Year Two
A First Taste at Designing a Solution
The second year of the BME program specifically focuses around one major project that wraps up in the middle of junior year.
BME 2910: Design Lab 3
Focus: Static Analysis of Biomechanical Systems |
The first semester was the assignment of each group's projects which was followed by an intense amount of research to thoroughly define the problem and identify possible solutions. By the end of the first semester, each team was to have a theoretical solution to their problem.
|
BME 2920: Design Lab 4
Focus: Tissue Biomechanics, Advanced CAD Finite Element Modelling, and Statistical Analysis |
For the second semester, the focus was dedicated to planning, constructing, and testing a prototype of the solution. The aim was for each group to learn how to set goals and expectations for their project and ensure that they were followed through to produce a physical prototype of the design.
|
Project Summary
For my sophomore-level project, I was assigned to a team of people that I had not yet worked with.
The problem we had to solve? The random occurrence of epileptic patients that seemed to be tied to cardio-respiratory failure.
Our Goal? Design a non-invasive, wearable device to detect nocturnal seizures, determine risk of SUDEP, and alert an emergency contact.
My team and I focused on learning more about this, and discovered that this issue, known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, or SUDEP, had very little research data. As the name suggests, the deaths were unexpected and thus little is known.
Our major break was finding one study that focused on monitoring risky epileptic patients overnight, which noted a marked difference in patients that were "crashing" or "coding" (dying, in layman's terms) compared to non-SUDEP patients in relation to their heart-rate elevation and blood oxygen concentration. The same study also noted that the SUDEP patients needed only timely CPR to be saved.
We then devised a solution flowchart that compared SPO2, heart rate elevation, and a "double check" of tonic-clonic movement associated with seizures. To collect this data, we reviewed both the many devices on the market that have a component that we are interested in, and several experimental ideas. We decided to move forward with a modified pulse-oximetry design to increase both patients' comfort and the effectiveness of the device. Our prototype currently proves feasibility and our next step is to look at a full risk assessment for the design.
I'm incredibly proud of the work that we have done so far, the growth that we've experienced as a team, and the potential impact that our research and design could have on 3.5 million people in the United States alone.
The problem we had to solve? The random occurrence of epileptic patients that seemed to be tied to cardio-respiratory failure.
Our Goal? Design a non-invasive, wearable device to detect nocturnal seizures, determine risk of SUDEP, and alert an emergency contact.
My team and I focused on learning more about this, and discovered that this issue, known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, or SUDEP, had very little research data. As the name suggests, the deaths were unexpected and thus little is known.
Our major break was finding one study that focused on monitoring risky epileptic patients overnight, which noted a marked difference in patients that were "crashing" or "coding" (dying, in layman's terms) compared to non-SUDEP patients in relation to their heart-rate elevation and blood oxygen concentration. The same study also noted that the SUDEP patients needed only timely CPR to be saved.
We then devised a solution flowchart that compared SPO2, heart rate elevation, and a "double check" of tonic-clonic movement associated with seizures. To collect this data, we reviewed both the many devices on the market that have a component that we are interested in, and several experimental ideas. We decided to move forward with a modified pulse-oximetry design to increase both patients' comfort and the effectiveness of the device. Our prototype currently proves feasibility and our next step is to look at a full risk assessment for the design.
I'm incredibly proud of the work that we have done so far, the growth that we've experienced as a team, and the potential impact that our research and design could have on 3.5 million people in the United States alone.