2022 Design and Research Conference

Stabilizing a Competition Trampoline

Team Name: Lady and the Tramps

Team Members: Gavin Bordelon, Zachary Carter, Logan Johnson, Ranessa Walls

Sponsors: Dr. Randy Aldret and Dr. Stephanie Aldret

Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins

In Olympic trampoline competitions, athletes often incur injuries on the trampoline bed. Due to the elasticity of the bed, it is difficult, timely, and potentially injurious to the patient for the medical team to stabilize the patient while on the trampoline bed. Our project aims to provide a device that quickly and reliably stabilizes the bed of the trampoline to allow the medical staff to treat the patient.

FootBump BeGone

Team Name: No Pressure

Team Members: Andrew Medvec, Sanjeevan Nallanathan, Braden Wilson

Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins

Plantar fibromatosis is characterized by localized aggressive proliferation of the connective tissue which produces collagen fibers, leading to the formation of nodules over the sole of the foot. The nodules are akin to walking on marbles constantly and have significant effects on the patient’s gait and plantar pressure distribution. Patients diagnosed with the disease, also known as Ledderhose disease, are at high risk for surgical intervention. All surgical interventions have a nodule recurrence rate of 50 percent or higher. Current market orthotics do not provide the afflicted patients the comfort needed for walking and standing. There is a need for a conservative treatment in pre-surgical plantar fibromatosis patients that reduces fibroma (nodule) compression. We plan to engineer a customizable commercial orthotic to meet this need composed of a padded footplate, a low-friction hinge, and a rigid ankle cuff. The padded footplate is shaped to prevent the arch of the foot from direct contact with rigid surfaces. The hinge allows for a full range of motion in plantar flexion and dorsiflexion movements. The upper cuff provides a rigid apparatus for rotation and fastening to the ankle. Our orthotic aims to bridge the gap that exists in current market solutions.

SpermX Manufacturing Devices

Team Name: The Squirrels

Team Members: Hannah Delatte, Carley Dugas, Tess Hamilton

Sponsor: InnoGenomics Technologies

Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins

In California alone, there is a backlog of over 100,000 sexual assault cases. InnoGenomics is working to combat this by increasing the amount of sexual assault testing kits available to the public. As of right now, the kit preparation process takes a large amount of time so we were tasked with reducing preparation time for manufacturers of InnoGenomics SpermX devices in order to help increase kit production globally. Our group is focusing on enhancing two different processes in the manufacturing chain: punching and pressing. A punch modeled in Solidworks and fabricated in Tech’s own machine shop will be implemented to punch out filters more efficiently and effectively. We will also be implementing a load cell using Arduino to measure the force put upon individual test tubes. Measuring the force will keep compression consistent and allow optimal values for sperm flow through.

SpermX Manual Plate System

Team Name: Ruston Five-O

Team Members: Jacob Adams, Gabrielle Rome, Austin Shelton

Sponsor: InnoGenomics Technologies

Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins

An estimated 89,000 sexual assault kits across the United States are untested. This backlog results from the necessity of highly-skilled forensic analyst interactions in the separation of sperm and epithelial cells. A need exists to reduce forensic analyst interactions in the processing of sexual assault testing kits to increase overall analysis throughput and reduce the turnaround time on sexual assault trials. InnoGenomics Technologies, a New Orleans-based biotechnology company developed the SpermX processing system, which incorporates an advanced filter to capture sperm cells and separate perpetrator and victim DNA. While this system eliminates the need for skilled analyst interactions, it still requires many manual manipulations of individual samples throughout its protocol. The new SpermX Manual Plate System allows for kit processing on a larger scale, allowing for 24 kits to be manipulated simultaneously. The implementation of a plate-based processing system will save analysts time and resources, increasing the overall throughput of sexual assault kit processing.

No Child Cleft Behind

Team Name: Chips & Dip

Team Members: Claire Colley, Avery Collins, Allison Kumler, Lauren Paul

Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins

Cleft palate (CP) is one of the most common congenital birth defects of the orofacial region. CP occurs in approximately 1 in every 1,700 babies in the United States. Infants born with CP have a difficult time feeding because of nasal regurgitation, inability to create suction, and taking longer to feed. Nasal regurgitation occurs when food enters the nasal cavity and exits through the nose instead of continuing to the esophagus. Since these infants have trouble ingesting their food, they become malnourished, which can lead to other health problems. Surgery to close the palate is an option at 10 months; however, the infant needs to stay healthy until then. There are bottles on the market specialized for CP; however, nasal regurgitation is still a recurring problem. This problem causes distress to infants and their caretakers as well. Our team designed a nipple for a baby bottle that avoids nasal regurgitation and allows the infant to intake the nutrients necessary for development. The nipple has a flatter shape that blocks off the nasal opening. It does not require suction to expel the liquid but instead relies on a gumming motion.