Team Based Design ofBiomedical Devices

1R25EB012973-01The University of Arizona

PD: Jennifer Barton, Ph.D.

Jonathan Vande Geest, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and

Aerospace and Mechanical Engineeringjpv1@email.arizona.edu, 520-621-2514

The University of ArizonaTucson, AZ

Dept of BME4 Faculty complete appointment

7 Faculty split appointment- Chemistry- Physiology

- (3) ECE- (2) AME

Secondary faculty from ENGR,CoM, CALS

ENGR• Administration/ business• Faculty line support• Space • Access to facilities

CoM/AZCC

• Faculty line support

• Space • Access to facilities

Bio5

• Space

1st class of freshman started in Fall 2009– 51 juniors/seniors– 45 sophomores

Dept BME formed in the College of Engineering in 2009, as a result of UA transformation process (11 faculty, 8 FTE)

Team Based Design of Biomedical Devices

The goal of this project is to educate the biomedical engineers of the future to have

– strong engineering design skills– knowledge of the clinical environment– training in translational biomedical engineering – the skills necessary to take medical devices from the

laboratory to the clinic, positively affecting human health

Team Based Design of Biomedical Devices

• Open to all Engineering students interested in biomedical device design

• Required coursework:– Biomedical Instrumentation– Clinical Rotation– Translational Biomedical Engineering

• Clinical Immersion- 5 paid positions• Interdisciplinary Capstone Design Project

Required CourseworkRequired coursework:

– Biomedical Instrumentation (4 credit hour)• measurements on living systems• experimental design• statistical analyses

– Clinical Rotation (1 credit hour)• hospital environment (e.g., patient flow, proper attire in OR)• observe procedure• grand rounds lectures

– Translational Biomedical Engineering (3 credit hour)• ethics in research• proper use of animals in research, human subjects• IP issues• FDA approval procedures

Clinical Immersion• 5 rising seniors; 10 weeks, 40 hours/week, begins

summer 2012• Paired with physician faculty mentor for clinical research

project– Physician pool: faculty in BME Graduate Interdisciplinary

Program, Cardiovascular BME and Biomedical Imaging and Spectroscopy training grants (T32s): about 20 committed.

– Example planned immersion: “assessing off-loading cast effectiveness in healing diabetic foot ulcers… The student will see the array of diagnostic and therapeutic devices available, and will follow patients from initial consultation, through interventions including off-loading casts, and follow up. They would assist in devising instrumented casts to monitor compliance.”

Clinical Immersion

Participate with medical school in acclaimed “Curriculum on Medical Ignorance” (PD: Marlys Witte)

– Formal curriculum to explore the boundaries of ignorance and understand the role of uncertainty in medicine

– Seminars, lectures, and clinical exercises explore the unknown

– Provides strong existing structure, exposes students to larger cohort of medical students

– Compliments engineering curriculum

Capstone Design

• Teams of ~5 students working on industry- and faculty-sponsored research projects, two semester, 6 unit course. – Typically 6-8 projects related to biomedical devices. More expected as

BME program advances to having seniors. – Actively recruiting small businesses, physician faculty. – Financially supports faculty-sponsored projects.

• Anticipate immersion students will each be assigned to a different medical device project, to share experience with their team.

• Additional support given by physician mentor, also a clinical engineer who discusses elements of design not covered in course.

Capstone Design - Example• Porous biomaterial with controlled porosity and hydraulic

permeability– control drug elution from cardiovascular devices– enhance convective transport in combination endovascular

devices• treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms

[www.strokescaninc.com/aaa.htm]

Capstone Design – Polymer Cospraying

Soldani G, Panol G, Sasken HF, Goddard MB, Galletti PM. 1992. Small diameter polyurethane-polydimethylsiloxane vascular prostheses made by a spraying, phase-inversion process. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Med., 3(2): 106-113.

Capstone Design – Polymer Cospraying

Capstone Design – Project Goals• Translating and rotating target for cospraying

ppolymer=10psi pH20=10psi

• Device performance– Porosity via traditional light microscopy and SEM

– Hydraulic permeability

Questions?  

Capstone Design - Example

Spread Adjustment (0-2 revolutions)Flow Rate Adjustment (0-5 revolutions)

Pressure can also be adjusted using regulator (not pictured) with an effective range of 2-10psi