Minced Autologous Skin Graft ApplicatorProblem: Patients with especially large burns may not have enough healthy skin to perform a traditional autologous skin graft. Minced autologous skin grafting has the ability to solve this issue, as minced skin grafting has been shown to help heal a burn up to 100x times the size of the donor site [1]. Traditional skin grafts, on the other hand, can only cover a burn that is between 6 and 9x the size of the donor site [2]. Unfortunately, even though minced skin grafting has the potential to greatly improve outcomes for patients with burns covering more than 10% of the their total body surface area, the method for spreading minced skin grafts was designed for smaller burns. When used on larger burns, the mechanism for spreading minced skin is slow and surgically cumbersome. This makes minced skin grafting a less desirable treatment option for burns that cover more than 10% of the patient’s total body surface area...
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Diwheel - A very strange bicycleObjective: Design, machine, and assemble a diwheel that is both fast and maneuverable.
Design: Classes in two previous years had created diwheels. So, the first part of our design process was to examine the diwheels that had been made in past years. We paid close attention to parts of designs that were either especially successful or that failed. We also made sure to ride the old diwheels to see if anything struck us as needing improvement... |
Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) ProbeProblem: Some men who need prostatectomies to remove cancerous tissue require two surgeries because not all of the cancerous tissue is removed during the first surgery.
Objective: Machine, solder, and assemble an EIT probe. Fabrication: The first part of the fabrication process was to machine the garolite that would eventually house the electrodes... |
Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) CartProblem: Researchers did not have an efficient way to move all of the EIT equipment around the hospital.
Objective: Design a cart to hold all of the EIT equipment. This cart should take up minimal space and fit under the table that holds the surgical instruments in the OR. Design and Fabrication: The first part of the design process was to take measurements of all of the equipment that would be housed on the cart... |
Machine EngineeringObjective: Design and build a remote controlled robot that can pick up different sized balls and deposit them in vertical tubes.
Guidelines and Rules: Each group is allotted a certain amount of specified materials from which they can make their machine. Additionally, depositing larger balls earns one’s team more points than smaller balls. Design and Fabrication: My group and I decided to try to create a machine that could pick up as many of the smaller sized balls as possible... |