExploraVision contest. The Charter team got the inspiration for the invention from Natalie's mom, Ligia, who suffers from as many as 25 migraines a day.

"You just kind of feel bad for her because you have to be really quiet," Natalie said. "You can't really do anything about it because it's just something you have to live with. And it happens quite often."

Ligia, who is very proud of Natalie and her peers, was also present during the team's meeting Monday afternoon. She has experienced chronic migraines for years. She explained how important early detection is for preventing migraines, and that once a migraine is felt, it is too late for medication.

"When you know you have a migraine, you already have pain," she said. She said she would definitely be one of the first to test the "Migraine Detector" if and when it gets patented.

"There's an awful lot of people who say, 'I want one of those,'" Robinson said.

Natalie, Ashley, Steven and Johnny will be honored in a special recognition assembly at their school April 9.