Showcase

In coordination with our project sponsors, Dr. Smith and Dr. Holland, our team worked to create a device that could interface with a bioreactor and appropriately hold an ultrasound probe to measure Doppler flow rates along with imaging tissue structu ... res. The current procedure to obtain these measurements and images involves removing the bioreactor from the favorable environment within the incubator. It is also difficult to set up and can disturb the cellular structures within the bioreactor. Our device is capable of directly mounting onto the bioreactor and interfacing the ultrasound probe to the bioreactor, all from within the incubator. This will reduce any mechanical disturbances that can occur when removing the bioreactor from the incubator, along with keeping the cells in a favorable environment within the incubator. Read more

A way to keep preterm infact patients at normal body temperature during inter-hospital transport to prevent both hyperthermia and hypothermia, as those lead to organ failure and death

Kidney Disease refers to the improper filtering of waste and excess fluid from the body. Acute Kidney Injury, a form of kidney disease, affects 30-50% of hospitalized infants. For the infant population, peritoneal dialysis (PD) via a catheter is the ... preferred treatment modality over hemodialysis. Currently, there are not any official and practical solutions to treat infants suffering from kidney disease. With the help of our sponsors, our team sought to address this issue. As part of the project, our team focused on developing a catheter and finding a minimally-invasive procedure by which the catheters can be placed. Two existing techniques that are used to place catheters in the peritoneal cavity of infants include: laparoscopic surgery and the seldinger technique. Read more

Overall, it is expected that 268,490 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and estimated that 1,414,259 people worldwide were diagnosed in 2020, making it the fourth most diagnosed cancer in the world. Removal of t ... he prostate is one of the most common treatments to prevent the spread of cancer to different organs. The removed prostate is sent to the lab to diagnose the severity of cancer (tumor size and location) and is sliced into sections. The tissue slices must be of uniform thickness to allow for proper area calculations of the tumor. If the slices are not of uniform thickness it can lead to improper diagnoses of cancer. The goal is to create a device to assist medical professionals in creating uniformly thick slices of prostates post-prostatectomy. Read more

Currently, infants born with heart conditions in need of pacing are treated using the smallest traditional pacemaker on the market, which is still considerably large for patients who are less than one year old. This is done by placing the pacemaker i ... n infants’ abdomen then running the leads up to the heart, a procedure which has been in practice for the past 30 years. In 2016, the FDA approved the use of the MicraTM Pacemaker by Medtronic, known for its significantly smaller dimensions and leadless adaptation. This pacemaker would be an ideal alternative for current pediatric pacemaker implantation surgeries allowing a more fitting size in infant patients. However, there lies a crucial problem with the MicraTM: it is a pacemaker designed to be implanted directly into the heart of an adult patient. Direct implantation is an impossible task for infant populations considering their heart is about the size of a walnut (25-35 cubic centimeters). The goal of this project is to design an adapter prototype that would allow for the MicraTM to be used in the same fashion as the current pacemaker that uses leads. This would allow cardiac electrophysiologists to utilize the smaller MicraTM pacemaker, while also allowing the device to remain outside of the heart. Succeeding in this task will result in an adapted pacemaker that is proportional to the size of infants, use of the most advanced technology on the market, and the ability to produce products with reduced costs within a limited customer population. Read more

In parternship with our sponsors Anthony Shanks and Caroline Rouse, our team worked to improve the training process for invasive prenatal procedures. These procedures are done to perform genetic testing on amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood and ... pose a high risk due to the close proximity of the sampling needle to the fetus. Our model is ultrasound compatible and mimics the tactile properties of the abdomen and womb to attempt to reduce the rate of complications associated with these procedures. Read more

The project aims to create a way to evaluate the general abilities and provide methods of characterization for 3D printable conductive filaments for potential use by device manufacturers (especially clinics/hospitals with on-site device manufacturing ... ) in order to reduce the barrier to entry of developing devices with 3D printed circuitry. Read more

Intravenous therapy pumps, known as IV pumps, are used by professionals heavily in the medical industry due to their ability to provide specified amounts of fluids to patients. The IV pumps must be transferred around the hospital from the patient's b ... 9;s bed to various locations. Nurses hold the heavy IV pump up while unscrewing the current clamps, often with one hand. The current clamps used to hold the IV pumps on IV stands are C-clamps. This process is cumbersome and in need of remediation. Our objective is to find a way to simplify the transfer of the IV pump to and from the IV stand so that nurses and health care professionals do not have to struggle with this task during patient transfer. Read more

Team 4 is sponsored by Dr. Dylan Cooper, IU School of Medicine, Brian Overshiner B.S., R.T.(T.), and Tim Nisi B.A, IU Health's 3D Lab Innovation. The project consisted of finding a solution to train rising medical professionals on how to intubate wit ... e without the constant assistance of a trained medical professional, meaning that a trainee can learn the procedure without a trainer looking over their shoulder to see how the procedure is being done. Team 4 worked on designing a laryngoscope that provided immediate feedback to the user while performing the intubation process on a mannequin. Read more

In coordination with the project sponsor, Roman Natoli, MD, PhD, the S.A.M.W.I.S.E. G.A.M.G.E.E. system was developed to assist in sacroiliac (SI) joint fixation hardware removal. SI joint fixation hardware is a screw and washer system that aids in h ... ealing posterior pelvic ring factures and is often a permanent solution for patients facing injury. However, when removal of this hardware is deemed necessary by an orthopedic doctor, many surgeons are faced with a washer that resists explanation. The S.A.M.W.I.S.E. G.A.M.G.E.E. surgical system keeps patients and surgeons in mind to address this pain point. Read more