A compressomyograph train of four monitoring device.

The monitoring of the neuromuscular blockade is critical for patient's safety during and after surgery. The monitoring of neuromuscular blockade often requires the use of Train of Four (TOF) technique. During a TOF test two electrodes are attached to the ulnar nerve, and a series of four electric pulses are applied. The electrical stimulation causes the thumb to twitch, and the amount of twitch varies depending on the amount of neuromuscular blockade in patient's system. Current medical devices used to assist anesthesiologists to perform TOF monitoring often require free hand movement and do not provide accurate or reliable results. The goal of this work is to design, prototype and test a new medical device that provides reliable TOF results when thumb movement is restricted. A medical device that uses a pressurized catheter balloon to detect the response thumb twitch of the TOF test is created. An analytical model, numerical study, and mechanical finger testing were employed to create an optimum design. The design is tested through a pilot human subjects study. No significant correlation is reported with subjects' properties, including hand size.

Team-Based Development of Medical Devices: An Engineering-Business Collaborative.

There is a global shift in the teaching methodology of science and engineering toward multidisciplinary, team-based processes. To meet the demands of an evolving technical industry and lead the way in engineering education, innovative curricula are essential. This paper describes the development of multidisciplinary, team-based learning environments in undergraduate and graduate engineering curricula focused on medical device design. In these programs, students actively collaborate with clinicians, professional engineers, business professionals, and their peers to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems. In the undergraduate senior capstone courses, teams of biomedical engineering (BME) and business students have produced and delivered numerous functional prototypes to satisfied clients. Pursuit of commercialization of devices has led to intellectual property (IP) disclosures and patents. Assessments have indicated high levels of success in attainment of student learning outcomes and student satisfaction with their undergraduate design experience. To advance these projects toward commercialization and further promote innovative team-based learning, a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Design and Commercialization was recently launched. The MEng facilitates teams of graduate students in engineering, life sciences, and business who engage in innovation-commercialization (IC) projects and coursework that take innovative ideas through research and development (R&D) to create marketable devices. The activities are structured with students working together as a "virtual company," with targeted outcomes of commercialization (license agreements and new start-ups), competitive job placement, and/or career advancement.