Students recently shared their project at Senior Design Day held at the John S. Knight Center on April 16. 高级设计日的重点是来自工程和聚合物科学学院的应届毕业生，他们展示了他们的团队设计项目，这些项目建立在五年的课堂基础知识和合作学习等体验式学习机会的基础上, design teams and undergraduate research.
波胆平台(UA)生物医学工程专业的学生与 Dr. Hannah Agard Bachtel, a pediatric urologist at Akron Children’s Hospital, to create a novel, 家用装置，旨在帮助患有盆底功能障碍的儿科患者. 这一合作标志着在解决与这种疾病相关的症状方面向前迈出了重要一步, including bed/daytime wetting, frequent urination and UTIs.
Dr. Hannah Agard Bachtel
盆底功能障碍是由于盆底肌肉不能放松，导致患者不能完全排空膀胱. The disorder affects approximately one in seven school-aged children. And although in-office therapies exist, Dr. 巴切尔认识到需要一种家庭解决方案，可以在办公室会议之间使用，帮助患者练习用于重新训练这些肌肉的技术，以便在排尿时充分放松. Biofeedback, a treatment method proven effective for children with these issues, 是否在办公室里使用一种设备进行教学，这种设备可以提供肌肉参与和放松的视觉反馈. 游戏化的生物反馈设备允许患者在连接与游戏互动的传感器的同时练习技术, showing their progress.
当病人离开办公室，必须尝试在家里做运动，却没有反馈让他们知道自己做得是否正确时，问题就开始了. No take home device currently exists.
“适当的练习对恢复至关重要，我们希望他们能够在家里练习，以提供同样的视觉反馈," said Bachtel. “我们的病人来自全州各地，出差也很有挑战性. If they could benefit from home treatment, 它还可能减少所需的就诊次数，并帮助我们接触到更多的病人."
In response to this need, four UA biomedical engineering students, Yianni Kantzos of North Canton, Ohio, Neil Mazzone of Strongsville, Ohio, Keridan Morgan of Norton, Ohio and Taylor Shark of Stow, Ohio, took on the challenge as a capstone project for their senior year. Under the guidance of Dr. Justin J. Baker, associate professor of practice, they developed a prototype that meets engineering requirements and is lightweight, portable, safe and engaging for children. The device provides visual feedback via a simulated game, mirroring the experience patients have in the clinic.
“这次合作体现了我们生物医学工程专业学生的创新精神," said Baker. “他们一直在努力创造一种设备，不仅能满足医疗需求，还能提高患者的体验."
Dr. Justin J. Baker
The students undertook the design as part of a capstone project. While they had many options to explore, this one sparked their interest the most.
The multi-step project required that students follow the Food and Drug Administration waterfall design process which involves a user need stage to see what the customer needs and requires; a design input stage where customer requirements are converted to engineering requirements; a design process stage to brainstorm and think of solutions; the design output stage where the device design is documented, 最后的医疗设备阶段，设备或原型被完全开发出来. In the final stages, 验证和验证测试确保设备是正确构建的，并且设计符合客户的要求.
"The students developed a nice, 病人可以把它挂在腰带上，通过蓝牙与游戏连接," said Baker. "The best part is that the students have provided Dr. Bachtel with an actual prototype device that is useful. And although they are not actively using the device on patients yet, once it is validated, they will proceed with testing and further development. 该团队希望随后提交他们的作品，以获得诸如美国国立卫生波胆平台院DEBUT学生设计竞赛等组织的进一步资助."
Pictured left to right are biomedical engineering students Yianni Kantzos, Neil Mazzone, Taylor Shark and Keridan Morgan.
巴切尔之前曾与休斯顿的工程学校合作，包括德州理工学院 & M and Rice University, 计划继续与学生合作，解决儿科器械开发中未满足的需求. “这群学生在整个项目中都非常专业和有组织. 他们的奉献精神和及时的沟通对项目的推进起到了重要作用."
"This project was a challenging and rewarding journey, marked by continuous learning, adaptation and a lot of research," said Mazzone. "The process of iterating on our designs, troubleshooting issues and ultimately achieving a functional prototype was awesome."
“能够与阿克伦儿童医院合作是一次很棒的经历，我们整个团队都对此感到非常兴奋," said Shark. “我们知道这个项目有可能影响人们的生活，因为他们目前在诊所做的事情很重要. 能够在诊所里观察疗程对理解我们想要达到的目标非常有帮助! 知道我们在这个项目中所做的一切都能使孩子们和他们的家庭受益，这是非常值得的."
Ultimately, 此次合作强调了波胆平台致力于跨学科合作和创新，以应对现实世界的医疗保健挑战，这也是学生选择波胆平台生物医学工程专业的众多原因之一.
“我选择在UA学习生物医学工程，因为它让我有机会将我对工程的热情与我对医疗保健做出有意义改变的愿望结合起来." said Kantzos.
Morgan agreed. “我决定学习生物医学工程，因为我知道我想通过具有挑战性和创新性的设备对人们生活的福祉产生直接影响. I love knowing that my work has purpose."
RELATED CONTENT:
- Learn more about Biomedical Engineering at UA.
- More news from the College of Engineering and Polymer Science.
Media contact: Cristine Boyd, 330-972-6476 or cboyd@jmvsxv.com.