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The project entails redesigning a component of a MRI-compatible small animal ventilator system using a stepper-motor controlled piston. The design will deliver small volumes of gas in a study using Helium imaging.
From left to right: Matt Smith (BWIG), Micah Brown (BSAC), Ashley Anderson (Communicator), Chris Wegener (Leader),
Currently, we have finished the prototype for the final presentation. Although there are many improvements we would like to make in the future, we are very happy with the prototype we have created this semester. This summer we hope to begin on those improvements and continue refining the prototype until we achieve our goal.
Background
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is commonly done by tuning the machine to read information from hydrogen in the body. Recently, a new process in MR imaging has emerged as an excellent way to image airways. Instead of tuning the machine to hydrogen, it is tuned to helium. Therefore, if the patient inhales a breath of helium, and a scan is done, the resulting image will be of their airways, both brachii and lungs. Below are two examples of the image quality achieved with He MR imaging.
(Left) Image acquired using a three-dimensional (3D) imaging sequence. The spatial resolution is exemplified by the surface-rendered volume of the 3D data. The ribs and tracheal rings are visible, as is a ventilation defect in the left lung (arrow). (Right) 3He (hyperpolarized Helium) MRI in a healthy volunteer. Branching to the fifth generation is visible. Recall, these are not blood vessels, these are airways that contain 3He at the time of the scan. These visible "bronchioles" reveal the shape and efficiency of the lungs.
Current Setup
Below are pictures of the current setup. The stepper motor allows hyperpolarized air to be drawn into the syringe from a holding bag. The air is then injected into the gas tubes leading to the small animal. The setup with the stepper motor is unnecessarily too big. We will look into creating a smaller motor driven syringe gas delivery system that mixes Oxygen and 3He at the precise time it is inhaled by the small animal. This will cut down on scan time from 8 min to possibly 2 min.
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Proposed Design
The following are renderings from a graphical modeling program called Solidworks. This graphical model matches our prototype. Under the "Presentations and Reports" section, a video rendering describes the mechanism of the device’s motion.
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| Week | Reporting Period Beginning | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 20 | Form team, contact client, assign team roles, set up client meeting |
| 2 | January 27 | Literature search, create problem statement, begin PDS |
| 3 | February 3 | PDS, brainstorming ideas, developing designs |
| 4 | February 10 | Work on mid-semester presentation paper and presentation (oral and power point) |
| 5 | February 17 | Work on mid-semester presentation paper and presentation (oral and power point) |
| 6 | February 24 | Mid-semester presentation |
| 7 | March 3 | Hand in report and notebook, decide on final design |
| 8 | March 10 | Spring Break |
| 9 | March 17 | Work on final design |
| 10 | March 24 | Design testing |
| 11 | March 31 | Design testing |
| 12 | April 7 | Continue working on design, start preparing for presentation |
| 13 | April 14 | Prepare final presentation and paper |
| 14 | April 21 | Final poster presentation |
| 15 | April 28 | Hand in report and notebook, final meeting with advisor |
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Midsemester Presentation (Feb 24 2006, 8037 kb) |
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Product Design Specification (Feb 24 2006, 13 kb) |
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Midsemester Report (Mar 2 2006, 243 kb) |
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Final Paper (Apr 28 2006, 305 kb) |
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Final Poster (May 4 2006, 0 kb) |
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Solidworks rendering video of device mechanism (May 6 2006, 17599 kb) |
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Solidworks video of device mechanism 2 (May 6 2006, 7035 kb) |
