DiagnosticDetectives

M E D I C A L H I S T O R Y S T E M A C T I V I T I E S D E S I G N E D B Y

T H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L M U S E U M O F S U R G I C A L S C I E N C E

GRADES 6-8Next Generation Science

Standards

FIVE CHAPTERSAt-Home Activities with

Supplemental Histories

Table of Contents

SEEING DOUBLEHow Perception Works

1CRAFTING ACURE-ALLMake Your Own Medicine

2THE GOOD ANDTHE BADGrow Your Own Bacteria

3

C O N T E N T S W W W . I M S S . O R G

LENDING AHANDMake Your Own Prosthetic

4THE ARTIFICIALHEARTEngineering Design Challenge

5

GET SOCIAL!Share your progress with us!

6

P A G E 1 W W W . I M S S . O R G

DiagnosticDetectives!Medical history STEMactivit ies designed byThe International Museumof Surgical Science

These experiments and design challenges aredesigned for students from 6-8th grade and arealigned with the Next Generation ScienceStandards, a national set of guidelines forstudent understanding of science principles.The Next Generation Science Standards havealso been adopted by Illinois as the statestandards for science.

Each activity includes a list of materials and

instructions with pictures to guide you along

the way. While a few activities require

specific items, most of the materials can be

substituted with other household items or

craft supplies. Experiment and get creative!

P A G E 2 W W W . I M S S . O R G

DIFFICULTY:

F i r s t , l i g h t b o u n c e s o f f o f t h e o b j e c t s a r o u n d y o u a n d t h a t l i g h t e n t e r s y o u r e y e .T h e n t h e l i g h t p a s s e s t h r o u g h y o u r p u p i l a n d l e n s t o t h e r e t i n a a t t h e b a c k o f y o u r e y e .T h e r e t i n a c o n t a i n s l i g h t s e n s i t i v e c e l l s c a l l e d r o d s a n d c o n e s t h a t c h a n g e t h e p i c t u r e i n t on e r v e s i g n a l s t h a t a r e t r a n s m i t t e d i n t o t h e o p t i c n e r v e .T h e o p t i c n e r v e c a r r i e s t h e n e r v e s i g n a l s t o y o u r b r a i n .F i n a l l y , y o u r b r a i n r e a d s t h e s i g n a l s a n d t e l l s y o u w h a t y o u ' r e s e e i n g .

S t a n d o r s i t s t i l l .C l o s e o r c o v e r o n e e y e .H o l d y o u r a r m s t r a i g h t i n f r o n t o f y o u a n d p o i n t a t a p a r t i c u l a r o b j e c t i n t h e r o o m .S w i t c h e y e s , b u t d o n ’ t m o v e y o u r a r m .

O u r e y e s a r e d e e p l y c o m p l e x o r g a n s t h a t p r o c e s s m i l l i o n s o f u n i t s o f i n f o r m a t i o n e v e r y s e c o n d .I n f a c t , 7 0 % o f o u r b o d y ’ s s e n s e r e c e p t o r s a r e l o c a t e d i n o u r e y e s .

S o , h o w d o y o u r e y e s w o r k ? I t a l l s t a r t s w i t h l i g h t :1 .2 .3 .

4 .5 .

H u m a n s h a v e b i n o c u l a r v i s i o n , m e a n i n g w e s e e t h e w o r l d w i t h t w o e y e s . S i n c e o u r e y e s a r e ac o u p l e i n c h e s a p a r t , t h e y e a c h p e r c e i v e a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t v i e w . O u r b r a i n d o e s t h e w o r k o fc o m b i n i n g t h e s e t w o v i e w s t o c r e a t e a 3 - D p i c t u r e .

T e s t y o u r b i n o c u l a r v i s i o n !1 .2 .3 .4 .

D i d i t l o o k l i k e y o u r f i n g e r m o v e d ? T h a t ' s b e c a u s e e a c h e y e s e e s a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t v i e w .

Seeing DoubleP A G E 3 W W W . I M S S . O R G

How Perception Works

1

N e x t G e n e r a t i o n S c i e n c e S t a n d a r d sL S 1 . A : I n m u l t i c e l l u l a r o r g a n i s m s , t h e b o d y i s a s y s t e m o f m u l t i p l e i n t e r a c t i n g s u b s y s t e m s . T h e s e s u b s y s t e m s a r eg r o u p s o f c e l l s t h a t w o r k t o g e t h e r t o f o r m t i s s u e s a n d o r g a n s t h a t a r e s p e c i a l i z e d f o r p a r t i c u l a r b o d y f u n c t i o n s .

Check out this old-fashioned eye wear. What similarities do younotice between these and modern-day glasses? What differences?

12K gold-filled spectacles. Museum Collection xx1995.18 Gold-plated brass pince-nez. Museum Collection xx1995.20

FUN FACT: X-rays operate using radiation waves. Instead of light bouncing off objects so wecan see them, X-rays reflect how much radiation is absorbed by different parts of the body.

INSTRUCTIONS

Use our template (Appendix 1) or choose your own reference image tocreate your anaglyph.Sketch the outline of your image onto a piece of paper using black marker.Next, get a new blank piece of paper and place it over your sketch. Tracethe sketch with a red marker. You may have to tape the papers to thewindow in order for the image to show through.Move the paper with the red just slightly to the side and trace the imageagain with a blue marker. Your paper should now have two drawingsslightly offset, one in red and one in blue.Put on your 3-D glasses and look at the anaglyph you just created!

P A G E 4 W W W . I M S S . O R G

CREATE A 3-D IMAGE!Y o u ’ l l b e c r e a t i n g a n a n a g l y p h , w h i c h i s a n o p t i c a l e f f e c t t h a t u s e s c o l o r s t o t r i c k y o u r b r a i ni n t o s e e i n g a n i m a g e i n t h r e e d i m e n s i o n s . I f y o u h a v e e v e r b e e n t o a 3 - D m o v i e a n d w o r nb l u e a n d r e d g l a s s e s , y o u h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d a n a n a g l y p h !

L o o k a t t h e s e c o l l e c t i o n s i m a g e s w h i l e w e a r i n g 3 - D g l a s s e s . ( I f y o u d o n ’ t h a v e 3 - D g l a s s e s ,y o u c a n c r e a t e t h e s a m e e f f e c t b y h o l d i n g a s h e e t o f r e d c e l l o p h a n e i n f r o n t o f o n e e y e a n d as h e e t o f b l u e c e l l o p h a n e i n f r o n t o f t h e o t h e r . ) T r y c l o s i n g o n e e y e a n d j u s t l o o k i n g t h r o u g ht h e r e d l e n s o f y o u r 3 - D g l a s s e s . W h a t d o y o u s e e ? D o t h e s a m e f o r t h e e y e w i t h t h e b l u el e n s . O n l y t h e b l u e l i n e s s h o u l d a p p e a r u n d e r t h e r e d l e n s a n d o n l y t h e r e d l i n e s s h o u l da p p e a r u n d e r y o u r b l u e l e n s . A n a g l y p h s w o r k b y s h o w i n g y o u r e y e t w o d i f f e r e n t i m a g e s , o n eb l u e a n d o n e r e d , w h i c h y o u r b r a i n i n t e r p r e t s a s d e p t h , c r e a t i n g a 3 - D e f f e c t .

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

3-D glasses OR blue and red cellophaneDrawing template (APPENDIX 1)Black, red, and blue markersPaper

1

2

3Take a moment to reflect on your creation. Jot downyour thoughts in a notebook.

What other ways can you test your binocular vision?What other optical illusions have you come across?

Activity by Annagh Devitt

P A G E 5 W W W . I M S S . O R G

DIFFICULTY:

I m a g i n e : y o u ’ r e l i v i n g i n 1 8 7 0 a n d y o u d e v e l o p a c o u g h .Y o u h e a d t o t h e p h a r m a c y o r a p o t h e c a r y , a n d t h ep h a r m a c i s t s e l l s y o u t h e p o p u l a r m e d i c a t i o n D r . T h o m a s ’E c l e c t r i c O i l .

I n t h e 1 8 0 0 s , D r . T h o m a s ’ E c l e c t r i c O i l w a s s o l d t o t h ep u b l i c a s a c u r e - a l l t h a t c l a i m e d t o c l e a r u p a n u m b e r o fa i l m e n t s i n c l u d i n g b u r n s , c o l d s , c o u g h s , a r t h r i t i s a n da s t h m a . I t e v e n c l a i m e d t o c u r e d e a f n e s s i n t w o d a y s .

D r . T h o m a s ’ E c l e c t r i c O i l i s a n e x a m p l e o f a p a t e n tm e d i c i n e , a t e r m u s e d t o d e s c r i b e p r e - p a c k a g e dm e d i c a t i o n s s o l d o v e r t h e c o u n t e r a t y o u r l o c a la p o t h e c a r y w i t h n o d o c t o r ’ s p r e s c r i p t i o n . P a t e n tm e d i c i n e o f t e n u s e d d a n g e r o u s i n g r e d i e n t s t o o f f e r w h a tp e o p l e n e e d e d m o s t : p a i n r e l i e f . M a n y o f t h e s e m e d i c a lc o n c o c t i o n s c o n t a i n e d s u b s t a n c e s t o t a k e a w a y t h ef e e l i n g o f p a i n s u c h a s a l c o h o l , m o r p h i n e , o p i u m a n dc o c a i n e . W h i l e t h e s e i n g r e d i e n t s c o u l d m a s k t h e p a i n ,t h e y h a d t e r r i b l e s i d e e f f e c t s i n c l u d i n g o v e r d o s e a n dd e a t h . P r i o r t o t h e 1 9 0 0 s , t h e r e w a s n o r e q u i r e m e n t t ol i s t i n g r e d i e n t s o n f o o d p r o d u c t s o r m e d i c a t i o n , s o i t w a sv e r y d i f f i c u l t f o r p a t i e n t s t o m a k e i n f o r m e d d e c i s i o n s .C o n s u m e r s r e l i e d o n a d v e r t i s e m e n t s , w h i c h w e r e u s u a l l ym i s l e a d i n g , t o g a i n i n f o r m a t i o n .

Crafting a Cure-AllP A G E 6 W W W . I M S S . O R G

Make Your Own Medicine

2

N e x t G e n e r a t i o n S c i e n c e S t a n d a r d sM S - P S 1 - 3 :   G a t h e r a n d m a k e s e n s e o f i n f o r m a t i o n t o d e s c r i b e t h a t s y n t h e t i c m a t e r i a l s c o m e f r o m n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s a n di m p a c t s o c i e t y .

Take a look at these medicine advertisements. How are they different fromtoday? What audiences are they trying to appeal to? What does the advertising

want you to believe? Do you think the advertisement is effective?

Museum Collection xx2006.132Advertising trade card for Ayer's Sarsaparilla

Museum Collection xx2006.123Advertising trade card for Hop Pills

Museum Collection xx2006.188Advertising trade card for Parson's Pills

INSTRUCTIONS

Make your medicine

What substances will you include in your patent medicine? Choose one craftmaterial (e.g. colored beads) to represent each ingredient in your patentmedicine. You can use the list of commonly-used natural ingredients below orcreate your own. Then, pick and choose your ingredients and combine them ina bottle made of glass or plastic.

Opium Effective at pain relief but highly addictiveCocaine Will cure fatigue, but can cause paranoia, delusions and addictionMercury Effective at curing skin ailments, but highly toxicAlcohol Effective at pain relief, but toxic in large amountsGinger Soothes stomach achesLicorice root Soothes stomach aches

G e t c r e a t i v e : g r a b a b o t t l e , p i c k y o u r i n g r e d i e n t s a n d c r e a t e y o u r v e r y o w n p a t e n tm e d i c i n e ! D o y o u w a n t p e o p l e t o f e e l b e t t e r , o r a r e y o u j u s t o u t t o m a k e a q u i c k b u c k ?W i l l y o u r a d v e r t i s i n g b e t r u t h f u l ? A r e y o u t r u s t w o r t h y o r u n t r u s t w o r t h y ?

What kind of advertisements do you see for medicine today?Do you find advertisements for medications to be effective? Why or why not?

Do you think the advertisement you created would be effective today?

Create your label

Next, create a label to accompany the patent medicine you’ve created. Howwill you market your creation? Create a name and image that you think willconvince 1800s consumers to purchase it.

P A G E 7 W W W . I M S S . O R G

CRAFTING A CURE-ALL

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Plastic or glass bottlesColored beadsStrips of colored paperSandRibbons

1

2

Take a moment to reflect on your creation. Jot downyour thoughts in a notebook.

ButtonsPaper clipsFabricOr anything else you have lying around - get creative!Be sure to pick at least 6 materials.

Take a look at these  toothacherecipes from Fenner's CompleteFormulary of 1877.

Activity by Sarah Pinsky

P A G E 8 W W W . I M S S . O R G

DIFFICULTY:

W h e n y o u h e a r t h e w o r d “ b a c t e r i a , ” w h a t ’ s t h e f i r s t t h i n g t h a t c o m e s t o m i n d ? I f y o u t h o u g h t o fa n i n f e c t i o n o r i l l n e s s , y o u ’ r e n o t a l o n e . M a n y p e o p l e t h i n k o f b a c t e r i a a s p r i m a r i l y d a n g e r o u s .B u t w h i l e b a c t e r i a c a n d e f i n i t e l y m a k e u s s i c k , t h e r e a r e a l s o t r i l l i o n s o f g o o d b a c t e r i a t h a t a r ee s s e n t i a l t o o u r s u r v i v a l !

O u r b o d i e s a r e l i k e w a l k i n g p l a n e t s , m a d e u p o f e n v i r o n m e n t s w h e r e d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f b a c t e r i al i v e . G o o d b a c t e r i a h e l p u s d i g e s t o u r f o o d , a b s o r b v i t a m i n s a n d n u t r i e n t s a n d f i g h t a g a i n s ti n f e c t i o n . T h e c u r r e n t s c i e n t i f i c e s t i m a t e i s t h a t b a c t e r i a e x i s t i n o u r b o d i e s a t a 1 : 1 r a t i o t oh u m a n c e l l s .

D i f f e r e n t b a c t e r i a e x i s t i n d i f f e r e n t m i c r o b i o m e s i n y o u r b o d y . S o m e m i c r o b i o m e s i n t h e b o d yi n c l u d e t h e s k i n , t h e u p p e r r e s p i r a t o r y s y s t e m ( n o s e a n d t h r o a t ) a n d t h e l o w e r d i g e s t i v e t r a c t( i n t e s t i n e s a n d r e c t u m ) . W h e n b a c t e r i a a r e i n t h e r i g h t h o m e s , t h e y a r e h a p p y a n d w e a r eh a p p y . W e s o m e t i m e s g e t s i c k w h e n b a c t e r i a a r e i n t h e w r o n g e n v i r o n m e n t o r f o r e i g n b a c t e r i aa r e i n t r o d u c e d i n t o o u r b o d i e s .

H u m a n s h a v e a l o n g h i s t o r y o f u s i n g c o n t r o l l e d b a c t e r i a t o o u r a d v a n t a g e t o p r o d u c e f e r m e n t e df o o d s s u c h a s b e e r , c h e e s e , y o g u r t a n d s o u r d o u g h b r e a d . S c i e n t i s t s a n d e n g i n e e r s a l s o u s eb a c t e r i a t o p u r i f y c o m m e r c i a l w a s t e w a t e r a n d t o c r e a t e m e d i c a t i o n s s u c h a s a n t i b i o t i c s a n di n s u l i n .

The Good & the BadP A G E 9 W W W . I M S S . O R G

Grow Your Own Bacteria

3

N e x t G e n e r a t i o n S c i e n c e S t a n d a r d sM S - L S 2 - 4 : C o n s t r u c t a n a r g u m e n t s u p p o r t e d b y e m p i r i c a l e v i d e n c e t h a t c h a n g e s t o p h y s i c a l o r b i o l o g i c a l c o m p o n e n t s o fa n e c o s y s t e m a f f e c t p o p u l a t i o n s .H S - P S 1 - 5 : A p p l y s c i e n t i f i c p r i n c i p l e s a n d e v i d e n c e t o p r o v i d e a n e x p l a n a t i o n a b o u t t h e e f f e c t s o f c h a n g i n g t h et e m p e r a t u r e o r c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f t h e r e a c t i n g p a r t i c l e s o n t h e r a t e a t w h i c h a r e a c t i o n o c c u r s .

Color and illustrate your own bacteria buddies - the kind that help you survive!

See Appendices 2 - 6Activity by Emily Baughman

BACTERIA BUDDIES!

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill one bin with warm water and one with ice.Fill the three empty bottles: one with cold water, one with room temperature water, and onewith warm water. Use the same water source for all three (e.g. tap water).Fill each bottle with 5 tablespoons of sugar and shake to dissolve.Pour one packet (or two teaspoons) of yeast into each bottle and immediately stretch theopening of a balloon over the opening of the bottle. Secure with a rubber band.Place the bottle of warm water into the bin of warm water, the bottle of cold water into the binof ice, and leave the room temperature bottle as is.Watch the balloons and make observations. As the yeast begins to consume sugar, the balloonsshould inflate with carbon dioxide. Which balloon is filling up the quickest?NOTE: Once the yeast is activated in the bottles, don’t put the caps back on! The releasedcarbon dioxide can create enormous pressure inside the bottle.

P A G E 1 0 W W W . I M S S . O R G

GROW YOUR OWN BACTERIA!Y o u a r e a m e d i c a l e n g i n e e r w h o i s c u l t i v a t i n g b a c t e r i a t o c r e a t e a n e w m e d i c a t i o n . I n o r d e rt o d o t h i s , y o u n e e d t o u n d e r s t a n d e x a c t l y w h i c h e n v i r o n m e n t a l f a c t o r s p r o m o t e b a c t e r i a lg r o w t h . Y o u ’ l l c o m p l e t e a n e x p e r i m e n t t o d e t e r m i n e w h a t t e m p e r a t u r e w a t e r c r e a t e s t h eb e s t b a c t e r i a l b i o m e . Y o u ’ l l u s e y e a s t a s a s t a n d - i n f o r b a c t e r i a . L i k e b a c t e r i a , y e a s t i s as i n g l e - c e l l e d o r g a n i s m t h a t t h r i v e s b e s t i n c e r t a i n t e m p e r a t u r e s . Y e a s t c o n s u m e s s u g a r , a n da s i t d o e s s o , i t r e l e a s e s c a r b o n d i o x i d e . T h e m o r e c a r b o n d i o x i d e r e l e a s e d , t h e m o r e s u g a rc o n s u m e d . T h i s e x p e r i m e n t t e s t s w h a t t e m p e r a t u r e w a t e r ( c o l d , r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e , o rw a r m ) e n c o u r a g e s y e a s t t o c o n s u m e s u g a r . B e g i n b y s t a t i n g a h y p o t h e s i s . W h i c ht e m p e r a t u r e w a t e r d o y o u t h i n k w i l l b e b e s t f o r b a c t e r i a l g r o w t h : c o l d , r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e ,o r w a r m ? W h y ? W r i t e d o w n y o u r p r e d i c t i o n .

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

3 small/mid-sized plastic bottles3 packets (or 6 teaspoons) of yeast2 bins or buckets, large enough to containone of the soda bottles and some warmwater or ice

Take a moment to reflect on your experiment. Jotdown your thoughts in a notebook.

Which balloon filled up the fastest? This is the water temperature that best promotes bacterial growth!What other observations did you make?

Was your hypothesis correct? If not, how would you revise it?Why do you think we refrigerate our food?

3 balloons3 rubber bandsIceWarm waterSugar (15 tablespoons)

P A G E 1 1 W W W . I M S S . O R G

DIFFICULTY:

P r o s t h e t i c s , o r a r t i f i c i a l r e p l a c e m e n t b o d y p a r t s , h a v e b e e n a r o u n d f o r a t l e a s t 3 , 0 0 0 y e a r s .O n e o f t h e o l d e s t e x a m p l e s i s a n E g y p t i a n m u m m y w h o w a s f o u n d w e a r i n g a p r o s t h e t i c b i g t o e !P l e n t y o f G r e e k a n d R o m a n t e x t s m e n t i o n p r o s t h e t i c s , w h i c h w e r e u s u a l l y m a d e o f w o o d d u r i n gt h a t t i m e . A n d w e ’ r e a l l f a m i l i a r w i t h a n i c o n i c p r o s t h e t i c d e v i c e : a p i r a t e ’ s p e g l e g .R e p l a c e m e n t l i m b s h a v e a l o n g a n d s t o r i e d h i s t o r y t h a t s p a n s t h e g l o b e .

F r o m t h e 1 5 t h - 1 9 t h c e n t u r i e s , p r o s t h e t i c s i n E u r o p e w e r e m a d e f r o m a v a r i e t y o f m a t e r i a l s ,i n c l u d i n g w o o d , m e t a l a n d l e a t h e r . T h e y c o u l d o f t e n b e r o t a t e d a n d b e n t , a n d w e r e o p e r a t e d b yc r a n k s , p u l l e y s , s p r i n g s a n d c a b l e s .

L a r g e - s c a l e c o n f l i c t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y W o r l d W a r I a n d W o r l d W a r I I , a n d t h e i n j u r i e s t h a t r e s u l t e d ,c a t a p u l t e d p r o s t h e t i c d e s i g n i n t o t h e m o d e r n e r a . T o d a y , r e p l a c e m e n t l i m b s a r e m a d e o f a l lk i n d s o f s y n t h e t i c m a t e r i a l s a n d c a n b e 3 - D p r i n t e d t o e x a c t m e a s u r e m e n t s . T h e m o s t m o d e r np r o s t h e t i c s c a n e v e n b e c o n t r o l l e d b y a p e r s o n ’ s t h o u g h t s .

Lending a HandP A G E 1 2 W W W . I M S S . O R G

Make Your Own Prosthetic

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N e x t G e n e r a t i o n S c i e n c e S t a n d a r d sM S - E T S 1 - 1 : D e f i n e t h e c r i t e r i a a n d c o n s t r a i n t s o f a d e s i g n p r o b l e m w i t h s u f f i c i e n t p r e c i s i o n t o e n s u r e a s u c c e s s f u ls o l u t i o n , t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t r e l e v a n t s c i e n t i f i c p r i n c i p l e s a n d p o t e n t i a l i m p a c t s o n p e o p l e a n d t h e n a t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n tt h a t m a y l i m i t p o s s i b l e s o l u t i o n s .M S - E T S 1 - 3 : A n a l y z e d a t a f r o m t e s t s t o d e t e r m i n e s i m i l a r i t i e s a n d d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g s e v e r a l d e s i g n s o l u t i o n s t o i d e n t i f yt h e b e s t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f e a c h t h a t c a n b e c o m b i n e d i n t o a n e w s o l u t i o n t o b e t t e r m e e t t h e c r i t e r i a f o r s u c c e s s .

Museum Collection xx1995.988Wood and leather artificial leg

Museum Collection xx1995.995Steel artificial mechanical grasping hand

Museum Collection xx1995.987Metal and wood artificial leg

Museum Collection 2002.1.378Acrylic artificial eye

Check out these prosthetics from our collection to gain inspiration for what you'll createin the next section!  How have artificial limbs evolved over the past three centuries?

INSTRUCTIONS

Use a sheet of paper to brainstorm and sketch a design.How long does your prosthesis need to be? Havesomeone help measure your lower leg from where itbends at the knee.Consider these questions: What materials can you useto support your weight? What materials will becomfortable enough to rest your knee on? How will youconnect the prosthesis to your leg?Build your prosthesis! Get creative and test outdifferent materials and approaches to achievestructural stability and comfort.On the right is our prosthetic leg! We used many layersof cardboard to create a strong structure, bubble wrapto make it comfortable and red yarn to attach it. Yourscan look like ours or it can look totally different.

P A G E 1 3 W W W . I M S S . O R G

BUILD A PROSTHETIC LEG!Y o u ’ r e a b i o m e d i c a l e n g i n e e r a n d n e e d t o d e s i g n y o u r o w n p r o s t h e t i c l e g ! T h i s p r o s t h e s i sw i l l r e p l a c e o n e o f y o u r l e g s f r o m t h e k n e e d o w n , a n d y o u w i l l w e a r i t b y b e n d i n g y o u r k n e ea n d b a l a n c i n g i t o n y o u r d e s i g n . W h a t d o y o u t h i n k a r e t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t f e a t u r e s o f ap r o s t h e t i c l e g ? S o m e c r i t i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e s t r e n g t h , d u r a b i l i t y , l o n g e v i t y , s h o c ka b s o r p t i o n , l i f e - l i k e n e s s a n d c o m f o r t .

T h e p r o s t h e t i c l e g y o u c r e a t e t o d a y n e e d s t o b e a b l e t o d o t h r e e t h i n g s : s u p p o r t y o u rw e i g h t , a t t a c h t o y o u r k n e e a n d b e c o m f o r t a b l e e n o u g h t o r e s t y o u r w e i g h t o n i t .

B e f o r e y o u s t a r t b u i l d i n g , u s e a s h e e t o f p a p e r t o b r a i n s t o r m a n d s k e t c h a d e s i g n . H o w l o n gd o e s y o u r p r o s t h e s i s n e e d t o b e ? H a v e s o m e o n e h e l p m e a s u r e y o u r l o w e r l e g f r o m w h e r e i tb e n d s a t t h e k n e e . W h a t m a t e r i a l s c a n y o u u s e t o s u p p o r t y o u r w e i g h t ? W h a t m a t e r i a l s w i l lb e c o m f o r t a b l e e n o u g h t o r e s t y o u r k n e e o n ? H o w w i l l y o u c o n n e c t t h e p r o s t h e s i s t o y o u rl e g ?

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Tape measure or rulerScissorsDuct tapeStructural materials for the prosthesis.Options include:For body attachment: string, rope, twine

Take a moment to reflect on your creation. Jot downyour thoughts in a notebook.

What materials did you use? Why?How did you construct the prosthesis to bear your weight?

Is your prosthesis comfortable? Can you use your prosthesis to walk?

For leg structure: toilet plunger (unused), plastic pipes, metalpipes, metal strips, cardboard tube (from wrapping paper roll),wooden 2' x 4', thin metal duct material (to be rolled and tapedinto a tube shape), all generally 1.5 ft longFor comfort: large sponges, scrap bubble wrap, scrap cardboard,etc.

P A G E 1 4 W W W . I M S S . O R G

DIFFICULTY:

W h i c h p a r t o f o u r b o d y d e f i n e s u s a s h u m a n b e i n g s ? I f y o u a s k e d a n a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n , t h e y ’ ds a y i t ’ s o u r h e a r t s . T h e y b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e h e a r t w a s t h e h o m e o f t h e s o u l a n d g a v e p e o p l e t h ea b i l i t y t o t h i n k a n d f e e l .

O n e t h i n g i s c e r t a i n : w i t h o u t a h e a r t , w e w o u l d n o t s u r v i v e . O u r h e a r t s d o t h e i m p o r t a n t j o b o fp u m p i n g b l o o d t h r o u g h o u r l u n g s , w h e r e i t p i c k s u p o x y g e n , a n d t h e n t h a t o x y g e n a t e d b l o o d i ss e n t o u t t o t h e r e s t o f t h e b o d y t o p r o d u c e e n e r g y .

I n a h e a l t h y h e a r t , b l o o d o n l y t r a v e l s i n o n e d i r e c t i o n . I n o r d e r t o e n s u r e t h i s o n e - w a y f l o w , t h eh e a r t h a s f o u r v a l v e s . A v a l v e i s a s t r u c t u r e t h a t c o n t r o l s a n d d i r e c t s t h e f l o w o f f l u i d s , a n d o u rf o u r h e a r t v a l v e s e n s u r e t h e o n e d i r e c t i o n a l f l o w o f b l o o d . W h a t o t h e r e x a m p l e s o f v a l v e s c a ny o u t h i n k o f ? T h e f o u r v a l v e s i n t h e h e a r t a r e t h e a o r t i c v a l v e a n d t h e p u l m o n a r y v a l v e ( t h es e m i l u n a r v a l v e s ) a n d t h e m i t r a l v a l v e a n d t h e t r i c u s p i d v a l v e ( t h e a t r i o v e n t r i c u l a r v a l v e s ) .T h e y a l l o p e n a n d c l o s e a t p r e c i s e t i m e s t o a l l o w b l o o d t o t r a v e l t h r o u g h t h e m .

C e r t a i n d i s e a s e s c a n d a m a g e o u r h e a r t v a l v e s , m a k i n g t h e m s t i f f a n d s w o l l e n o r l o o s e a n df l o p p y . T h i s c a u s e s t h e v a l v e s t o m a l f u n c t i o n , e i t h e r n o t l e t t i n g b l o o d t h r o u g h p r o p e r l y o rl e t t i n g b l o o d s p i l l b a c k t h e w r o n g w a y . I f t h i s h a p p e n s , s o m e t i m e s a p a t i e n t n e e d s t o h a v e t h e i rv a l v e r e p l a c e d . B i o m e d i c a l e n g i n e e r s h a v e d e v e l o p e d a r t i f i c i a l v a l v e s t h a t c a n b e s u r g i c a l l yi n s e r t e d i n t o t h e b o d y , s o m e m a d e o f o r g a n i c a n i m a l t i s s u e a n d o t h e r s m a d e o f m e t a l , w i r e a n dp l a s t i c . T a k e a l o o k a t t h e s e a r t i f i c i a l v a l v e s f r o m o u r M u s e u m c o l l e c t i o n :

The Artificial HeartP A G E 1 5 W W W . I M S S . O R G

Engineering Design Challenge

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N e x t G e n e r a t i o n S c i e n c e S t a n d a r d sM S - E T S 1 - 1 : D e f i n e t h e c r i t e r i a a n d c o n s t r a i n t s o f a d e s i g n p r o b l e m w i t h s u f f i c i e n t p r e c i s i o n t o e n s u r e a s u c c e s s f u ls o l u t i o n , t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t r e l e v a n t s c i e n t i f i c p r i n c i p l e s a n d p o t e n t i a l i m p a c t s o n p e o p l e a n d t h e n a t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n tt h a t m a y l i m i t p o s s i b l e s o l u t i o n s .M S - E T S 1 - 2 : E v a l u a t e c o m p e t i n g d e s i g n s o l u t i o n s u s i n g a s y s t e m a t i c p r o c e s s t o d e t e r m i n e h o w w e l l t h e y m e e t t h e c r i t e r i aa n d c o n s t r a i n t s o f t h e p r o b l e m . ( G r a d e s 6 - 8 )

What do you observe about these heart valves? How do these deviceslet blood flow one direction but not the other?

Museum Collection 1996.19Alvarez infant aortic heart valve

Museum Collection 1996.14Starr-Edwards aortic heart valve

Museum Collection 1996.31Wada-Cutter mitral heart valve

Museum Collection 1996.61Duromedics bileaflet aortic heart valve

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare large-scale heart model.The heart model is a cardboard box divided into two equalsections by a dividing wall. This dividing wall should have agap in it so that both sides are connected by a small space.This model represents two chambers of the heart. Your jobis to construct a device that will allow objects to flow onedirection in the box but not the other.

Pour the “blood” (we used dried chickpeas) into one side of thebox, and tip it so that they roll through the gap in the dividingwall to the other side. This represents blood flowing from onechamber of the heart to another.Start brainstorming how you might build a heart valve thatallows the “blood” to flow in one direction and not the other.Begin by sketching your ideas. What will it look like? Whatmaterials will you use? On the right is what ours looks like, butyours can look totally different. There are many designs thatwill work.Build your valve and test it out. Does the "blood" successfullyflow in one direction?How about the other direction? Count how manymarbles/beans/beads it lets through either way and write downyour findings.Think about how your valve might be improved and makeadjustments as needed. Test the effectiveness again. Were youmore successful or less than your last try?Continue to improve and test your design until you’vesuccessfully built a valve that lets blood flow in one directionbut not the other.

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P A G E 1 6 W W W . I M S S . O R G

BUILD A HEART VALVE!Y o u a r e a b i o m e d i c a l e n g i n e e r d e s i g n i n g a v a l v e r e p l a c e m e n t t o h e l p s a v e t h e l i f e o f ap a t i e n t . H o w c a n y o u d e s i g n a v a l v e t h a t o n l y a l l o w s t h e f l o w o f b l o o d i n o n e d i r e c t i o n ?

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

One model heart box (a box with an incompletedividing wall, see photo)Small, curved objects to represent blood, such as:

marbles, dried beans, corn kernels, roundbeads

Take a moment to reflect on your creation.Jot down your thoughts in a notebook.

Did your valve work effectively? Why or why not?What materials did you use and why?

What were the pros and cons of each material?How did you improve your design?

Craft supplies you might find around the house, such as:construction paper, cardboard, popsicle sticks, indexcards, string, aluminum foil, scotch tape

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Get Social!P A G E 1 7 W W W . I M S S . O R G

Share your progress with us!

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Tag us on social media!Instagram: @surgicalmuseumchicago

Facebook: @imsschicago

Twitter : @IMSS_Chicago

We want to see your progress! Share your

progress and finished project photos with us

for a chance to be featured in our upcoming

newsletters and social media. Your photos

may also be shared nationally with the

Association of Science and Technology

Centers initiative!

Share your progress photos with us and

receive a complimentary one-time family

pass to the Museum!

We won't share your photos publicly without

your permission and written release form.

Use our hashtag!#IMSSDiagnosticDetectives

Email us your photos!Send to info@imss.org with the

subject "Diagnostic Detectives"

A P P E N D I X 1 W W W . I M S S . O R G

A P P E N D I X 2 W W W . I M S S . O R G

A P P E N D I X 3 W W W . I M S S . O R G

A P P E N D I X 4 W W W . I M S S . O R G

A P P E N D I X 5 W W W . I M S S . O R G

A P P E N D I X 6 W W W . I M S S . O R G

PRESENTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF SURGICAL SCIENCE

1524 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60610

www.imss.org • info@imss.org • 312-642-6502

Diagnostic DetectivesM E D I C A L H I S T O R Y S T E M A C T I V I T I E S

ILLUSTRATIONSBy Emily Baughman

LESSON PLANSBy Miranda Pettengill

DESIGNBy Michelle Rinard

MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY A GRANT FROM