2024 COES Design and Research Conference

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Biomedical Engineering Senior Projects

Integrated Engineering and Science Building 212.

1:00 p.m.	NESTLE (Neonatal Enhanced Supportive & Therapeutic Lifted Equipment) Team Members: Amelia Boudreau, John Neill, Brianna Poole, Reeya Shrestha Sponsor: Dr. Sara Balch Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins Infants with open neural tube defects, such as myelomeningocele (MMC), face significant challenges in positioning, especially when placed in the prone position. This can hinder their physical development and overall well-being. Existing methods fail to fully address the unique needs of these infants after spinal surgery, raising concerns about skin integrity, comfort, and motor development. This project aims to design an innovative positioning aid for post-surgery infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) that supports prone positioning while addressing the specific challenges faced by this population. The goal is to create a safe and effective solution that promotes physical support, enhances comfort, and protects skin integrity. By offering a tailored approach to neonatal positioning, this aid seeks to improve care and support the long-term health outcomes of infants with MMC. Additionally, the design aims to reduce stress on the thoracic cavity while providing postural support for acutely hospitalized, post-surgery infants with MMC. This solution will provide a safe and comfortable environment that optimizes the infant’s well-being during recovery.
1:30 p.m.	VOLT Plating System In-Situ Bending Device Team Members: Jenna Carballo, Colin Doherty, Madison Enfinger Sponsor: Vernon Hartdegen (DePuy Syntheses) Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins On October 10, 2024, DePuy Synthes under Johnson & Johnson MedTech, released their mini and small fragment lines of their VOLT Plating System. Fracture fixation plates often need their shape modified during surgery to match patient and fracture geometry. The current system uses bending pins to bend these plates in-situ by engaging the threaded locking mechanism. This often results in irreparable damage to vital screw-holes needed to secure the plate to the fractured bone. In extreme cases, the damaged plate would need to be removed, and the bending process would need to be repeated with a new plate, extending surgery time and wasting material. This project addresses the following need statement: A way to reduce damage of threaded holes during in-situ fracture fixation plate bending to minimize plate revisions.
2:00 p.m.	Dock Ock: An Intervertebral Disc Removal Device Team Members: Raegan Hartdegen, Caleb Neal, Allie Smith Sponsor: David Mire (Medtronic) Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins Dock Ock is a device that is designed to aid surgeons that are performing lateral spinal surgery to visually assess the spinal disc space. Currently, surgeons use a device called a dilator that is used to reach the spine through the psoas muscle below the rib cage. Additionally, they use the dilator to access the degenerated disc and insert tools needed for removal. While this device currently works, it can add time to the surgery and leave debris in the disc space. The goal of our project is to decrease the time that it takes to remove a portion of the spinal disc so that a correctional intervertebral device can be inserted. Dock Ock adds an extension to the dilator that can be inserted after the disc space is reached. This extension contains an endoscope for monitoring the site of operation as well as a vacuum to assist in removing the unwanted debris from the disc space. Our project will decrease the overall surgery time by decreasing the amount of time spent removing the degenerated disc; this will allow for more time to insert the interbody device.
3:00 p.m.	Assistive Lap Desk for Reducing Dystonic Movements in Upper Extremities Team Members: Katie Cooley, Rory Mullins, Eliziah Riley, Ashok Sigdel Sponsor: Dr. Sarah Walters Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins Spastic quadriplegia can interfere with enjoyment of everyday tasks, like playing video games. This project required the development of a height adjustable device to assist in the use of handheld devices similar to gaming controllers. Upon further research, it was concluded that dystonia, unwanted muscle movement, is a main factor in this condition. The following need statement was developed to address this problem: A way to minimize spasmodic arm and hand movements in people with dystonia to achieve independent use of handheld devices. To meet this need statement, an adjustable lap desk device was developed to minimize the effect dystonia had on the teen, and others with dystonia, while using handheld devices. This device has a device holder that can accommodate multiple handheld devices, such as phones, tablets, and gaming controllers. There are telescopic legs that allow the device to be adjustable to different heights, and stabilizers have been attached to go under the user’s legs to increase stability. To minimize unwanted movements, the device has detachable compression sleeves that can be moved around the device to promote comfortability and natural movements when using handheld devices.
3:30 p.m.	Electric Spinal Rod Cutter Team Members: Parker Dubois, Madison James, Cynthia Langkamp, Hannah Madden Sponsor: David Mire (Medtronic) Advisor: Dr. Bryant Hollins For surgeries requiring spinal rods, the length necessary for the rod is an estimate, especially in cases involving severe scoliosis. However, the length sometimes needs to be shortened. Currently when this happens, the rod and screws must be removed, the rod is cut outside of the body, then replaced. This is a lengthy process that increases surgical time and a patient’s time under anesthesia. The goal of this project is to create a device that can cut spinal rods while they are implanted. The overall need statement is: A way to address unsafe spinal rod cutting in situ for surgeons performing spinal surgeries to achieve a shortened surgical time.