Hey!
So we had our second design meeting during recitation on Thursday; during this time, we were to finalize our design specifications which included who our intended users are going to be, what are the dimensions of our device, and what features our device was going to have. I think the hardest part for our team was figuring the dimensions of our design; we were not sure how big or small it was going to be because we kept thinking of different variables, such as the pill size or shape, which were impacting our theoretical dimensions. After some debate and calculating the volume of 200 pills of a sample pain medication, we finally narrowed down our dimensions for our design. We hope these are the final dimensions for our design, but, in order to make sure, I am going to make a simple 3D model of the device; we are doing this so we can visually see the dimensions and decide from there if there is enough room for the pills, the hardware, the battery, and the other components of our device.
We also decided that are intended users are people over the age of 14; children under the age of 14 should use the device on a case-by-case basis under the supervision and advice of the child's doctor. We got this idea from all of the products that say something along the lines of "under 6 years old, ask a doctor" for items such as medicine or toothpaste. We are making sure to design our device so that any person can operate it without any difficulties; we are going to make the device have a touchscreen with simple programming so that even people unfamiliar with the newest technology can still get their pain medication when needed without frustration.
In our specifications, we also made sure to ensure a security system to that only those intended to refill the device or get a pill from the device are able to get it. We are going to use fingerprint identification as the security "password;" this technology is already being used in wide variety of devices including laptops, which is from where we got our idea. With this, we are going to have different levels of security. For example, the user can only get a pill, but cannot open the device to refill it, change the amount of doses, or alter any doctor-programmed instructions. Another level of security will be the clinician level; this level allows the clinician to refill the device but cannot change dose information. The doctor or administrator level can change dose information, refill the device, and change any other settings on the device that deal with the dose of medication.
My group is meeting again on Tuesday after lecture (and also before Thanksgiving break). For the meeting, I am going to bring the 3D model of the device. We are also going to double check our specifications and make sure we are all on the same page before we leave for break; we want to make sure everyone knows what the final device so that way when we come back from break we can jump start into the other aspects of the project.
More to come soon!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Our First Design Meeting
We just had out first official team meeting. In recitation last week, we agreed to bring a minimum of three designs per person to the meeting. Our goal was to explain our designs to each other, consolidate the ideas, and create a design that encompasses the best parts of everyone’s drawings.
Our designs shared many qualities. We all used a fingerprinting sensor, instead of a keypad (for typing in a password), because this was something we discussed beforehand. The majority of the sketches also used a touch screen. We agreed that touch screens seem to be where technology is heading—cell phones, iPods, and virtually all new technology seem to have one—and also, when using a touch screen, we do not need to waste space on a keypad for typing in dose requests or passwords. We plan to have our touch screen resemble the iPhone: it will have a touch screen keypad appear when the patient needs to type something.
We spent a significant amount of time this meeting discussing how the pills will be released from the device. The patient cannot just reach their fingers into the device and take as many pills as he or she wants. Such actions can cause overdose. So how can we find a way to release only one pill (or however many pills constitute a dose) to the patient? Again, we returned to the metaphor of the gumball machine. When someone places a quarter into the gumball machine, only one ball rolls out: the person does not have access to any of the other gumballs. We actually looked up videos of gumball machines dispensing balls as we brainstormed ways to apply this process to our medical device. We finally came up with a solution. The bottom of our device will contain a little circular wheel with an indent. One pill can fit into this indent. When the patient requests a pill, the wheel will turn and deposit the pill into a small opening at the bottom of the device. (A small motor will run this wheel). The patient cannot access any other pills other than the one that was dispensed, just as in a gumball or candy machine. We were very excited about this idea!
We also brainstormed a lot about batteries. We decided that our device will use lithium ion batteries, and the batteries will be placed in a small nook in the corner. One issue we did not resolve, however, is the possibility that the batteries will die. Is it enough to trust the patient to recharge the batteries? Or should our device contain some sort of secondary power, just in case the patient is careless and allows the batteries to die? We need to continue to discuss this issue.
In our next meeting (which will be during recitation), we will continue to work on our final sketch.
Our designs shared many qualities. We all used a fingerprinting sensor, instead of a keypad (for typing in a password), because this was something we discussed beforehand. The majority of the sketches also used a touch screen. We agreed that touch screens seem to be where technology is heading—cell phones, iPods, and virtually all new technology seem to have one—and also, when using a touch screen, we do not need to waste space on a keypad for typing in dose requests or passwords. We plan to have our touch screen resemble the iPhone: it will have a touch screen keypad appear when the patient needs to type something.
We spent a significant amount of time this meeting discussing how the pills will be released from the device. The patient cannot just reach their fingers into the device and take as many pills as he or she wants. Such actions can cause overdose. So how can we find a way to release only one pill (or however many pills constitute a dose) to the patient? Again, we returned to the metaphor of the gumball machine. When someone places a quarter into the gumball machine, only one ball rolls out: the person does not have access to any of the other gumballs. We actually looked up videos of gumball machines dispensing balls as we brainstormed ways to apply this process to our medical device. We finally came up with a solution. The bottom of our device will contain a little circular wheel with an indent. One pill can fit into this indent. When the patient requests a pill, the wheel will turn and deposit the pill into a small opening at the bottom of the device. (A small motor will run this wheel). The patient cannot access any other pills other than the one that was dispensed, just as in a gumball or candy machine. We were very excited about this idea!
We also brainstormed a lot about batteries. We decided that our device will use lithium ion batteries, and the batteries will be placed in a small nook in the corner. One issue we did not resolve, however, is the possibility that the batteries will die. Is it enough to trust the patient to recharge the batteries? Or should our device contain some sort of secondary power, just in case the patient is careless and allows the batteries to die? We need to continue to discuss this issue.
In our next meeting (which will be during recitation), we will continue to work on our final sketch.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
PCOA Designs - My Designs
Hey!
So I started designing some PCOAs today in order to not fall behind, and I can honestly say it is a bit harder than I imagined it to be. The hard part is not making sure that it does everything that I want it or need it to, but that I keep coming up with different physical designs for the device; I cannot decide which one is better or which one is most cost efficient. I know that talking with my group will be very helpful, especially once all of our designs are looked at, but I wish I had one design that is my favorite and that I want to stick with and work on. I feel like the problem is that I haven't done enough research yet on the technology that I want to use in the device; if I conducted more research I would have a much better idea about the size of different components, the cost of them, and how reliable they are to use in a medical device. I feel that this is a lesson learned; I should have conducted at least some preliminary research before attempting to design. I think I was so excited to actually draw a mock device that I forgot that the device that I am designing serves a bigger purpose than simply being a nicely designed piece of equipment. Before I attempt to draw another design, I am going to do a little bit of research, always remembering to cite my sources!
That is it for now! Hopefully next time I will actually have completed at least one design!
So I started designing some PCOAs today in order to not fall behind, and I can honestly say it is a bit harder than I imagined it to be. The hard part is not making sure that it does everything that I want it or need it to, but that I keep coming up with different physical designs for the device; I cannot decide which one is better or which one is most cost efficient. I know that talking with my group will be very helpful, especially once all of our designs are looked at, but I wish I had one design that is my favorite and that I want to stick with and work on. I feel like the problem is that I haven't done enough research yet on the technology that I want to use in the device; if I conducted more research I would have a much better idea about the size of different components, the cost of them, and how reliable they are to use in a medical device. I feel that this is a lesson learned; I should have conducted at least some preliminary research before attempting to design. I think I was so excited to actually draw a mock device that I forgot that the device that I am designing serves a bigger purpose than simply being a nicely designed piece of equipment. Before I attempt to draw another design, I am going to do a little bit of research, always remembering to cite my sources!
That is it for now! Hopefully next time I will actually have completed at least one design!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Design Project - Week 1
Hey!
So today during recitation we were put into our groups for our design project; we were also informed that this project is also a competition to see who can create the best design for a PCOA. My group and I decided to name our "company" STS Incorporated because our last names begin with two S and one T. In our initial discussion, we set up a weekly meeting time (Tuesdays after lecture), discussed how we want to stay on top of the work, brainstormed some components and features that we want in our PCOA, and decided what we were all going to do for Tuesday's meeting.
At first we were a little confused about what type of device we were to design, but after clearing things up with our TA, our ideas starting flowing. Our TA told us to be careful what we post because, since this a competition, anyone can read our blogs and possibly "borrow" our ideas. Even though I will not list them specifically for this reason, I can say that we talked a lot about how we were to meet to basic specifications assigned for the project; we talked about storage for the drug, security features, our intended users, physical design, and how we need to remember to include programmable settings such as lock out and maximum doses so that doctors can use this device for a range of medications.
What started off our brainstorming, which I felt was very successful and productive, was that I told my group that when I first heard about the device we were to design, I immediately thought of a gum ball dispenser. In a way, our device can be compared to one; both devices store product, release it to the person upon request, and can only hold a certain amount of product. Also, the quarter that one puts into the dispenser is like the password on the PCOA; before either device dispenses anything, a proper "exchange" must occur. As we continued to jump off this idea, we thought that our storage container could be a globe shape as well; almost immediately we thought against it, however. We felt the globe shape would take up too much room, could be broken more easily, could lure people to the device and its contents, and could ultimately make our device larger because the other components would have to be placed elsewhere. However, this idea led us to believe that having a sort of "window" into the storage are of our device might be a feature that we want to consider in our designs.
For security purposes, at least until I can figure out how to only access to this blog to my subscribers, I will not post some of our other ideas; it is very tempting though because I really think that they will help our design rise above the others, and I am just really excited about them.
As we starting to end our initial meeting, we discussed what should be done for our next meeting since we already have rough designs and basic specifications due for next recitation; we decided that each one of us was going to create at least three designs using ideas we talked about today and any other ideas from additional research. Also, we planned on keeping all of our work organized so that when it comes time to make the poster and finalize our design, we will have a linear track of our design process from the initial stages to the final one. We are very determined to stay on top of this project; we do not want to be rushing around the night before this project is due especially when we should be studying for finals.
I also should mention that we are taking turns writing this blog about our progress; group members are going to email me their blog, and I will post it. We feel this is fairer than only one person blogging, and it is easier than creating a new blog with multiple users.
Personally, I actually am very excited for this project because this device has actually never been completely designed and created before; we are actually the pioneers for this device. It is exciting because this project has a link to the real world; their is a demand for this type of device, so one should be created. This weekend I am going to start designing; I can already feel that I definitely will have more than three designs prepared for Tuesday.
I think that is all for now. More to come!
So today during recitation we were put into our groups for our design project; we were also informed that this project is also a competition to see who can create the best design for a PCOA. My group and I decided to name our "company" STS Incorporated because our last names begin with two S and one T. In our initial discussion, we set up a weekly meeting time (Tuesdays after lecture), discussed how we want to stay on top of the work, brainstormed some components and features that we want in our PCOA, and decided what we were all going to do for Tuesday's meeting.
At first we were a little confused about what type of device we were to design, but after clearing things up with our TA, our ideas starting flowing. Our TA told us to be careful what we post because, since this a competition, anyone can read our blogs and possibly "borrow" our ideas. Even though I will not list them specifically for this reason, I can say that we talked a lot about how we were to meet to basic specifications assigned for the project; we talked about storage for the drug, security features, our intended users, physical design, and how we need to remember to include programmable settings such as lock out and maximum doses so that doctors can use this device for a range of medications.
What started off our brainstorming, which I felt was very successful and productive, was that I told my group that when I first heard about the device we were to design, I immediately thought of a gum ball dispenser. In a way, our device can be compared to one; both devices store product, release it to the person upon request, and can only hold a certain amount of product. Also, the quarter that one puts into the dispenser is like the password on the PCOA; before either device dispenses anything, a proper "exchange" must occur. As we continued to jump off this idea, we thought that our storage container could be a globe shape as well; almost immediately we thought against it, however. We felt the globe shape would take up too much room, could be broken more easily, could lure people to the device and its contents, and could ultimately make our device larger because the other components would have to be placed elsewhere. However, this idea led us to believe that having a sort of "window" into the storage are of our device might be a feature that we want to consider in our designs.
For security purposes, at least until I can figure out how to only access to this blog to my subscribers, I will not post some of our other ideas; it is very tempting though because I really think that they will help our design rise above the others, and I am just really excited about them.
As we starting to end our initial meeting, we discussed what should be done for our next meeting since we already have rough designs and basic specifications due for next recitation; we decided that each one of us was going to create at least three designs using ideas we talked about today and any other ideas from additional research. Also, we planned on keeping all of our work organized so that when it comes time to make the poster and finalize our design, we will have a linear track of our design process from the initial stages to the final one. We are very determined to stay on top of this project; we do not want to be rushing around the night before this project is due especially when we should be studying for finals.
I also should mention that we are taking turns writing this blog about our progress; group members are going to email me their blog, and I will post it. We feel this is fairer than only one person blogging, and it is easier than creating a new blog with multiple users.
Personally, I actually am very excited for this project because this device has actually never been completely designed and created before; we are actually the pioneers for this device. It is exciting because this project has a link to the real world; their is a demand for this type of device, so one should be created. This weekend I am going to start designing; I can already feel that I definitely will have more than three designs prepared for Tuesday.
I think that is all for now. More to come!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Design Project
Hey!
So since we are done our research papers, we are moving on to our design projects! For our projects, we are going to be divided into teams of three or four people to design a device that monitors and delivers pain medication for oral ingestion for someone. This device is similar to PCAs, which are patient-controlled analgesics; these devices deliver medication into the body via wires and tubing. A potential problem with these devices is that irritation and infections can occur at the place were the tubes are connected to the inside of the body.
Just as with many other medical devices, the device has to be safe for use or else the FDA would not approve it and no one would want to use it. Some basic security features in PCA and PCOA devices are requiring a password for different levels of security which can be the user, a clinician, and a doctor, a lock time after a dose is administered, and a maximum number of doses that are allowed to be dispensed in a certain period of time. These precautions help to ensure that an overdose does not happen and that any settings on the device are not changed by someone unauthorized to change them. The password also helps to ensure that only the intended user or authorized personnel such as a doctor can demand a dose of the medication. We have to take these safety precautions into considerations while we are designing our device.
The device that we are designing is a PCOA, a patient-controlled oral analgesic. In our groups, we have to make sure we do not "reinvent the wheel" or "reinvent the broken wheel;" this means that we have to make sure that our design has not been tried before. Also, we have to make sure that we meet certain criteria; the basic specifications that our device has to meet are:
1) 200 dose capacity
2) it has to be secure
3) it has to limit doses with both a lock out time and a permissible amount of doses
4) it has to record both the time of a dose demand and the result of the dose demand
Also, while designing, we have to keep in mind that we cannot make our device do everything that we want it to; restrictions such as battery life or size are just two specifications that can limit our design. We have to remember that a device cannot possibly do everything that we want it to; we will have to sacrifice something in order to make our device do something else. I foresee this being a challenge for me because I always want to do everything.
On the outside, this design project seems to be dealing with a fairly simple idea, but, on deeper inspection, there is a lot more than meets the eye! After tomorrow's recitation I will post about my groups initial thoughts and quick brainstorms for our design.
(Also, I tried reading the documents that my professor posted on the blackboard site, but for some reason they are not loading on my computer; not even the slide show with the directions is loading. This is sort of frustrating...hopefully it works soon.)
So since we are done our research papers, we are moving on to our design projects! For our projects, we are going to be divided into teams of three or four people to design a device that monitors and delivers pain medication for oral ingestion for someone. This device is similar to PCAs, which are patient-controlled analgesics; these devices deliver medication into the body via wires and tubing. A potential problem with these devices is that irritation and infections can occur at the place were the tubes are connected to the inside of the body.
Just as with many other medical devices, the device has to be safe for use or else the FDA would not approve it and no one would want to use it. Some basic security features in PCA and PCOA devices are requiring a password for different levels of security which can be the user, a clinician, and a doctor, a lock time after a dose is administered, and a maximum number of doses that are allowed to be dispensed in a certain period of time. These precautions help to ensure that an overdose does not happen and that any settings on the device are not changed by someone unauthorized to change them. The password also helps to ensure that only the intended user or authorized personnel such as a doctor can demand a dose of the medication. We have to take these safety precautions into considerations while we are designing our device.
The device that we are designing is a PCOA, a patient-controlled oral analgesic. In our groups, we have to make sure we do not "reinvent the wheel" or "reinvent the broken wheel;" this means that we have to make sure that our design has not been tried before. Also, we have to make sure that we meet certain criteria; the basic specifications that our device has to meet are:
1) 200 dose capacity
2) it has to be secure
3) it has to limit doses with both a lock out time and a permissible amount of doses
4) it has to record both the time of a dose demand and the result of the dose demand
Also, while designing, we have to keep in mind that we cannot make our device do everything that we want it to; restrictions such as battery life or size are just two specifications that can limit our design. We have to remember that a device cannot possibly do everything that we want it to; we will have to sacrifice something in order to make our device do something else. I foresee this being a challenge for me because I always want to do everything.
On the outside, this design project seems to be dealing with a fairly simple idea, but, on deeper inspection, there is a lot more than meets the eye! After tomorrow's recitation I will post about my groups initial thoughts and quick brainstorms for our design.
(Also, I tried reading the documents that my professor posted on the blackboard site, but for some reason they are not loading on my computer; not even the slide show with the directions is loading. This is sort of frustrating...hopefully it works soon.)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Research Paper Part 2
Hey!
Tomorrow is the day that our research papers are due - tomorrow at 1:30 to be exact. I had a lot of my paper done earlier in the week, but as I am looking over it again tonight, I cannot help but feel I am doing something wrong or missing something. I followed all the directions, I described the replacement heart system using the machine diagram, and made sure to cite sources and write my paper in a coherent way, but I have a nagging feeling that maybe I should not be as confident as I am. I am pretty confident that I wrote a very good paper, but it is just an annoying feeling. Sorry if this posts sounds a little rant-y or disjointed, I am simply blogging what is going through my head right now; I know I will very disappointed if I am not happy with the grade of my paper especially since I feel that I put a lot of work, effort, and time into writing it. I think I need to breathe and just take a step back from my paper; I do not want to stare at it too long or I might end up changing half of it at the last minute, which will most likely not be a very good thing to do. I wonder if anyone else is feeling like this; I know I cannot be the only freaking out.
Ok, I think I am done venting about research paper anxiety, at least for the moment. My next post should be on a more happier note!
Tomorrow is the day that our research papers are due - tomorrow at 1:30 to be exact. I had a lot of my paper done earlier in the week, but as I am looking over it again tonight, I cannot help but feel I am doing something wrong or missing something. I followed all the directions, I described the replacement heart system using the machine diagram, and made sure to cite sources and write my paper in a coherent way, but I have a nagging feeling that maybe I should not be as confident as I am. I am pretty confident that I wrote a very good paper, but it is just an annoying feeling. Sorry if this posts sounds a little rant-y or disjointed, I am simply blogging what is going through my head right now; I know I will very disappointed if I am not happy with the grade of my paper especially since I feel that I put a lot of work, effort, and time into writing it. I think I need to breathe and just take a step back from my paper; I do not want to stare at it too long or I might end up changing half of it at the last minute, which will most likely not be a very good thing to do. I wonder if anyone else is feeling like this; I know I cannot be the only freaking out.
Ok, I think I am done venting about research paper anxiety, at least for the moment. My next post should be on a more happier note!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Research Paper
Hey!
So I started my paper, and I realized that is not as bad as I thought it would be. Again, I think that the reason that it is not as difficult is because I had to make a machine diagram of the artificial heart system; the diagram is an easy graphic to follow while writing to make sure that I do not skip any steps or describe a step in the wrong order.
This week is going to be very hectic for me, so I am trying to start slash finish a lot of work today and tomorrow; I have a chemistry midterm, this research paper due, a lab report due, a three hour chemistry lab, math homework, and I have to meet with a tutor and my academic adviser to get my schedule approved for next semester! For this reason, I am really trying to get around 75% of my paper done today.
So right now I am going to go work on my paper some more! I'll let you know how far I get a little bit later today (and if the Phillies win!). Again, I am really happy it is not as bad as I had previously imagined.
So I started my paper, and I realized that is not as bad as I thought it would be. Again, I think that the reason that it is not as difficult is because I had to make a machine diagram of the artificial heart system; the diagram is an easy graphic to follow while writing to make sure that I do not skip any steps or describe a step in the wrong order.
This week is going to be very hectic for me, so I am trying to start slash finish a lot of work today and tomorrow; I have a chemistry midterm, this research paper due, a lab report due, a three hour chemistry lab, math homework, and I have to meet with a tutor and my academic adviser to get my schedule approved for next semester! For this reason, I am really trying to get around 75% of my paper done today.
So right now I am going to go work on my paper some more! I'll let you know how far I get a little bit later today (and if the Phillies win!). Again, I am really happy it is not as bad as I had previously imagined.
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