MEDLINE Pursues Patent For Undergraduate Student Designed Medical Device

At the end of each spring semester biomedical engineering undergraduate students from BME 419 - Introduction to Design Concepts in Biomedical Engineering and BME 420: Design Concepts in Biomedical Engineering take part in the Biomedical Engineering Design Competition. This yearlong course covering two semesters aims to educate students on the design, development and technology transfer of potential biomedical products

This year, eight teams showcased the medical devices they have designed and refined under the mentorship of industry professionals over the last academic year. MedWay took first place in the competition this year with their realistic adrenalectomy surgery simulator. FeedEx’s Gemini Tube, an improved gastronomy tube design, was the second place winner.

Two doctors from NorthShore University HealthSystem offered their expertise to the MedWay team while MEDLINE sponsored the remaining seven projects as well as offering their expert support to the students. Armour College of Engineering alumnus, Dr. Michael Turturro (BME ‘07, Ph.D. ‘12) and his colleague at MEDLINE, Ms. Anna Lehner, supported the students throughout the course as well as initiated the partnership between MEDLINE and the BME Department.

The company was so impressed with the NextGen Walker team’s innovative Mid-C device that they have decided to pursue a patent with the students for their design. “Applying for a patent is a wonderful accomplishment as it shows that their design is unique and novel. This is a fantastic way for the students to start their careers as biomedical engineers,” shares Associate Professor Jennifer Kang-Mieler. The company is assessing the other submitted student designs for potential patent opportunities as well.

2017 BME Design Teams

MedWay

Team: Nabil Alqam (BME ‘17), Yoftahel Gebre (BME, 5th year), Akshay Mankame (BME, 4th year) and Nilkanth Patel (BME, 5th year)

The team first identified the need to develop a realistic model simulation to train medical students in adrenalectomies, a rare and complicated surgery. Under the mentorship of Drs. Michael Ujiki and Mason Hedberg of NorthShore University Health System, the team developed the simulator using a container system, with gelatin to represent the connective tissue, various tubing to represent the veins, a glycerol and food dye solution to represent blood, and a container to hold the fluids. The simulator is compatible with tools used in surgery and novel for its use of simulated blood.

FeedEx

Team: Morgan Fogarty (BME ‘17), Morgan Kretlow (BME, 5th year), Alexandar Smith (BME ‘17), Gabriel Kong (BME, 5th year), and Charles Modrich (BME, ‘17).

FeedEx decided to find a solution to improve the design of gastronomy tubes (G-tubes) used to provide nutrition, hydration, and medicine those who are unable to do so on their own. The biggest problems plaguing G-tube are leakage around the stoma needed to insert the tube and blockage of the tube itself. The team’s improved design called the Gemini Tube offers many improvements over the current design. The dual balloon system includes the traditional internal balloon required to hold the tube within the stomach and an additional secondary external balloon. This secondary balloon that can be inflated or deflated independently and provides a tight seal for the tube. To alleviate the problem with blockage in the tube, the team nano-textured the inside surface of the silicone tube. This surface modification increases the hydrophobicity of the inside surface of the tube, making it harder for materials to get stuck. The team developed an add-on product called UBFree, a device that uses ultrasonic vibrations to loosen blockages in the tube. This device is intended for use while the tube is implanted and eliminates the need of surgery to replace a clogged tube.

NextGen Walker

Team: Vasundhara Agrawal (BME ‘17), Paige Mass (BME ‘17), Nirja Shaw (BME, 4th year) and Yixuan Tong (BME ‘17)

The NextGen Walker team interviewed representatives from Medline, a physiotherapist from NovaCare rehabilitation, as well as walker users, to identify that the most problematic feature of current walker design was the collapsibility of the walker. To solve this, the team designed Mid-C, a walker designed to offer improved collapsibility through an innovative hinge design. This feature provides an increase in mobility for the user offering greater independence to users as well as a smaller collapsed volume thus reducing the packaging size needed to ship and display the products.

Neurobilitation

Team: Kushal Herur (BME, 5th year), Arman Kulkarni (BME ‘17), Geeya Patel (BME ‘17) and Dawid Walus (BME, 4th year)

People who have suffered a stroke often suffer from the loss of fine motor control in their upper appendages, especially in their hands. Efforts to regain this fine motor control can be hampered by the repetitive nature of the rehabilitation techniques. Previous research has shown that gamifying occupational therapy techniques can keep the patient better engaged and motivated. The Neurobilitation team developed The Midas, a rehabilitation solution for patients with a loss of fine motor control in the hands. The device features an intuitive user interface that integrates therapy putty as a control mechanism for a video game to keep the patient engaged in the therapy while providing quantitative feedback to the therapist.

Vitae Tect

Team: Sundus Basheer (BME, 5th year), Egle Malinauskaite (BME ‘17), Sany Nguyen (BME ‘17), Yusrs Sarhan (BME ‘17) and Ekaterina Shanina (APHY ‘17 with Biomedical Engineering Specialization)

An overwhelming amount of medical waste is produced because of the need to ensure the sterility of the hospital environment. The team designed a fully automated machine, SustainaBlue, that reduces the amount of waste by sterilizing, shredding, and separating the components of sterilization wraps, surgical gowns and similar single use products. The separated polypropylene can be recycled into new products while just the waste is sent to the landfill. The team’s compressed air separator sets it apart from competitors who only decontaminate and grind the waste before sending all the waste to the landfill.

SEL-V

Team: Elizabeth Best (BME ‘17), Stacey Cahoon (BME ‘17), Liliana Gordillo (BME ‘17) and Victor Garcia (BME ‘17)

Accidental falls are a primary cause of injury and death among patients in hospitals and nursing homes. After interviewing medical personnel, the Sel-V team realized that false alarms are one of the biggest problems of current systems that monitor falls. To minimize this problem, the team introduced WeighSafe, a tandem system that includes a weight monitor imbedded into a mattress and wearable patch with an accelerometer that trigger an alarm to alert a nurse when a fall is detected. The weight sensor in the bed converts a patient’s weight to a sound unit. A microphone in the device would only listen for that sound unit and trigger the alarm when it is detected. The patch would function as the sensor when the patient is out of bed and would trigger an alarm if a patient’s acceleration exceeds the “fall” threshold.

GATO

Team: Robert Sharp (BME ‘17), Alexander Garcia (BME ‘17), Summiah Hafeez (BME ‘17), and Christopher Chu (BME ‘17)

The GATO team sought to design a cutting edge gait assistive device that is as unique as each patient’s prescribed physical therapy. The team took a modular approach to design Dawntreader and each component is separable, interchangeable, and easily replaceable. This versatility allows the system to adapt to each patient and as each patient progresses through their therapy. The Dawntreader’s ability to offer a combination of multiple facets of physical rehabilitation (stability, resistance, range of motion, and promotion of normal gait) into one device is a feature you won’t find on current products on the market. The devices purely mechanical nature allows for components to be repaired and replaced without costly electronics or replacing the whole device.

Stabilitech

Team: Jakob Michiels (BME ‘17), Abigail Avila (BME 5th year), Aalap Mehta (BME ‘17), Augustine Villanueva (BME ‘17) and Adelyn Zeleya (BME,5th year)

Common axillary crutches are used by millions of people with lower limb injuries everyday. The design of these crutches has changed little since they were first introduced. The Stabilitech team sought to reduce the discomfort caused when the crutches are in use, make them more portable, and design them to promote proper use. The group added shock absorbing springs to the base of each crutch to reduce the stress on a user’s arm and wrist. Elastic cords in the crutches components make them foldable, improving their storability. A new sidebar with foam covering and an instructional sticker encourage proper use.