 Honorable
Mention Award Senior Design Projects
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Michael Neuman
Team Members: Sarah Magee, Levi Hinkelman, Jacob Betzold
Project Title: Hospital Bed-Angle Measurement Device
Sponsor: Marquette General Health Systems
Project Summary: To enhance patient care,
Marquette General Health Systems commissioned Michigan Tech
to develop a device that monitors the angular position of
hospital bed heads in the ICU. Current research shows that
the best way to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia is
to place the patient in a semi-recumbent position with the
bed head at an incline above thirty degrees. This device allows
for accurate and reliable documentation of bed angle 24 hours
a day, without wasting valuable staff time. It works as a
quality control measure ensuring patients receive optimal
care by decreasing length of stay and incidences of ventilator
associated
 Honorable
Mention Award Senior Design Projects
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Daniel Clupper
Team Members: Eric Minner, Stacie Wieszczyk, Danielle Miller,
Lindsay Worden
Project Title: Creation and Characterization of an Antimicrobial
Bone Cement
Sponsor: Dr Clupper, BME Department
Project Summary: This is a Biomedical Senior
Design Project concerning the creation and characterization
of a hydroxyapatite bone cement with antibacterial properties.
The final formula, found to optimize desired properties, is
a combination of dicalcium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate,
and tetracalcium phosphate. Antibacterial properties are a
relatively unexplored facet for such cement, but ultimately
a beneficial one, so as to prevent post-surgical infections.
Gentamicin was the antibiotic used in the cement, being that
it is documented to be effective against Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus
bacteria. The cement’s efficacy was confirmed by testing
the characteristics of strength, setting time, and porosity
against
 Advisor(s):
Debra Charlesworth
Biomedical Engineering
Team Members: Dona Bondy, Gregory Anthon, Holly Revord
Project Title: Postural Sway Detection in a Treadmill
Sponsor Chris Hurley, PT, DPT, ATC, Keeweenaw Memorial Medical
Center
Project Summary: When rehabilitation subjects walk
on a treadmill, changes in posture can produce incorrect gait
patterns or initiate loss of balance. Often subjects are unaware
of their unstable posture and a physical therapist must supervise
them in order to correct their posture. One physical therapist
typically supervises multiple subjects at a time and cannot
always dedicate all of his time to one subject. The purpose
of this project is to design a device that detects the degree
of postural sway of a subject on a treadmill and alerts the
subject and the therapist of the postural instability.
 Advisor(s)
Michael Neuman
Biomedical Engineering
Team Members: Carrie Curtis, Beth McGinnis, Christian LaFord,
Stefany Petrosky
Project Title: Hospital NICU Sound Level Alarm
Sponsor: Dr. Julia Frei, Marquette General Hospital
Project Summary: Clinical studies have shown that
high levels of noise can adversely affect development in premature
infants. The goal of this project is to design a sound level
alarm to monitor the noise level in the Marquette General
Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and display a
visual signal when a specified threshold is surpassed. An
appropriate threshold, determined through literature research,
was tailored for the specified environment. A circuit was
constructed to detect and
measure localized sound levels and control a visual alarm
in the form of a sign which is illuminated in the presence
of sound exceeding the threshold.
 Advisor(s):
Seth Donahue
Biomedical Engineering
Team Members: Alex Helmboldt, Chen Yen Ooi, Ee Lim Tan, Hiroyuki
Matsunami
Project Title:Monochromatic Cell Culture Illuminator
Sponsor: Medtronic Inc.
Project Summary: Our device is a high intensity monochromatic
cell culture illuminator. This
illuminator produces nearly single wavelength light which
is used to illuminate cell cultures in an incubator for days.
These cells will then be monitored for gene expression changes
as a result of the light illumination. Illumination can occur
from the near infrared to near UV range, that is wavelengths
between 300 and 1200 nm. The system consists of a light source,
two interchangeable monochromators, a fiberoptic cable and
a culture plate holding unit.
Advisors:
Jeremy Goldman, Biomedical Engineering
Team
Members: Katelin Engerer, Dan Corcoran, Adfam Fox,
Madeleine Norman
Project Title: CPR Mattress Re-Design
Sponsor Dennis Jensen of Portage Health
Abstract: Our task was to re-design a hospital
mattress to more efficiently allow for CPR. We were looking
to design a mattress that would allow doctor and nurses to
administer CPR without having to move the patient. We also
needed a quick method which would not involve the care giver
needing spend large amounts of time adjusting the bed to allow
for the CPR. In order to create a mattress design which would
allow for improved CPR without moving the patient our team
went through several design plans.
These
plans ranged from a compression
strategy, to interlocking teeth inset in the foam, and a folding
headboard to create a firm surface for the CPR. The method
pursued which shows the most promise is a deflateable, insertable
“pillow” which could deflate at the time of CPR,
but provide support in times of regular use. The pillow would
be inserted in the bed foam and allow for a quick deflation
in times of CPR. This satisfied the requirements of not moving
the patient, and also being quite timely. No strength is required
and the mechanism is very simple. We feel that his method
is a distinct improvement on the current method which did
not provide full support, and was very difficult to manage
alone.
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