BIOE 401 Bioengineering Design Theory (Fall)

Design is a plan, process, practice and/or procedure whereby an idea is conceived, developed, evaluated, managed, arranged, organized and/or constructed.  While engineering classes are often focused on the crafting and construction of a proposed device, the true application of DESIGN principles comes in the process of generation, evaluation and implementation of ideas towards problems in engineering.  The objective of this course is to introduce students to the principles of biomedical design within the context of the medical device industry and to begin to engage the student in the design process.  Formal classroom lectures will be complimented with guest lectures, site visits and team-building skills.  Students will work in teams on small projects and begin to practice design skills towards design solutions.  Students will be divided into design teams and apply classroom and laboratory materials towards the development of a project design proposal, that will be presented and defended.

 

BIOE 403 Applied Bioengineering Design (Spring)

In this course, student teams will work to complete a design cycle on an biomedical industry or clinically relevant design project. They will apply fundamental design theory principles and undergraduate bioengineering course content towards the realization of a final tested prototype.  Students will be guided through a series of design gates (or reviews), from which clearly defined design materials will be produced, presented and evaluated.  Documents and artifacts will be graded by the instructor.  Design gate meetings and presentations will be attended and assessed by a bioengineering faculty mentors.

 

BIOE 451 Section 2: Clemson University Retrieval of Explants in Orthopaedics

Medical implant devices have been used widely for more than 40 years, and it is estimated that 8 percent 10 percent of Americans (20-25 million people) currently have such a device. Although implant devices have produced great benefits, it must be recognized that sometimes MIDs must be removed or replaced. They are in a continual state of development to increase their performance and extend their useful lifespan. Long-term data on the behavior of implanted devices and host response are essential inputs to the development process, yet there are few systematic programs for the retrieval and analysis of implants in the USA. Independent and international data banks do exist however. The contributions to implant design provided by retrieval and analysis will benefit patients through improvements in implant performance. We can consider implants to be defined as having a minimum lifespan of 3 months, as penetrating living tissue, as having a physiologic interaction and as being retrievable. A number of barriers exist to the establishment of an implant retrieval program. Major impediments are the costs associated with such a program and fear of litigation affecting manufacturers, hospitals, physicians, and investigators. The long term goal of this creative inquiry group is to discuss, investigate, develop, establish, promote and grow a viable Clemson University Implant Retrieval Program. The aim of such a program is to provide a working repository for retrieved implants, and to develop the tools and techniques for the systematic evaluation of implant designs, materials, surfaces and function.

 

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BIOE 451 Section 7: Freshmen/Senior Design and Mentoring Experiences in Bioengineering

The Bioengineering curriculum offers a unique undergraduate creative inquiry experience that combines design experiences with undergraduate peer-tutoring.  Beginning in the Fall semester small groups of general engineering freshmen who are interested in pursuing Bioengineering as their major will be recruited and paired with small groups of undergraduate senior bioengineering students, and together, they will explore exciting and challenging problems in Bioengineering Design.  Using the established BIOE451 (Creative Inquiry in BioE) as a mechanism of providing credit for participation, 15-20 freshmen who are enrolled in engineering classes will be recruited with the assistance of ESE faculty (Beth Stephan or Bill Park as the primary points of contact).  These students will be interviewed and matched to established senior design teams(of 4-6 students)  who are participating in BioE401 (bioengineering design theory, Fall) or BioE403 (Applied Bioengineering Design, Spring).  Together, these teams will work to solve design challenges that are relevant to the field of bioengineering, while undertaking an undergraduate learning/mentoring experience.  Both the freshmen and the seniors will use this CI experience to tackle open-ended design challenges that involve integrating and synthesizing ideas towards solutions to real-world problems.  Teams may interact with industry or clinical partners.  It is hoped that the innovative use of Creative Inquiry to pair freshmen and seniors into teams that work to solve design challenges will enhance the education experience for all students.

 

 

BIOE 451 Section 9: Multi-disciplinary Exploration of Materials Friction, Lubrication and Wear

Industry, academic and national laboratories are all interested in understanding how to control the friction between sliding surfaces. Work has shown that materials selection (surface materials and lubricant), surface topography (micro patterning), system parameters (velocity and force), etc can all influence the coefficient of friction for a system. Since all these factors play a role (and their roles are not always completely understood), the direct measurement of the coefficient of friction and surface wear is often desired. Students in this group, will look at surface deformation mechanisms, sliding contact and common test techniques used in this field. Student activities include wear machine construction and testing, community education and outreach and partner university visits.

 

 

BIOE 451 Section 10: Designing Medical Technology for the Developing World

Developing countries face healthcare challenges every day, whether it is lack of supplies or a shortage of healthcare professionals. Medical devices and equipment that are considered standard in hospitals in the United States can be hard to find and very expensive in developing countries, such as Tanzania. Tanzania has recently made significant advances with the quality of their healthcare; however, the infant mortality rate is still ten times greater than that of the United States. This is due to the lack of technology available and untrained healthcare professionals to use these medical devices. The goal of this Creative Inquiry team is to design and develop medical instrumentation and monitors that are robust, user-friendly, and low-cost for developing countries. The students on this team will be expected to work on electronics and instrument design. The first project will focus on developing a neonatal temperature sensing and control system for the prevention of hyperthermia in premature babies for Tanzanian health centers. The next projects will focus on development and design of cheap pulse oximeter and electrocardiography systems to monitor the blood oxygen levels and heart rates in these babies. These types of projects not only have the ability to improve the lives of young infants and families, but they can also impact the medical field in developing nations worldwide.

 

BIOE 451 Section 15: Roper Mountain Bioengineering Innovation Lab

This exciting CI is focused on engaging health, science and engineering students in community outreach though interactions with children "science" centers in the local area. Students in this CI will work directly with community representatives in exploring new exhibits, educational materials and interactive learning tools to engage and educate k-12 students in health and biomedical engineering topics such as Dental, Anatomy, Nutrition, Reproduction, Drug Awareness, Human Motion, and Biotechnology. The Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, SC has been established as a dedicated partner in this CI effort, and they are excited to include a student delegation from Clemson in the effort to renovate and continually improve their Health Education Center. Efforts will focus on designing new exhibits to address the needs of the elementary and middle school students, while maintaining engaging exhibits that are available to the public. Because of advances in biomedical engineering, most science centers are very interested in developing exhibits that would increase student and public awareness of this topic. Participation by the students in exhibit development and construction is expected, and the students will also be actively involved in museum staff education and k-12 educational outreach in collaboration with the museum collaborators. The project is a multi-year endevor. Students are expected to remain in the project for least two semesters with preference towards 3+ semesters, and will participate through BioE451, Section 15, listed in both the Fall and Spring semesters.

 

MTHSC 399 Section 10: Creative Calculus in Biomedicine Math

Have you ever asked yourself, "When am I ever going to use this?" Come be a part of this dynamic, hands-on creative inquiry course about how Math can be used in the field of Biomedicine, while receiving dedicated assistance and tutoring in your Math courses. This 1 credit, Creative Inquiry course will connect mathematical concepts with bioengineering and medical applications and challenge the students' view of what mathematics can offer them. This beginning module (1 of 4 that you will be eligible to take) will reinforce scalar, algebraic and trigonometric concepts that are relevant to orthopaedics and total joint replacement.  Students participating in this module are expected to have already taken or current be taking course content equivalent to MTHSC 103, 104 or 105. Activities include field trips to local laboratories and medical facilities,  and development of new student-led learning tools that explore your current calculus curriculum.