Spring 2024 Semester Recap: Medical Product Development (BIOENG 2151)

Medical Product Development is the second required course for students within the MS-MPE program taught by Dr. Alan Hirschman. During this course, student teams are paired with a clinical mentor or technical faculty to obtain a working knowledge of primary standards and processes used by professionals to develop, launch, and support medical products through their projects. This past semester (Spring 2024), 6 teams worked together to complete successful projects. A description of each team and project can be found below.

Aortic Avengers - “Biomedical Vision”

Owen Flaugh, Anil Siva Kumar Mekala, Chengcheng Zhao

Mentor: Dr. Timothy Chung

Description: Biomedical Vision aims to address challenges associated with diagnosing and treating abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). It focuses on detecting AAA early to reduce errors and variability in manual image interpretation. This will help in providing timely intervention to patients. It also aims to improve risk prediction capabilities for AAA rupture, which will help clinicians make assessments that are more accurate and optimize treatment strategies for better patient outcomes. Effective communication and education tools will be developed to create awareness and understanding of AAA among clinicians and patients. This will lead to informed decision-making and patient engagement.

NeuroNerds - “Malleous”

Jake Ball, Karson Curran, Grace Haas, Lauren Wieczenski

Mentor: Dr. Michael McDowell

Description: Malleous is a combination suction and retractor tool indicated for use in brain surgery. It maintains the flexibility of a ribbon retractor and can be manipulated into a variety of different conformations by the user as needed to retract tissues during surgery. By combining two commonly used instruments, this tool is designed to decrease procedure time while increasing surgeons’ dexterity and assist surgeons in creating better patient outcomes. 

Roll-volutionaries  - “Enhancement for Mobility-related Activities (EMA) Wheelchair Power Base”

Zachary Roy, Kennedy Snook, Grant Snyder, Cody Van Allen

Mentor: Dr. Jorge Candiotti and Dr. Rosemarie Cooper

Description: Enhancement for Mobility-related Activities (EMA) power base had been developed to make power wheelchairs more adaptable to a workplace environment. The EMA power base includes three omni-wheels and a scissor-based seat lift mechanism. The combination of these features will allow power wheelchair users to better reach objects located above and below the normal distance of reach while also allowing for smoother navigation of tight quarters in a professional setting. 

The Stimu-Laugh Squad - “Novel Low-Profile Fully Retrievable Foldable Epidural Lead Array (FELLA) Sytem”

Haajar Ahmad-Ali, Bharath Chandra Ramineni, Peter Dadson, Jaspreet Singh

Mentor: Dr. Trent Emerick

Description: The FELLA device is a fully foldable and expandable lead array system, which can be easily installed by an anesthesiologist through a minimally invasive procedure for patients seeking spinal cord stimulation treatment of chronic back pain. Additionally, the device has a 7-year battery life providing long-term functionality without the need for frequent replacement procedures. The FELLA device offers a promising solution for patients seeking effective spinal cord stimulation while mitigating the potential complications associated with conventional spinal cord stimulation systems. 

Suture Scholars - “SutureMate”

Owen Boccabella, Nicole Bohatch, Adrianna Cocco, Alec Maraska

Mentor: Dr. J. Peter Rubin

Description: The SutureMate device is a wearable suture scissor that eliminates the need to constantly switch between using forceps and scissors in the dominant hand. The SutureMate device functions using a cutting method actuated by bending the finger instead of traditional manipulation of suture scissors. The goal of this device is to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete the suturing process within a procedure.  

Trachea Tech - “Baffled Cuff Trachea Tube”

Brandon Burger, Alex Hascall, Zachary Miller, Yugma Patel

Mentor: Dr. Carl Snyderman

Description: The Baffled Cuff Tracheostomy Tube (BCTT) is a novel approach to the tracheostomy tube design by replacing the traditional balloon cuff with a cuff that features concentric baffles. This innovative cuff design aims to overcome common issues associated with tracheostomy tubes, offering improved reliability, comfort, and functionality for patients requiring long-term airway management. By eliminating failure points associated with the balloon cuff, the BCTT reduces the need for frequent monitoring, saving clinical time and improving care.