ME 561 Bio Design (Graduate Course)
Fall 2016
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“Biodesign” is a phrase widely used to describe a process by which an important clinical problem is identified, solved and translated to a ready-to-market product or process. As practiced in this course, biodesign begins with pairing a practicing physician with an engineering faculty member and several students. The initial task of each team is to learn from the medical doctor some area of their clinical practice plus various key problems in that area. The next task of the team is to generate an array of possible solutions to the problems posed. Under the guidance of the faculty leader, the resulting list of problems and potential solutions is winnowed to a single prime candidate for translation from idea, to lab prototype, to clinical product. The final product of each team is a presentation, invention disclosure, and a written proposal for subsequent research, development, and prototyping work.
In this class, the students designed a novel method to secure hazmat gloves that closes automatically protective equipment needed for hazardous situations, as an alternative to duct tape or complicated sealers that take energy and time from patients and first responders, and are not providing a safe sealing. The solution of the students was the “Haz-Cuff”
