Addressing Global Challenges
In the flurry of final exams in December, Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical, Aerospace, and Structural Engineering students showcased their senior design projects to the campus community.
Biomedical Engineering student projects included ideas for the latest cutting-edge technology for DNA sequencing, improved low-cost medical devices, and used principles behind a children's toy to create a medical device for diabetic patients.
 |
 |
 |
| Click image to enlarge |
Click image to enlarge |
Click image to enlarge |
Biomedical Engineering students Jennifer Yu, Nicole Wilson, and Elizabeth Ochoa presented their project, "Integrated Blood Glucose Monitor and Insulin Dosing Device." The group worked with Dr. Garry Tobin at the Washington University Diabetes Center to focus on creating a functional blood glucose monitor that would cost less than $50 to the patient.
With their product, diabetic patients would carry a device similar to a child's interactive toy story book known as a Leap Pad. When the patient ate a certain non-labeled food (such as fresh fruit), the user would use a pen to click an image of fruit and the insulin dosage would generate as recommended.
"Some products don't have nutritional product info and it's easy to calculate wrong dosages. Our idea would be to have the patient carry a picture based tablet so the information is available. It takes out the small steps of having to look up how foods affect things," said Ochoa.
Food and medicine were also the focus for two separate projects at the Mechanical, Aerospace, and Structural Engineering Design Fair.
To assist St. Louis based Meds & Foods For Kids with efforts to cure child malnutrition in Haiti; Brinton Callaghan, Chris Salgado, and Zach Radwine created a Peanut Sheller. Meds & Foods for Kids makes a special nutritious mixture (containing peanuts) for Haitian children. The group needed a device to unshell peanuts, so the students answered the call and say their prototype works efficiently 90 percent of the time. Along the way, the students learned more than how to unshell peanuts, but the need for resources to prepare meals without refrigeration, cooking, or fuel.
Lindsey Jubel, James Consentino, and Adam Shelly's project responded to several questions and ideas, but one specific thought to help the environment was, "Why are prescription bottles are rarely recycled?" The group created a prescription bottle delabeler as a means of removing important patient information from the bottles for possible reuse.
The Record also recently featured a slideshow of images from the Mechanical, Aerospace, and Structural Engineering Design Fair.
|
