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The goal of this design project is to design a new light source used in Otolaryngological procedures to view vocal cord motion to aid in the repair of damaged or unhealthy vocal cords. The light source is a strobe light and uses the basic principle of sampling frequency to view vocal cord vibration. The concept of sampling is very well demonstrated by measuring angular speed of a rotating wheel in a dark room with a stroboscope. A rotating wheel, for example, will be sampled (as seen) when the strobe light fires. If the strobe firing (or blinking) frequency is the same as the wheel’s rotational frequency, the wheel will be seen at exactly the same position, and it will appear that the wheel is stationary, does not rotate at all. If the strobe firing frequency is adjusted slightly from the wheel’s rotational frequency, the wheel will be seen as rotating in slow motion. This concept is applied to view vocal cord motion in slow motion to assess damage. The light source currently used is large, immobile, and loud. The new light source should be smaller, portable, and produce significantly less noise while retaining other important properties such as high lumination, low temperature, and adjustable frequency.
Currently, the status of our design project is as follows: Eric and Erik are still reviewing the uses of microprocessors in our design, and how they may aid in the strobe effect of the LED. Chris and Kevin are working on the midsemester presentation as well as discussing possible designs for the housing of the device. The mid semester presentations are held March 7 from 12:05 to 2:05. Our presentation will take place at 1:05 in Engineering Hall.
| Week | Reporting Period Beginning | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 24 | This week our design team selected our project and contacted our client to discuss the future of the project since we worked on it last semester. |
| 2 | January 31 | This week we met with our client, Doug Montequin, and showed him the prototype we developed last semester, as well as discussed the future of our project. |
| 3 | February 7 | After our team met this week a unianimous decision was reached to begin developing a handheld endoscope with fully integrated function. A patent search was conducted, upon the mention of completion in an email sent by Doug Montequin, with undesirable results. Aspects of our ideas are present in three U.S. Patents, including one that involves attaching LED’s to the end of the endoscope. |
| 4 | February 14 | During the team meeting the U.S. Patent situation was discussed, and it was decided the work on the same project will continue. Some research on microprocessors for the new design was accomplished, including quantitative data. Warf was contacted in regards to the patents, and informed us that they can only can approve or disapprove of a submitted patent idea, and not perform a freedom to operate analysis. |
| 5 | February 21 | During the Friday design meeting our team decided to develop a design idea that best fits the design specifications, without modifications due to previous U.S. Patents. Microcontrollers proved to be a feasible solution to the circuit problem that satisfies our frequency range. Team brainstormed a new idea involving a miniature camera on the tip of the endoscope that could replace the lenses and miniature camera on the tip of the endoscope that could replace the lenses and mirrors essential to the current design. |
| 6 | February 28 | The mid-semester presentation was completed on Tuesday as well as the majority of the preliminary design report. Researched microprocessors and microcontrollers and concluded that the Texas Instruments MSP430 Microprocessor with the help of Kevin’s cousin Rod Kronschnabel. Also adding a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) to the system increases the frequency accuracy. |
| 7 | March 7 | The mid-semester presentation was presented on Friday in class. The presentation was rehearsed multiple times before Friday, and the much work on the mid-semester design report was done. The team researched Kevin’s cousin’s suggested microcontroller. |
| 8 | March 14 | The team finished writing the mid –semester report. The team completed, and turned in the peer review evaluations and the reflection papers. |
| 9 | March 21 | The team met and decided there is not enough information and research completed to order the parts for the endoscope. Team met with professor to discuss microcontroller specifics. |
| 10 | March 28 | The team met twice, developed a new idea, and decided on a refined direction. Incorporating a PDA into the design was proposed as a possible solution. Also the team decided to focus on the camera, LCD screen, and microcontroller for this semester. Lastly research on the camera and LCD screen provided a few specific items that may suffice for the design. |
| 11 | April 4 | The team met and decided to pursue the idea of using a PDA first. Once the feasibility of this option is determined, further direction can be decided |
| 12 | April 11 | The team met and decided there is insufficient time this semester to order sufficient parts for a working prototype. Therefore the team elected to construct two models of the prototype for the presentation. For the presentation the PDA idea will become our final design. |
| 13 | April 18 | The team met and began work on the presentation. The parts for the models were acquired. Preliminary construction of the prototypes has begun. |
| 14 | April 25 | |
| 15 | May 2 |
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Final Report for Fall Semester 2002 -- Vocal Cord Vibration Visualization (Feb 28 2003, 308 kb) |
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Mid Semester Presentation 2003 (Mar 5 2003, 5924 kb) |
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Mid-semester Design Report BME 301 Spring 2003 (Mar 24 2003, 180 kb) |
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Final BME 301 Design Report May 2003 (May 6 2003, 246 kb) |
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Final BME 301 Design Presentation (May 6 2003, 5918 kb) |
