Biomedical Design Projects

There have been many opportunities for me to develop my biomedical device CAD. Several of the projects relied on researching and understanding the ISO regulations behind each device.

Usability Engineering Project (fourth year)

As a fourth year human factors and usability design project, my group chose to tackle the case of embolisms caused by accidentally injecting air into IV lines. Together we brainstormed several solutions ranging from colour changing plastic for visual indicators to changing training protocols for nursing staff. The best solution we determined was a dedicated device to interface with an existing Baxter catheter arrangement.

Once the solution was chosen, the device was modelled from off-the-shelf components into a possible unit for manufacturing. The basic framework involves a bubble detector registering the air within the tubing and signalling a clamp to stop the flow. The most important constraints were keeping the overall size and weight small enough for an IV line to support the weight without causing drooping.

An interesting aspect to consider was the timing of the air traveling through the tube and being stopped within the given space. Luckily all the analysis proved that the idea was a viable solution.

The full report is available |here|.

Research & Development (co-op term)

For one of my co-op placements, I was fortunate to get a job with VoxCell BioInnovation. At this medical device start-up, the level of responsibility and opportunity was high.