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The goal of this project is to improve and optimize the design of an endotracheal tube adapter that will be used to consistently deliver aerosolized medications to anesthetized patients during surgery. We are continuing our design project from last semester (Spring 2008). We already have a working prototype, but there are several key changes we would like to make this semester. First, we intend to modify the nozzle piece to enhance the spray characteristics of our prototype. Second, we want to modify the geometry to allow our prototype to be injection molded. We will also perform laser diffraction and UV spectroscopy tests to assess the efficacy of our different designs. The ultimate goal of this semester is to develop an injection-moldable prototype that can then be mass-produced and commercialized.
Team members from left to right:
Ryan Childs, BSAC
Tim Barry, BWIG
Evan Joyce, Leader
Ozair Chaudhry, Communicator
We submitted a Solidworks model of our final design to the physics shop in Chamberlain Hall. Our part was finished on November 18th and we performed both laser diffraction and UV spectroscopy tests to determine the particle size and overall particle quantity respectively. Ultimately, the functional changes we made to the nozzle of our original design decreased the overall performance of our prototype. However, the structural and aesthetic changes we incorporated into our new prototype not only made our device an injection-moldable and commercial-ready product, but they also helped make our product sufficiently unique for a design patent, which we filed with a private attorney on November 16th.
| Week | Reporting Period Beginning | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 4 | Assigned team roles, developed preliminary schedule, began brainstorming potential design modifications for the semester |
| 2 | September 11 | Independent research of possible structural changes, patent search on prior art |
| 3 | September 18 | Researched injection molding and rapid prototyping, met with client to discuss design changes, completed Product Design Specifications |
| 4 | September 25 | Team meeting to brainstorm possible changes to nozzle portion of adapter, found useful literature regarding spray orifice length and diameter |
| 5 | October 2 | Set meeting times with several professors on campus, brainstormed design alternatives, conducted independent research |
| 6 | October 9 | Decided on final three design alternatives, met with professors Samuelson, Bower and Reitz, began work on mid-semester presentation |
| 7 | October 16 | Finished and delivered mid-semester presentation, created SolidWorks models of design alternatives, started work on mid-semester report |
| 8 | October 23 | Finished mid-semester report, met with engineers at 3M to discuss injection molding, obtained valuable feedback from medical supply companies our client spoke with |
| 9 | October 30 | Finalized dimensions for new contour taper prototype, submitted 2D Solidworks model of new prototype to Physics Lab for fabrication, looked over relevant prior art patents |
| 10 | November 6 | Contacted fluid dynamics professor and set up time to run laser diffraction tests, waiting for part to be completed |
| 11 | November 13 | Fabrication of final prototype complete, received confirmation from our patent attorney Ted that he can proceed with filing a Design Patent, set up time to test prototype using Laser diffraction and photospectrometry |
| 12 | November 20 | Ran UV-vis spectroscopy test to determine concentration of albuterol delivered to distal end of endotracheal tube, Contacted graduate student to set up time to run Laser Diffraction tests |
| 13 | November 27 | Finalized time to run Laser Diffraction test, began work on poster presentation and final semester paper |
| 14 | December 4 | Presented Poster at ECB |
| 15 | December 11 | Discussed possible future changes with client, finished writing semester report, peer and client evaluations, handed in design notebooks |
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Product Design Specifications (Oct 2 2009, 82 kb) |
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Midsemester Presentation (Oct 15 2009, 5327 kb) |
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Final Report (Dec 10 2009, 3486 kb) |
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Final Poster (Dec 11 2009, 18492 kb) |
