Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana Presents Biomedical Engineering Design Show

1. Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana Presents Biomedical Engineering Design Show April 8, 2006

2. Team DesignFirst Place Winners -- Feeding Device   Members: Megan Bevill, Tal Drori, Grey Nuttall, Jordan Sangerman

3. Team Design Feeding Device         The Goal: A spoon support system will assist our client with independent feeding. The client has cerebral palsy and has difficulty with independent feeding due to muscle spasms and fine motor involvement. The Product: The design consists of : (a) a Steady Spoon from Sammons Preston Rolyan which keeps level even in the event of tremor or changes in arm position, (b) parallel two-member architecture drafting lamp with side table clamp, (c) spiral- spring assembly to allow the spoon to spin from scoop to bite orientation, (d) a velcro spoon attachment.

4. Feeding Device Team Design  The design will dampen spastic movements of the hands and eliminate spills from the utensil. The client will be able to scoop food and position the spoon for hands-free biting. The spoon is removable for washing. Product demonstration

5. Team: Pho Dac Biet To Go! Second Place Winners --Motorized Easel       Team Members: Zak Cohen, Nga Le, Mary McCarty, Khanh Nguyen, Beau Swann

6. Team: Pho Dac Biet To Go! Motorized Easel The Goal: The client is an accomplished artist who has osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition which results in fragile bones. Range of motion is severely limited. Mode of transportation is a motorized wheelchair. The team endeavored to produce an easel which will allow the client to independently move a canvas. Prior to this project, the client painted on a vertical canvas while lying on the floor or table. Any movement of the canvas or easel had to be done by another person. The Product: A motorized easel has separate pulley systems operated by motors to provide the vertical and horizontal movement. Mounting the easel on wheels provides the front/backwards motion. The team plans to place the entire structure on a track and use another motor to operate this movement. A tilting device similar to those on computer monitors will accommodate a rotational movement. Large clips attach the canvas to the easel can easily be adjusted for different canvas sizes.

7. Team: Pho Dac Biet To Go! Motorized Easel Demonstration

8. Team: Krewe BMEThird Place Winners –Assisted Drawing Device Members: Nate Lawson, Crystal Lumby, Navya Nair, Rachel Redmann, Scott John (not pictured)

9. Team: Krewe BME Assisted Drawing Device T The Goal: Cerebral palsy severely affects a public school student’s creative ability. The client requires the assistance of an occupational therapist to participate in daily classroom activities. Her most successful drawings are produced when her hand is guided by an assistant. The goal is to provide an assisted drawing device allowing more independence. The Product: A modified pantograph which enlarges or reduces a primary drawing includes the following modifications: (a) the image transferred onto the user’s paper is half the size of her hand movements, (b) a cushy ball fits atop an easy grip handle, (c) a guide (rod below the cushy ball) prevents the user from applying enough force to break the writing utensil, (d) the fabrication of the wood bars in the pantograph provides a natural resistance to the user’s hand to prevent jerky movements.

10. Team: Krewe BME Assisted Drawing Device Display Demonstration The device is designed to be a functional, child-friendly, and aesthetically pleasing product. The client is very creative and needs a way to express her ideas on paper.

11. Team: The Solution Emergency Locating System Members: Lee Crawford,, HoChi Sit, Olumide Aruwajoye, Nathan Southard (not pictured)

12. Team: The Solution Emergency Locating System The Goal: An emergency locating system will solve the issue of locating people with physical disabilities during a disaster. The Product: Specifications include: a Global Positioning System receiver, encode, 5-watts radio transmitter operating at 406.025 MHz, and lithium battery. The EPIBRS (Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon) will be used in the operation of a device mounted onto the client’s mobility assistive equipment . The proposed system will allow the clients to call for help without using cell phones or landline communication. Emergency preparedness has become a prevalent issue in the United States because of recent events involving terrorism and natural disasters. Hundreds of people lost their lives during Hurricane Katrina and many are still missing. Many deaths were secondary to people’s inability to call for help. If these individuals could have been located, their lives could have been saved.

13. Team: The SolutionEmergency Locating System The team plans to start a company within the personal response industry. This company will act as a Mission control Center that will filter pertinent emergency responders. The clients will maintain service through a monthly service charge. Chart overview of emergency action

14. Team: Biowomen A Chair on Wheels Members: Katie Nobes, Lauren Reese, Kate Hamlington, Candice Pridjian

15. Team: Biowomen A Chair on Wheels The Goal: A preK student with amyoplasiacongenita suffers from joint stiffness along with muscle and nerve degeneration. She uses a special chair with casters that fit under preschool tables. The team’s goal is to alter the device to provide more comfort and support. The Product: The alterations to the chair include: Maximum maneuverability allowed by caster wheels, an adjustable footrest that is unobtrusive for the other students in the class, a head pointer for craft-making and other class uses, new cushions and upholstery, and a storage bag to hold markers and the head pointer. The cushion coverings are easily removable for washing, and the head pointer and footrest are both adjustable. prototype

16. Team: Biowomen A Chair on Wheels Because the client requires her chair at school, the team could not make alterations until after the design show. A mock up of her chair was built for the prototype review. All the pieces are easily removable for easy attachment onto the actual chair. Meeting the judges Undercarriage view of chair base and caster wheels Close up of footrest

17. Team: Refugee All-star Design Van Transport System Members: Jon Dendy, Anita George, Jaime Giraldo, Kurt Lesniewski

18. Team: Refugee All-star Design Van Transport System The Goal: The client has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a disorder characterized by brittle bones. Due to the nature of the disease, the client has to ride lying on a pad on the floor of a minivan. The team devised a safe, comfortable and less restrictive chair as a method of transport. The Product: The chair is a raised platform upon which a 4 inch Tempura-pedic pad rests. The top of the pad is just above the level of the van’s window to allow the client viewing access. Surrounding the platform is a safety net attached to the frame and hung from the roof by steel wire and carabiners. In event of a collision and/or a rollover, the net is designed to catch the client and slow her down as gently as possible to prevent striking a hard surface. The platform is constructed of PVC reinforced by steel wire, and locked into place using the original seat base. It is covered with a removable skirt which can be interchanged and washed. The pad has a removable case for similar purposes.

19. Team: Refugee All-star Design Van Transport System The judging Front view

20. Team: Pro Bono Emergency Communication Device Members: Ryan Griffin, Daniel Howell, Powell Kinney, Scott Rowley

21. Team: Pro BonoEmergency Communication Device The Goal: This product is a communication device designed for use during any natural disaster when normal means of communication are down. The Product: The design is an Emergency Communication device (ECD) capable of keychain remote activation. The system repetitively sends a voice message receivable on a standard AM radio. The synthesized voice has location and other customizable information included as needed. The ECD mounts on a wall, has status information of the user and a two mile effective range. The unit will operate for a fixed period and will then stop operating without user action. Rescuers can pick up the distress signal by using an ordinary portable or car radio. The ECD is customized for each user’s needs. The transmitted message is preprogrammed with info that will direct the rescuers. It also prompts the user for specific action and remits info regarding the ECD’s status.

22. Team: Pro Bono Emergency Communication System Activating device In an unactivated (ready) state, the unit awaits input from either the remote control or external buttons on the wall-mounted unit. Once activated, the transmission begins and continues at a series of non-repeating intervals. In order to avoid mistaken activation or continued transmission after rescue, the user is required to acknowledge the device once every eight hours. Any automatic deactivation is noted clearly by the device both visually and aurally. This product was designed to be an additional life-line during a natural disaster when normal means of communication are often down.

23. Team: BANG'N Deck and Ramp system Members: Mohamed-Aly Bakeer, Kelly Anderson, Vaughn Nossaman, Natalie Guthrey, Phil Newton

24. Team: BANG'N Deck and Ramp System  The Goal:A deck and ramp system will enable our client to access to his front yard, back court, and home. His home is about 30 inches above ground level and has several access points to the ground level, all which require the use of stairs. His muscular dystrophy condition makes it difficult to access the stairs. He expects of use a wheelchair at some point. The Design: Due to the physical restraints of the property, the ramp will be only 30 inches wide, 12 inches less than the standard 42 inch ramps in the city. It is very important to our client that the space in the back courtyard is not compromised. To accomplish this, the ramp extends into the backyard at a grade of 6:1 rather than the standard 12:1.

25. Team: BANG'N    Deck and Ramp System Side image, wall removed View from back courtyard to front gate Design features include: (a) slip guards and edging blocks to prevent falls, ((b) pressure treated lumber lifted off the ground to prevent water accumulation, (c) semi-modular for ease of assembly- (the system is tied together with removable screws), (d) aesthetics and usability—the system opens up extra space outside the back door, which can be used for hobbies. Sample of deck construction

26. Team: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) ClassroomRamp   Members: Apu Borcar, Lauren Lipuma, Shawn Sarwar, Heather Vinet

27. Team: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) Classroom Ramp The Goal: The client is a four year old with amyoplasia, a condition which causes joint contractures. She uses a wheelchair for mobility. The school’s computer lab is a portable building outside of the main school building and is not wheelchair accessible. Individuals enter and exit by stairs. The team’s goal is to give the client access to the lab via a ramp system located at a secondary entrance. The Design: A ramp system will enable wheelchair access to a trailer classroom. The ramp has to reach a height of 31.25 inches, and must have a 1:12 slope (5 º), as specified by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Total ramp length is 31.25 feet with a width of 42 inches. The ramp must not block the other entrance or the sidewalk. Therefore, it is designed with an 180 º turn attained through the use of a 5 by 8 foot landing. The design also includes a 5 by 5 foot landing at the entrance to allow the user to make a 90 º turn into the classroom.

28. Team: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) Classroom Ramp The ramp includes a handrail 3 feet tall supported by posts 4 feet apart. There is also a 3 inch curb at the edge to keep the wheelchair from straying off the ramp. Lattice work will be placed under the edges of the ramp and platforms to keep other children from crawling under it. The load capacity must be at least 50 pounds per square foot.

29. Candid shots

30. The End