Engineering a “Smart” Stethoscope
Posted on January 11th, 2019 by Mary Lord
Health clinics in the developing world often are noisy places, making it doubly difficult for medics to hear whether a child has pneumonia or other potentially fatal respiratory illness. So engineers and doctors at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., teamed up to reinvent the stethoscope using audio technology and artificial intelligence.
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Tags: artificial intelligence, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, public health, smart stethoscope
In this NGSS-aligned activity, high school students work as biomedical engineers to find liquid solutions that can clear away polyvinyl acetate polymer “blood clots” in model arteries made of clear, flexible tubing. Teams create samples of the “blood clot” polymer to discover the concentration of the model clot and then test a variety of liquids to determine which most effectively breaks it down. Students learn the importance of the testing phase in the engineering design process, because they are only given one chance to present the team’s solution and apply it to the model blood clot.
Students in grades 6 to 9 learn about biomedical engineering and the human sensory system, then follow the engineering design process to create sensory-integration toys for youngsters with developmental disabilities.
Middle and high school students follow the engineering design process to create wearable devices to monitor the health of humans, animals, or both in this competition sponsored by North Carolina State University’s Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST). The program includes teacher training and lesson plans to help implement the design challenge. Register teams by Feb. 15, 2018.
Imagine not being able to pick up a glass of water, open a door, or play catch because you had no hands. Now imagine you’re a biomedical engineer and can help amputees regain dexterity – with the help of a home 3D printer.
Working in groups of three, middle school students learn about types of forces, the relationship between form and function, and the structure of the hand by working as biomedical engineers to design, build, and test their own hand “gripper” prototypes that can grasp and lift a 200 ml cup of sand.
Students in upper elementary/early middle school follow the engineering design process to brainstorm and build prototype sneakers from a variety of materials to meet such design requirements as good traction or deep cushioning. They learn how the sole provides support, cushioning, and traction. There also may be some fashion-based functions, including cool colors or added height.
Imagine life without sound. That’s the reality for hundreds of thousands of deaf individuals. Thanks to a device called the cochlear implant – the first medical apparatus to restore a human sense – many now can hear. Its three inventors won the 2013 Lasker Prize for their work.
When University of California, Berkeley senior Austin Whitney walked across the stage at graduation on May 14, 2011, it was more than just a personal triumph. His rise from a wheelchair represented a triumph for paralyzed people everywhere–and for engineers whose “adaptive technology” designs have helped disabled individuals overcome mobility limitations.
