2) Grip Exertion Measurement System (GEMS): There is a high incidence of upper extremity overuse injuries among the manual wheelchair user population. The most prominent injury sites are the shoulder and wrist. Wrist pathology is most often Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Development of CTS is likely related to the repetitive gripping of the wheelchair handrim during propulsion. Limitations in instrumentation have prevented the accurate measurement of grip forces during wheelchair propulsion. Current approximations of grip during propulsion are made using electromyographic measurements of the forearm muscles (which include the finger flexor muscles). Quantifying grip force or pressure distribution during propulsion will enable researchers to better understand how hard and in what patterns wheelchair users grip the handrim. This research could lead to identifying patterns of grip which prevent or prolong the development of injuries. Results from the GEMS will be validated using a human subject study. Beneficial Designs (Nashville) is equipped with a wheelchair propulsion biomechanics laboratory, machine tools, CAD facilities, data acquisition equipment, and a variety of sensors. Students will have access to the Beneficial Designs resources.

3. Thomas J. Limbird M.D.,Associate Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery,   thomas.j.limbird@Vanderbilt.Edu 

Fractures that occur just above total knee prostheses (para-prosthetic fractures) are particularly difficult to treat due to the relatively little bone one has to work with.  One of the current methods is to run an intramedullary nail up through the knee prosthesis and fix the nail to the femur with screws.  It would be nice if we could somehow attach the prosthesis to the nail  as well and create a much more rigid construct that would maintain the desired alignment.  I would like to design an adaptor that would connect the nail and the prosthesis.  I’ve got a knee, I can get a nail, and then I need someone with ideas.  If you think this would be suitable for your students, let me know; otherwise I will look to the nail manufacturers for advice.

1. At the conclusion of every voice box exam with a rigid telescope, we have to clean the scope. This process includes leaving the scope in Cidex for 20 minutes which requires the tending of the cidex containers as the cidex can damage the scope seals if left in the solution too long. Is it possible that an engineer might create a device that would deliver cidex to a container upon command, leave the cidex in the container for the required 20 minutes, and then empty to cidex into a storage container for subsequent use. That way, the integrity of the scope seals would not be jeopardized by remaining in the fluid too long.
2. The next is to build a foot switch that will activate the record function on a new DVD recorder.
3. The third, is to find the location of the fundamental frequency in a stroboscope and building a display of the fundamental on the video screen.  (projects may need to be combined)

1.      Multi-IV fluid feed system: Design a low cost fluid feed system that delivers multiple fluids through a single tubular outlet without solute and retrograde bacteria cross-contamination. 

2.  Device to aid communication between intubated patients and care providers: Intubated patients cannot talk and is often restraint to prevent self-extubation.  Design a communication system that will help with the communication process.  Address the issue of portability, availability, user interface and flexible configuration to meet the needs in various situations and care areas.

3.  Automatic Metered Dose Inhalant (MDI) delivery device: Metered dose inhalants are used to deliver inhaled medication to patients both at home and in critical care setting.  In the hospital, it is desirable to have an electromechanical means to deliver the drug, e.g. patients that are mechanically ventilated and sedated.  Prior to the delivery, the medication in the MDI reservoir has to be well shaken.  It is, therefore, desirable to have an electromechanical device that will ensure that the medication is homogenized with the propellant and delivered automatically as prescribed electronically. 

Per our discussion, I am pleased to forward what MNT perceives as its current intellectual property for each of the design projects previously submitted. In each case, we would like to have Vanderbilt acknowledge that the current intellectual property listed below belongs to MNT and any improvements generated through the projects would be shared equally between Vanderbilt and MNT.

Also, as in the past, we need the following from each student working on our projects.
1.                  Complete name (with middle initial), address, telephone, and email.
2.                  Completion of MNT’s mutual non-disclosure agreement.
3.                  Verification that each student is a US citizen.
4.                  Each student completing a MNT survey will receive nominal compensation (typically $100) at the conclusion of the project.
5.                  Students working on these projects will have an advantage to pursue summer MNT internships, which pay $4,000 to $5,000 for 12 weeks of 30 hours per week of effort, with MNT.  

Project 1 – Development of a Leadless Surface Mount Micro-Sized Load Cell

This project is among the very highest of future revenues and proprietary rights for MNT and at least for the next few months cannot be a part of the design projects due to disclosure restrictions. MNT owns the Micro-LID™ Leadless Surface Mount packaging technology (dry-pressed ceramic and metallization techniques) as purchased from Alberox / Frenchtown Ceramics on August 18, 1993. MNT owns the load cell application concepts of this device and is currently in the process of completing a provisional patent. This provisional patent is expected to be filed by our patent and IP attorneys, Myers Bigel Sibley Sajovec (MBSS,) shortly after a scheduled meeting on October 10, 2003 in Nashville. Once this provisional patent is filed, the project may move forward in all haste with MNT owning the patent rights and application concepts and any improvements to assembly processes and test data generated owned equally and mutually publishable by Vanderbilt and MNT.

Project 2 – Design and Development of a Lightweight and Portable “Walker – Lifter”

To the best of our knowledge, no students have selected this project. All rights to intellectual property for this project (including patents) may be shared equally between Vanderbilt and Robert V. Allen / Judith A. Allen. The primary objective of this project is to develop a potentially patentable and reasonable cost orthopedic walker for commercial applications.

Project 3 – Design of an ASIC from a Forced Electrical Stimulator Micro-Flex Design

MNT owns the original schematic design. All development and improvements of the “ASIC-able” part of this schematic may be shared equally between Vanderbilt and MNT. The full schematic design of the working Micro-Flex assembly is immediately available and it is anticipated that partitioning to isolate the portion of the schematic that will comprise the ASIC device through design, fabrication, and test will follow a natural flow consistent with classroom instruction and project milestones, with performance results to represent a “best efforts” basis as close as practical to the original performance of the Micro-Flex assembly. MNT’s primary objective of this project is to learn how to specify ASIC biomedical implantable devices for volume-oriented human and/or animal applications.  Project assumed under EE/CS direction. 

Project 4 – FDA Approval Qualification of a Micro-Flex Hybrid Design

All rights to intellectual property for this project may be equally shared between Vanderbilt and MNT and the results are highly encouraged to be published in a professional forum. Most of the equipment is available at MNT’s facilities and Vanderbilt’s equipment contributions to complete the project would be major failure analysis items such as SEM, SAM, FIB, and possibly autoclave. At this time, MNT is searching the used market for an autoclave and at one time MNT understood that Vanderbilt may have had a surplus autoclave in storage. MNT needs about four (4) weeks to procure parts and assemble samples to test and the test will need to include a 1000 hour (six week) operating life test at elevated temperature with weekly interim readings at 168, 336, 504, 672, and 840 hours. Investigation of non-lead solders assembled on polyimide flex circuitry and performance of parylene or related coatings should also be a part of the project.

Please call me or Ben at our new 914 Building number, 662-3104, or my private number 662-0023 if you have any questions or comments. I would suspect that we should be able to formalize a document related to MNT versus Vanderbilt intellectual property for student design projects fairly rapidly. Also, Ben’s and my email are respectively bas@micronovatech.com and rva@micronovatech.com.

An upper class biomedical engineering student is needed to help perform a study in the adult and pediatric emergency departments.   Any student interested must be able to begin within the first couple weeks of school.  The purpose of this  project is to study communication patterns, workflow patterns, and resource availability in the adult and pediatric emergency departments at VUMC.   In addition the study will assess and identify specific contributing factors to workload, stress and fatigue in resident and attending physician staffing.  The major objective is to quantify the complex nature of the ED work environment and to identify system and human factors that influence safety and efficiency.  Ideally, knowledge gained from this research will be used to design and develop process or technological improvements to the ED system.

Handheld Physical Activity Diary/Record: The measurement of free-living physical activity levels, to estimate physical activity energy expenditure or to describe the amount of time spent in different types/intensities and activity, is methodologically challenging because physical activity is done intermittently throughout the day, occurs in many different social domains (e.g., at home, work, for recreation), and most assessment methods rely on the memory of the respondent to provide salient details. 
            Physical activity records/diaries provide an opportunity to gather detailed information about activity patterns as the activities occur, resulting in a minimization of reliance on memory for critical data elements.  For this reason, this type of data collection is considered to be one of the more accurate methods of obtaining information about free-living activities.  However, there are a number of limitations to current physical activity record methodology, including, crude data collection methods (paper pencil), simplistic data entry and management procedures, and an inability to evaluate respondent compliance with key record keeping instructions. 
          Handheld devices (e.g., personal digital assistants) offer an exceptional opportunity to capture detailed information about free-living physical activity patterns, and creating a “system” for processing the resulting data offers the opportunity to summarize the data in a manner that is more sophisticated than currently available. 
          The project seeks to develop such a system by adapting available physical activity recording systems to an appropriate handheld platform.  The eventual physical activity record/diary should:
1) be simple enough that computer novices could quickly become proficient in its use,
2) be able to easily retrieve data from the field to monitor compliance,
3) be able to evaluate compliance for each day of recording, and
4) provide summary data by activity type (e.g., household, occupational, exercise), intensity (sitting/inactivity, light, moderate, vigorous), and for different activity patterns (e.g., the number bouts per day of activity of lasting different amounts of time). 
        The objective of this project will be to develop and test – for feasibility – a prototype Handheld Physical Activity Record/Diary.  Such a system would have great utility in research and clinical settings, as well as potential commercial application.

Student Design Competition:  Universal Design for Accessible Medical Instrumentation

 Project 1: Wheelchair Platform Device: Persons with disabilities need access to all forms of modern health care, including dental procedures, health care check ups, and diagnostic procedures such as mammography.  Unfortunately, barriers are common for persons with disabilities because of patient positioning, comfort and ease of use.  A platform device is desired that enables wheelchair users access to health care procedures.  The device should have two-degrees of freedom (rotation of 360 degrees, and vertical translation from 3”-9” above the floor). 

It should be accessible, which includes addressing the following specifications:

·        the wheelchair client should be able to wheel onto the device, going up a small ramp,
·        the device will be motorized, with adjustments possible while the client and his/her wheelchair are safely secured to the device, and with an easy-to-use control interface that accommodates users with disabilities, 
·        the device will be transportable, by carrying and/or rolling, and
·        the device will include safety features during use and transportation. 

Project 2: Weight Scale for Wheelchair Users: For persons at risk for conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) where changes in body weight carry clinical significance, it is recommended that the person’s weight be monitored at least once per day.  Persons with disabilities using a wheelchair often have difficulty weighing themselves using common scales because of the wheelchair and positioning issues, and thus lack access to an important aspect of health care.  Others cannot weigh themselves regularly in a home setting because of difficulties in standing for an appropriate length of time.  In such cases weight measurement could be made while they sit in a chair or rest on a bed.  A weight scale for home use by wheelchair users is desired that is easy to use without assistance, low cost and accurate.  The weight scale device should not require the person with disability to leave their wheelchair, and should provide a calibrated weight measure that is easy to see (and/or hear) and preferably recorded digitally so that it can be easily compared to previous measurements.  Ideally, there would be feedback to the subject (who may have visual or hearing impairment) when a stable measurement has been obtained.  It should be easy to transport and set up within a home, with a caregiver able to move it to another location.  Ideally, it should be accessible to the largest number of possible users, and thus also be flexible

Student Design Teams Sought for 2004 CSIDC
Students from universities and colleges worldwide are invited to participate in the 2004 IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition. The CSIDC is an annual challenge that allows teams of undergraduate engineering students the opportunity to design, from inception to prototype, a special-purpose computer-based device to solve a real-world problem. The competition has a $25,000 first prize.

The 2003 CSIDC challenge, which began in December 2002, recently concluded with a live World Finals event featuring multimedia presentations from the top 10 contestant teams. More than ever before, this year's competition fulfilled a recruitment goal of wide international representation.

Each year, the CSIDC begins with proposals submitted by prospective teams, chosen both on technical merit and to represent all corners of the world. Selected teams then work at their home institutions over the course of five months to complete a working prototype of a marketable device. Only the 10 most-promising devices, based on lengthy written reports, are presented in a live head-to-head competition.

In 2002, a change in CSIDC rules allowed the number of teams accepted into the competition to increase from 80 to 300. Rather than providing student teams with standardized kits, as had been the case in the past, organizers instead required teams to provide their own standard PCs, and imposed a $400 limit on spending for peripherals. In another change to the CSDIC process, organizers also broadened the theme away from a specific realm to a simple mandate that teams produce applications with a demonstrable social benefit.

In 2004, the idea of social responsibility is targeted in the theme "Making the World a Safer Place." Examples of devices that might follow this theme include GPS technologies that could help aircraft avoid collisions, environmental monitoring systems, or devices that track patients who experience dementia.

Application materials are due by 1 November. Teams will be selected by 14 November.

Send completed registration forms by fax to +1 202 728 0884 or by mail to IEEE Computer Society—CSIDC, 1730 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036-1992.

Summary: We have previously demonstrated that panoramic imaging systems allow for acquisition of complete 3-D epicardial surface models of in vitro rabbit  hearts using a single camera and two mirrors Design: An improved panoramic imaging system which uses three synchronized 1Kfps CCD cameras which can be reproducibly positioned, is economical, and manufacturable.

Details: In order to fully understand large-scale arrhythmia electrodynamics (fibrillation and defibrillation), we need a means of whole-heart visualization. For most current studies, the electrical behavior is monitored by coating the heart with a voltage-sensitive dye, which transduces changes in the transmembrane potential into optical fluorescence. Our previous design for a panoramic imaging modality employed one front view of the heart, plus a left and right mirror reflected view, giving us full epicardial coverage. We then create a 3-D geometric reconstruction of the rabbit heart by rotating the heart in front of the camera and using successive snapshots to iteratively generate a wireframe model. The  florescence intensity information is then texture mapped from each 2-D pixel to the 3-D surface model. The end goal is to use the system for real-time imaging of the full epicardial surface. But currently, the camera calibration and determination of the mirror orientation takes place after completion of the experiment.

We propose to continue the development of the system to provide higher spatial resolution and greater reconstruction accuracy by using three cameras (rather than two mirrors). This would give us higher spatial resolution, approximately three-fold more pixels, and more uniform coverage of the heart than the previous system.

Desirable student qualities:

1. Mathematics: Ability and interest in coordinate transformations.
2. Experimental Matters: Ability to move from theoretical geometry to mechanical devices where compromises must be made and errors minimized.
3. Self Starting: After initial mentoring, the student should use initiative in learning about, researching, and working on tasks. Doing more than asked is desirable.
4. Creativity: Imagination and creativity are as important as GPA on a project like this.
5. CAD: CAD experience is desirable but not absolutely necessary.
6. Optics: Experience and interest in optical matters would be helpful.

URL: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lsp/test/Panorama_pitch.htm

See www.cc.nih.gov/drd/rfa for more clinical details on needle based image guided minimally invasive cancer therapies

Title: Robotic Needle Driver End Effector Design for Integration with CT scan:We are developing a robotic system for automated needle or surgical device placement for tumor biopsy and treatments like radiofrequency ablation, cryotherapy, laser ablation, microwave ablation, and brachytherapy. Several robots are available for modification. We want to design an end-effector for the robot that will perform the actual insertion of the needle in a CT environment during these percutaneous procedures with imaging guidance. We need to design a needle driver that will perform needle insertions into the abdomen fairly quickly (software already written) with a remote joystick-like mechanism. The limiting clinical issue is respiratory excursion: the driver needs to rapidly “unlock” from or “dislodge” or let go of the needle after insertion, so it then is allowed to move in the craniocaudal (head to toe) axis, so as not to injure the organ. It should then be able to reattach or “re-lock” onto the needle for deeper insertion after position modification performed by the robot remotely with the joystick. The robot might modify the angle of insertion or pull the needle back slightly before re-advancing the needle.  We can try and send some of the devices that the end effector will insert and also acquaint the team that takes up the challenge with the robotic arm associated with the end- effector.  The team may want to view a liver tumor ablation case at the medical center to see what the challenges are.     

The objective of the design work for Vanderbilt’s Senior Project (VSP) is to demonstrate the feasibility of delivering intravenous (IV) fluid while simultaneously drawing an undiluted blood sample with the unique design of the Sensor-IV product concept. Within the scope of the VSP you will utilize Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling for theoretical simulation in parallel with a simplified general flow test apparatus for physical verification of simulation. The dual approach will provide both a theoretical and empirical validation and feasibility assessment of the design. The CFD simulation will provide insight into general fluid flow patterns within the overall system while the physical simulation will enable more visual and tactile insight into potential questions regarding actual fluid flow.

The aim of this project is optimal design of a magnetic nanocrystal for gene/drug delivery. The most significant portion of the work is prediction of nanocrystal motion in tissue using computational fluid dynamics software (CDFRD). The software is available in our lab and allows creation of a porous media model of tissue, incorporation of magnetic nanocrystals with selectable properties and overlay of a magnetic field. The deliverables will include characterization of nanocrystal dispersion in porous media tissue as a function of tissue, nanocrystal and magnetic field parameters. A portion of the work includes experimental measures in our lab of magnetic field strength as a function of position. This is a multidisciplinary project in collaboration with Dr. Dennis Hallahan (Chair, VU Radiation Oncology) and Professor Mike Miga (BME).