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Virtual Immersion in
Biomedical Engineering
Program Introduction
 Introduction to VIBE Faculty Team

Prof. Kris Billiar Prof. Solomon Mensah Prof. Taimoor Afzal

2 Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Prof. Taimoor Afzal

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

 Prof. Solomon Mensah

• Research interests
❑ Mechanobiology
❑ Intercellular interactions in cancer
and immune related disease
❑ In vitro and vivo cardiovascular
models
❑ Medical Device development for
global health
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
 Prof. Kris Billiar

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 Overview

• Unpaid, free, virtual 8-week program

• Tuesday, May 30th – Friday, July 21st
• Three aspects of the program
─ Design Project
─ Professional Development
─ Coffee and Conversation Seminars
• Culminate in a video pitch competition
• All program information will be posted on Canvas
─ All emails henceforth will come through announcements
on Canvas

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 BME Design Project

• Several project ideas for you to select from

• You will be grouped in teams of 4 based on your
project preference
─ We will keep time zone differences in mind
─ We will not be grouping based on university
• Projects will be focused on global health and/or
serving under-served or under-resourced communities

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 BME Design Project

• Design meeting each week to go over aspects of

design process
─ Tuesdays 12 pm -1 pm ET
• Teams will meet on their own each week to work
on their designs
─ Recommended: 2 meetings for ~45minutes each

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 BME Design Project

• Internship will culminate in a video competition

─ Final designs & videos will be due at the end of week 7
(Friday July 14th)
─ 4-minute video to present your final design
─ Winning teams will be based on number of likes on video
and faculty choice
─ Prize: letter of recommendation for each member of the
winning team

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 Professional Development
Seminars

• In collaboration with the Summer Professional

Development Series for Undergraduates (SPuDS)
• Topics will include
─ Finding your strengths
─ Communicating Research
─ Ethics in Biomedical Engineering
─ Fellowship and Scholarship Opportunities
─ What is Graduate School and how to apply
• Wednesdays 9:00 am - 10:30 am ET

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 Coffee & Conversations

• Learn more about the field

of BME
• Interact with WPI BME
faculty and learn more
about their research and
journey
• Three main themes:
─ Research
─ Career path
─ Being underrepresented
in BME
• Thursdays 12 pm-1 pm ET

11 OOA Course Intro Worcester Polytechnic Institute

 Schedule & Logistics

• Design Project: Tuesdays (12 -1 PM ET)

• Professional Development: Wednesdays (9-10:30 am
ET)
• Coffee and Conversations: Thursdays (12-1 PM ET)
• Work with your team for rest of the week (~1.5 hours)
• To receive a certificate of completion:
─ Attend live activities or watch recorded sessions (will be
checked on a weekly basis)
─ Complete surveys throughout the program (anonymously)
─ Compete in video pitch contest with team

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 Additional Program Aspects

Virtual office hours:

• Instructor office hours:
─ Mondays: 1 - 2 pm, Thursdays: 1-2 PM

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 Additional Program Aspects

Faculty reviewers:
• WPI BME faculty will
serve as faculty
reviewers
• They will host “office
hours” to provide
feedback on your
designs
• Halfway through
and at the end of
the summer

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 Additional Program Aspects

Program Celebration
& Announcement of
winners:
• July 21, 11-12 pm
• Save the date
• Invite your faculty,
family and friends

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 Expectations

• Be respectful to each other on Zoom, on Canvas

and every other platform
• Participate actively & ask questions at every event
• Be engaged with your team
• To receive certificate of completion:
─ Attend live or watch recorded sessions for all events by
Saturday 11:59PM of that week
▪ Attendance & video views will be checked on a weekly basis
for all events
▪ Attendance/viewing progress will be recorded on Canvas
─ Compete in video pitch contest with team

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 Attendance/Viewing Recorded
Videos

• Attendance will be tracked using Zoom and

echo360
• Be sure to include your first and last name when
you log into Zoom for all events
• Recording links will be uploaded to canvas within
24-48 hours after the event
• Before watching the recording link, you will need
to log into your echo360 (instructions to join
echo360 will be sent later this week)
• After logging into echo360, you can watch the
recording.

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 Questions

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 Design Project Selection

• Using the form in Canvas: select your top 3

choices by Friday, June 3 by 11:59 PM ET
• We will match you up with one of your top three
choices
• We will keep time zone differences in mind

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 Design projects

21 OOA Course Intro

Low-cost air
purifier for
asthma patients in
underdeveloped
countries This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

• Design an air purifier to be used within a home

for asthma patients in underdeveloped
countries. It should be inexpensive and made
from locally available material.
PORTABLE CENTRIFUGE
FOR ANEMIA DIAGNOSIS
IN LOW-RESOURCE
HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

• Develop a portable
centrifuge that is suitable
for low-resource settings.
Major design constraints
included total cost under
$50, minimal training
requirements, robust
operation, and
maintaining compatibility
with current clinical
laboratory methods.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Sterilizer for low-middle income countries
for instruments used in childbirth

Design a sterilizer to
sterilize instruments
used in childbirth in
low-middle income
countries. It should
be portable, and not
dependent on
electricity or
expensive gases, and
it should be
inexpensive
Damage
avoidance/minimiza
tion as a result of a
fall in the elderly
• Falls are a common
occurrence in elderly
population. Design a device
that can avoid or minimize
the damage in case a fall
occurs. The device should
be wearable, low cost, and
easy to put on.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

NERVE BLOCK TRAINING PHANTOM FOR
USE WITH ULTRASOUND SYSTEMS IN LOW
RESOURCE ENVIRONMENTS

• Nerve block is a common procedure in

which anesthesia is administered to or
around a nerve as a means to interrupt
signal transduction. Training phantoms
have been designed to mimic human
tissue and thus allow medical staff to
practice the procedure without requiring
a patient to be present. Develop a nerve
block training phantom for use in a low-
resource environment.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Mechanisms to
reduce the risk of
mosquito bites

• Dengue and malaria are

common diseases in many
developing countries.
Devise a method to reduce
the chances of getting
bitten by a mosquito,
particularly for school going
children.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Testing Device for
Infant Diabetes
Design a system
that enables
clinicians to be
able to test sugar
levels in
premature babies
in developing
countries
Lead Detection Device
Inspired by the Flint water crisis: develop an
inexpensive quantitative device that will tell you how
much lead is in the water
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Lead Filtering Device
for Drinking Water Also inspired by the
Flint water crisis:
Develop an
inexpensive device
made from locally
sourced materials
that would filter lead
from water, to be
used in under-
resourced
communities here in
the US or abroad

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 Develop a solar charger to
Solar be used to charge medical
Chargers for devices in remote villages in
Medical India (e.g. it should be able
Devices to charge an oxygen
concentrator)
 Telemedicine App
for Ambulatory Care

In Africa, the patient to doctor

ratio can be as high as 100:1.
Develop a phone telemedicine
app to be used for ambulatory
care. It should track vital signs,
and narrow down the possible
lists of pathologies to help a
doctor diagnose the patient
remotely
 Battery-powered
phototherapy lamp to
treat infant jaundice Phototherapy is used to treat
newborn jaundice by
lowering the bilirubin levels
in the baby's blood through a
process called photo-
oxidation. The goal of this
project is to design a simple
yet effective baby treatment
platform to introduce this
therapeutic light to
treat newborn babies in low
to middle-income countries.

https://www.emedicinehealth.com/newborn_jaundice/article_em.htm
 Affordable/easy-to-use imaging
device for Malaria diagnosing
Design an
affordable/simple-to-use
imaging device that does
not rely on consistent
electricity, to aid in the
diagnosis of malaria in
developing countries.
 Portable Water
Purification System
• Design a compact and affordable
water purification system that can
remove contaminants and
pathogens from water sources,
addressing clean water scarcity and
reducing waterborne diseases in
rural areas.
Low-Cost Medical
Equipment

• Design and manufacture

cost-effective medical
devices, such as low-cost
prosthetics, hearing
aids, or diagnostic tools,
to improve access to
healthcare in remote
and underserved
regions.
 Improved
Sanitation Systems
• Design innovative
sanitation solutions that
are culturally appropriate
and suitable for the
specific conditions in
underdeveloped/develop
ing countries, aiming to
improve hygiene
practices and reduce the
prevalence of
waterborne diseases.
 Community-Based
Telemedicine

• Create a platform or
mobile application that
facilitates remote
healthcare consultations
and connects patients with
healthcare professionals in
underserved areas, helping
to bridge the gap between
healthcare providers and
patients.
 Design Project Selection

• Using the form in Canvas: select your top 3

choices by Friday June 3 at 11:59 PM ET
• We will match you up with one of your top three
choices
• We will keep time zone differences in mind

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 Design Project: Deliverables

• Identify problems & constraints

• Background research on disease/BME topic and
current devices
• Brainstorm ideas
• Digital mockup using CAD/Solidworks
• Proof of concept
• Final Deliverable: 4-minute YouTube video to get
the most likes (include WPI VIBE slide)

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 Examples from last year

41 OOA Course Intro Worcester Polytechnic Institute

 Breakout Rooms

• Take 3 minutes to introduce yourselves to each

other
─ Name
─ University
─ Country
─ Major
─ One fun fact

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 Final Thoughts

• Have fun!
• Be creative
• Engineering design is messy, and that’s okay
• Failure is a part of success
• Each of you brings something to the table

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 Questions

Email: gr-vibe@wpi.edu