Department of Biomedical Engineering Links/Abstracts

Ana Figel, Matthew Weintraub, Charles Dranoff, Jillian Baggett

Project Link: https://www.accuream.com/

During total hip arthroplasties, an orthopedic surgeon uses a reamer to ream into the patient’s acetabulum to cut through the cortical layer of the bone and scratch the cancellous layer to cause bone bleeding. As a result, reaming promotes osseointegration around the femoral head implant, securing it and aiding in patient recovery. However, reaming possesses dangers for the patient including osteonecrosis caused by excess heat, pushing too far into the acetabulum caused by excessive force, and no methodology to track how dull the reamer blade may be from use. Therefore, our device aims to solve these potential issues by quantifying the amount of force, heat, and usage of each reamer blade. By providing orthopedic residents with quantifiable data, we seek to improve total hip arthroplasties and the safety of patients when they undergo this procedure, thus reducing costs for both the patient and hospital.

Sponsor: NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Eric Shain, Dr. Ronald Anderson

Emma Chapel, Katherine Mattingly, Sydney Siegmeister, Madeline Tallman

Project Link: https://cerfixdesigns.wixsite.com/cerfix

Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in low to middle income countries for women, despite it being one of the most treatable cancers. Barriers to cervical cancer screening that women in Peru face include a lack of trained cytologists, a  fear surrounding the screening process, poor record keeping and patient follow up, and limited resources at local health posts. Our solution is a novel, all-in-one device that will apply acetic acid, illuminate, and capture an image of the cervix and contains its own opening mechanism. This design streamlines the current screening procedure in low resource areas (visual inspection with acetic acid) without requiring a myriad of tools and supplies.

Sponsors: Biomedical Innovation for Global Impact and David A. Rice Design Endowed Fund, NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Kristen Miller PhD (Academic Mentor), Ellen Baker MD, MPH (Industry Mentor), Valerie Paz-Soldan PhD, MPH (Industry Mentor)

Sophie Bauer, Nick Harris, Miguel Brache

Project Link: https://www.aavifightbite.com/

The Automatic Anti-Venom Infusion (AAVI) device by FIGHT BITE is a wearable infusion system which can be totally self-operated. The goal of the project has been to reduce the number of deaths caused by snake bite envenomation which occur in low resource communities along the Amazon River in Peru. Without hasty administration of anti-venom, a snake bite can be deadly in as little as 6 hours and the heath posts and hospitals are often located hours away and only accessible by boat. By integrating our device into these communities, we will present a chance at survival by providing a method to deliver the first and essential dose of anti-venom. That way the individual has the opportunity to safely travel to the hospital and receive the hands-on follow-up treatment that is required with envenomation.

Sponsors: Biomedical Innovation for Global Impact​, David A. Rice Design Endowed Fund, NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Dr. Dancisak and Dr. Barbra Land

Chandler Harris, Elizabeth Bryan, Cameron Galic, Lydia Trautman

Project Link: https://www.gymrat.biz/

The Gym Rat is a portable device designed to predict the one rep maximum of weightlifters using accelerometer data. The device is attached to a barbell and wirelessly provides real-time feedback to a user's phone to improve workout safety and efficiency.

Sponsors: David A. Rice Design Endowed Fund, NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Dr. Michelle Sanchez and Antonius Prader

Carly Harad, Clementine Furber, Gabbi Sherer

Project Link: https://www.infiniteprosthetics.com/

Approximately 2 million people in the US live without a limb, with 185,000 lower limb amputations performed per year in the US. In order for an amputee patient to receive a prosthesis, they must first strengthen their residual limb. Aquatic therapy allows for strength training that is non-weight bearing which reduces stress on the joints. Most prosthetic swim devices on the market are for recreational use, and are therefore designed for horizontal swimming instead of standing exercises. Furthermore, the fins only have one orientation which means it is not adjustable to fit specific patients' needs. At inFINite prosthetics we have designed and developed inFIN, a prosthetic device that is adaptable, intuitive to use, and allows for diverse aquatic rehabilitation of below knee amputee patients’ residual limbs.

Sponsor: NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Brian Layman, Dr. Michael Dancisak, Dr. Kristin Miller

Shanna Fischzang, Moriah Brooks, Dominick Triplett, Will Kadison

Project Link: https://dtriplet.wixsite.com/made-to-shade

Our group has created a hooded wheelchair attachment to enable people with ALS, or other neurodegenerative diseases, to independently use their eye gaze devices allowing them to effectively communicate and drive their wheelchairs outside.

Sponsors: Katherine Raymond, Tulane Biomedical Engineering Department; NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Mark Mondrinos, Daniel Vance

Maeve Junker, Olivia Boyd, Louise Deardorff, Sarah Kinney

Project Link: https://www.motormouthspeechco.com/

Motormouth's device provides children attending speech therapy a way to practice articulations with real time feedback. The device consists of bluetooth sensor and force sensor embedded in a mouthpiece and a handle to allow for data collection that can be read into an app. 

Sponsors: The Dave Rice Fund, NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Carolyn Bayer (academic mentor), Deborah Barry (industry mentor)

Mary Pwint, Aline Tran

Project Link: https://myosense.wixsite.com/myosense

Skin‐contact electrophysiology can be used for a variety of applications such as personal health monitoring and prosthetic limb control. The use of stiff and bulky gelled or dry electrodes severely limits use in realistic conditions due to user discomfort and restrictions to mobility. In this project, we developed an ultra thin flexible electrode made from temporary tattoo paper with a sensing layer of conductive material connected to conductive tape for interfacing with instrumentations. The electrode is skin conformable and biocompatible, and therefore more versatile than the current gold standard gel electrode.

Sponsors: David A. Rice Design Endowed Fund, NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: J. Quincy Brown, PhD; Patrick Song, MS

Allison Aymond, Gabrielle Fortez, Max Kerensky, Viraj Puri

Project Link: https://maxkerensky9.wixsite.com/4kad

Paramedics, EMTs, and nurses transfer patients from ambulance stretchers to hospitals beds multiple times a day, often experiencing back and shoulder strain, especially if the patient is medically obese or physically debilitated. Few options offer strain reducing methods of transfer while maintaining the speed and efficacy needed in an emergent situation. The Para-EZ is a Stryker stretcher attachment that eases the strain involved when transferring patients to hospital beds. This is accomplished by transferring the weight of the patient during horizontal translation into the stretcher itself rather than rely on the strength of the paramedics throughout the process. With this device, paramedics and nurses have a reduced risk of injury during the patient transfer process.

Sponsors: David A. Rice Design Endowed Fund, NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Kirk LaCour (Acadian Ambulance), Dr. Ronald Anderson

Olivia Zelony, Ava Heller, David Eason, Bradley Sweeney

Project Link: https://aheller4.wixsite.com/pintensity

Pin-lock systems are one method used to connect a user's prosthesis to their residual limb. However, the suspension system can be difficult to use as it is not clear when the user is secure, forcing many to rely on their already diminished hearing to confirm attachment. Below the knee amputees in a pin-lock system need an accessible method to know when they are correctly aligned and secure in their prosthesis. Our project solves this common problem via a two pronged solution: a track to guide the liner into the prosthesis and a tactile mechanism to alert the user of a proper insertion. Pintensity’s design anchors the prosthesis to the body, stabilizes the patient’s load, and notifies the patient when they are securely locked into the device. More specifically, the design increases stability during the donning process and decreases uncertainty when attaching the prosthesis, ultimately resulting in a reduction of fall risk.

Sponsor: NIH Grant SR25EB019904-04 "Enhancement of Tulane Biomedical Engineering Capstone Team Design Course"

Mentors: Dr. Michael Dancisak and Brian Layman, COOP