E-mail
Print
Biomedical Engineering design teams are a major part of the educational experience a student receives at MSOE. The four-year design team project is required for all biomedical engineering (BE) students.
All biomedical students become part of a design team as freshmen. They then develop a design concept which they are to turn into a reality over the next four years.
Below are examples of biomedical engineering student projects. The projects highlight the achievements of the students and illustrate the educational design experience.
Design Team 06002: Instrument Tracking System
Team Members: Nathan
Duhnke (ENG), Peter Feilen (APM), Brian Head (PM), Shane Rismeyer (ENG)
Project Summary: Each
year in the United States alone, 3,000 to 5,000 patients* have a foreign object
left inside of them after a surgical procedure. This critical problem greatly impacts patient safety during and
post-operation. The current method
practiced by most institutions is manually counting of instruments during
surgery. The current method has proved to be timely, costly and an inefficient
use of hospital staff. Additionally,
factoring in the time and money spent on repeat operations and legal
settlements, it is easy to see how this current problem costs U.S. health
institutions in excess of one billion dollars annually**.
Biomedical Engineering Design Team 06002 of the Milwaukee School of Engineering is designing a surgical instrument tracking system to alleviate this problem. This system is designed to:
• Greatly increase the prevention of the common surgical risk of retained foreign bodies by creating a smarter operating room utilizing new technology.
• Automate instrument counting and replace the now common post x-ray with quick and reliable real time tracking of surgical instruments and tools.
• This product will use radio frequency (RFID) methodologies to keep track of each surgical instrument using a unique identifier. This methodology is hospital safe and will allow nurses to monitor the position of each instrument during a surgery, which is critical to patient safety.
Design Team 06003: Phrenic Nerve Pacing System
Team Members: David Brody (ENG), Amy Green (APM), Matt LaValley (ENG), Dan Miller (ENG), Sarah Waite (PM)
Project Summary: The main goal of the Phrenic Nerve Pacing System is to replace the mechanical ventilator in order to reduce negative side-effects and recovery time for patients.
In this system, the Phrenic nerve is stimulated, which causes the diaphragm to contract and induce breathing. The idea of neural stimulation to induce breathing is not novel; however this system also incorporates specialized feedback based on the individual patient response. This feedback consists of an oxygen sensor (commonly known as a finger sensor) that measures the patient's blood oxygen saturation level. Depending on whether the oxygen saturation level is too low or too high, the stimulation intensity is adjusted automatically until an optimal patient breathing rate is achieved. The initial stimulation parameters are determined for each patient using a mouth sensor that helps determine the resting respiratory rate.. Once this resting respiratory rate is determined by the physician, the rate is translated into an appropriate stimulation parameters. The stimulation is then applied to an implanted cuff electrode which is attached to the Phrenic nerve. This stimulation will cause contraction in the diaphragm of the patient and induce the estimated appropriate breathing rate. Because of constraints with patient testing, this group will be working to develop the system to provide the stimulation as well as the feedback control.
Design Team 06004: Self-adjusting Ankle Brace
Team Members: Leanne Ausprung (ENG), Ashley Brown (APM), Dane Van Domelen (PM), Olaf Rogness (ENG/GM)
Project Summary: As a patient recovers from a lateral ankle sprain, he/she may go through several traditional braces that help with rehabilitation of the sprain. At the time of injury, a very stiff brace would be implemented which severely limits motion. As healing occurs and time passes, a less stiff brace could be used to slowly return function to the patient. These multiple braces are costly and require constant adjustments because they lose their "tightness" or "move out of place".
Our aim is to design an ankle brace that maintains constant pressure on the ankle throughout its use to aid in the rehabilitation of ankle sprains. The brace's stiffness level will be adjustable by the user so that it may provide multiple levels of stiffness throughout rehabilitation and future reoccurrence of injury. Overall the design will meet the following three objectives:
• To create a single brace that can be used throughout rehabilitation and injury prevention for lateral ankle sprains. As the sprain heals the stiffness or the brace will be able to be reduced in order to allow the ankle to return to full functionality.
• To eliminate the need for manual re-adjustment of the brace during physical activity. Because the brace maintains a contestant pressure, it will not need to be re-adjusted like many of the braces on the market today.
• The brace should be similar in size and weight to traditional ankle braces currently on the market.
Design Team 06005: Wireless Infant Monitor
Team Members: Andrew Bublitz (PM), Nate Grams (APM), Marc Jackson (ENG), Brian Wallace (ENG (EE))
Project Summary: Our senior design project entails the designing and building of a functioning wireless monitor for premature infants that measures heart rate, respiratory rate, and core temperature (vital signs).
Our design incorporates a self powered double band design that allows the user to adjust the band to different sized infants while allowing for correct sensor placement. The vital signs are measured from the chest and abdomen of the infant and transmitted via a wireless connection to a data acquisition system (DAS) and display. Here the signal is processed and displayed via a large screen to the user (doctor/nurse/clinical engineer). The screen allows for the real-time data to be displayed for the vital signs in both numerical and graphical form while allowing room for errors and warnings to be displayed. The vital signs are stored over time in the (DAS) and can be recalled for analysis and the display also allows for the user to input limits (upper and lower values) for each of the vital signs.
Design Team 05001: Rapid Heart Attack Detection Device
Team Members: (left to right) Bill Johnson, Aaron Anderson,
Elizabeth Keyes,
Nicholas Lavin, Paige Ganske, Michael Kallin
Project Summary: The goal of the project is to create a device to determine the stage of Myocardial Infarction in a chest pain patient from a blood sample. The output of the device from time of extraction of blood to physician should take under one hour. The device should quickly and accurately predict whether the patient is having, has had, or will have a heart attack. The device will utilize cardiac markers such as blood enzymes to determine the output of the device to aide in the diagnosis made by the physician. The specific enzymes that will be used predict the acuteness and severity of a heart attack are Troponin T, Troponin I, Creatine Kinase, and Myoglobin. The enzyme will be obtained by immunoassay reactions and levels will be obtained by and spectra-analysis.
Design Team 05002: The Lift Wheelchair
Team Members: (left to right) Joshua Leeder, Marc Jackson (APM),
Alok Shah (PM), Steven Storvik and
Enrique Gil.
Project Summary: The focus of our design is to improve the care, safety and well being of patients and healthcare professionals during the transportation process. To accomplish this, a manual wheelchair with powered linear actuators will be built to assist the user to a standing position. The product will be lightweight and will resemble the current manual wheelchairs used in most healthcare facilities. This will ensure that the staff can easily transition to using our product. It will primarily be used by the nursing staff to assist in transferring patients throughout hospitals and nursing homes. This will reduce the stress and injuries among the nurses, as well as the patients.
Design Team 05003: Functional Prosthetic Hand
Team Members: (left to right) Erik Prossen, Katie Schultz,
Paul Turner (PM),
Kristina Forestrom (APM)
Project Summary: To design a prosthetic hand that has a size, shape, and function similar to a human hand. The hand will be controlled by artificial nerve signals to generate necessary movements to improve the quality of life for the patient. The hand will be designed so that it is anatomically correct when compared to a human hand. Besides being anatomically correct, the hand will be capable of many different degrees of motion (best case being 16 degrees of motion). The motion of the hand will be dictated by the patient, which will be simulated by a computer. Artificial nerve signals that model actual nerve signals will be supplied to the hand and differentiated by microcontrollers, which will determine how the hand will move, based on the input received.
Design Team 05004: UV LED Sterilization of Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Systems
Team Members: (left to
right) Matt Venhaus, Alex Kool,
Victoria Georgakas (PM) and James Preston (APM)
Project Summary: Ultra violet light at the germicidal wavelength of 265 nm can sterilize air and any pathogens on a surface. Currently, ultra violet light emitting diodes are available at this critical wavelength for sterilization use. These UV LEDs will be used within HVAC systems to sterilize air as it flows through an air filter interface. By using LEDs rather than mercury bulbs (which are currently used), less power will be consumed as well as replacement costs will be lowered due to the longer life of the diodes. LEDs at approximately 265 nm will be mounted parallel to the filter element and may be installed as a single unit or as an attachment to an existing air filtration system. Pulsing the UV light, rather than having a continuous source, will increase the maximum intensity of the light and therefore increase efficiency. The attachment, while using low power consumption, will prevent bacterial growth on the filter surface and therefore lengthen the life of the air filter and prevent the propagation of bacteria throughout the HVAC system.
Design Team 05005: Electronic Medical Records
Team Members: Whitney Shilling,
Jonathan Cook,
Maureen Calderon and Jonathan Howard
Project Summary: The goal of team 05005 is to develop a portable USB drive that will store emergency medical information of individuals, which can then be used in emergency situations. When a medical emergency occurs in anyone's daily life, physicians and qualified medical personnel need to be aware of specific information before they can properly treat any victim. These medical records need to be accessed quickly and efficiently in order for the patient to receive the best possible medical treatment. The project of team 05005 provides a small, portable, lightweight drive with USB connection, that can be carried around at all times, in which emergency medical information will be stored and easily accessed by medical professionals. When the USB connection is in contact with a computer, the emergency medical information of the individual will appear in a browser on the screen. The emergency information stored on the drive will include allergies, medications, and outstanding medical conditions, such as previous surgeries, diseases, or diabetes.
Design Team 04002: Advanced Tennis Racket for the Relief of Symptoms due to Tennis Elbow
Team Members: (left to
right) Lance Graham, Meary Barbeau
(PM)
Larissa Matheys(APM), Mandy Plumley
Project Summary: Currently there is an estimated 46 million people in the United States playing tennis professionally and recreationally. It is also reported between 40-50% of tennis players will develop tennis elbow. Tennis elbow results from repetitive stresses on the elbow. It can be caused by the following: an elbow crunch, which is the sudden shortening of the extensor carpi radialis brevis due to repetitive impact at that joint. It is effectively a muscle spasm that stresses the tendons in the elbow. Secondly, when the ball impacts the racket, the resulting twists of the racket give a severe stress cycle to the extensor carpi radialis brevis. Finally, the frame of the tennis racket transmits vibrations to the arm holding racket. At this time the main treatment for tennis elbow is to take time off from tennis. For those players who are heavily involved in the sport this may not be a viable option. The alternative is to improve the player's swing. By learning how to correctly hit the tennis ball, it will lessen the symptoms of tennis elbow. Currently there is not a tennis racket on the market with realtime sensory feedback. This product will give the user realtime sensory feedback so the user can improve their swing with practice. This product, using the current standards for the locations of a correct hit will inform the user of the quality of the swing, good, fair, and poor.
Team 04005: Instrumented Walker for Gait Analysis
Team Members: (left to right) Kyle Chlan, Angie Tabat,
Samantha Michalski (APM),
Ryan Vanselow, Martin Drake (PM)
Project Summary: We would like to propose a design for a walker that will not only act as a walking aid, but will also take measurements of the user's step size and the force applied to the walker. Specifically, the walker will use load cells or strain gages to determine the force applied and ultrasonic distance sensors to provide information about the patient's step size and frequency. In order to maintain a more constant distance between the walker and the patient's body, the walker will have wheels. The data acquisition will be done in the patient's day-to-day life to allow medical professionals to gain insight into a patient's gait outside the doctor's office. A user interface based on the program LabView will then allow physical therapists and other medical professionals to view the step size and force data accumulated between visits by selecting time intervals at random. The user interface produced by LabView will consist of two main visual sections per patient: one section for the force applied to the walker and one for the distance from the patient's leg to the front of the walker.
Team 0400 - Dynamic Force Sensing Shoe Insole
Team Members: (left to right) Andy Salzwedel (PM), Brent Baumgartner (GM), Amy Naus, Chris Kopinski, Kevin Kreitzman, John Baeten (APM)
Project Summary: The goal of this project is to develop a minimal-thickness insole force transducer or transducer array and associated signal processing system that reliably measures load-bearing forces during slow ambulation. This insole could be placed within existing shoes and interfaced with an appropriate system that offers visual and audible indicators when preset load forces are reached. Based upon in-depth research in the rehabilitation and physical therapy markets, potential needs for such a device/system are evident. Astonishingly, 100 million Americans experience biomechanical plantar problems caused by various disorders. Due to these high numbers devices have been made to aid/benefit this population. Current products meet some of the market needs however lack features that are incorporated into this design specifically dealing with data acquisition and real time feedback. Due to the scope of this product, the majority of the potential applications are related to human benefits. Furthermore, these applications encompass several medical divisions and ensure that it has a place in today's market. Some important applications include: footwear research and design, aid in orthotic design & efficiency, rehabilitation assessment, regulate weight bearing during rehabilitation, correct gait abnormalities, monitor degenerative foot disorders, screen for diabetic and other neuropathic disorders. After careful research on the topic of budgetary management, our team has devised a list of needed items and associated cost. These include: sensors, signal conditioners, microprocessors, etc. The next steps in the design process are acquiring funds for such items and to develop a prototype model which will have an impact on today's markets.
Team 04001 - Fitness Identification Tracking (FIT) System
Team Members: (left to right) Scott Bugenhagen, Nicole Gregor (PM), Joshua Leeder, Pamela Duda (PM), Dan Schefchick
Project Summary: The National Center for Health Statistics shows that 30% of U.S. adults (over 60 million people) are obese and 16% of U.S. children and teens (over 9 million people) are overweight. Being overweight increases the risk of diseases and health conditions such as hypertension, Type II Diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and some cancers.
A radio-frequency-identification (RFID) -based system, named the Fitness Identification Tracking (FIT) System, will be developed to provide performance trending and increase awareness of the physiological effects of running. It can be implemented on any running track to count/record laps, lap times, energy expenditures and heart rate. RFID will accurately record each lap time. Heart rate data obtained via a chest strap will be sent wirelessly to a laptop where it is stored for later analysis. Velocity will be calculated using the time and distance of each lap. Users will wear wristwatches that display time and heart rate. Physiological and performance data will be calculated and displayed confidentially on the laptop. Users may view their data in graphical and tabular forms. The use of RFID distinguishes the FIT System from other similar systems that use pedometers which rely on stride length which varies. The goal of the FIT System is to encourage and understand exercise by monitoring performance and physiology. Implementation of the FIT System will allow users to exercise in a controlled manner, allowing people of all ages to enjoy the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle.