Cellular Engineering, Genetic Engineering

  • Project Description: We are planning to create a test using florescent proteins that can show an influx of calcium ions. The influx could possibly be an effect of amyloid beta aggregates which is a common factor of people who have Alzheimer’s disease. Based on the test results, we can detect if a person may be prone to Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Mentor: Adam St. Jean, Biomedical Engineering
  • Team Lead: Aisha St. Philippe, Biomedical Engineering
    • Jacob Hachey, Biomedical Engineering
    • Bilal Ali, Biomedical Engineering
    • Cameron Albert, Biomedical Engineering
    • Noah Michelson, Biomedical Engineering
    • Mustafa Hussain, Biomedical Engineering

Stent Characterization Tool

  • Sponsor: Draper Labs
  • Project Description: Draper Labs is developing a heart valve for young children with congenital heart disease that grows with them to minimize the number of surgeries they might need in their life time. With this project, the current process of stent characterization is time consuming and only measures a few critical dimensions. Our team is assigned to develop an automated inspection tool to measure all the stent dimensions.
  • Mentor: Alan Wei, Biomedical Engineering
  • Corporate Mentor: Corin Williams, Daniel King
  • Team Lead: Joseph Karadizian, Mechanical Engineering
    • Maxwell Kalinowski, Biomedical Engineering
    • Matheus DeAlmeida, Mechanical Engineering
    • Tharima Ferdausi, Mechanical Engineering
    • Blen Tekle, Biomedical Engineering

Development of a System for Testing Adhesion of Bioprosthetic Valves to Stents

  • Sponsor: Draper Labs
  • Project Description: In response to the lack of stents sized for pediatric patients, Draper has been working on developing a first of its kind prosthetic heart valve that can "grow" with the child. As Draper plans on developing novel techniques to adhere the prosthetic valve to the biological tissue, they will need a testing apparatus to measure the adhesion of these tissues to the metal surface and compare its efficacy to the golden standard of sutures. Our team has been tasked with constructing a functional prototype of the apparatus to give to Draper with supporting documentation.
  • Mentor: Scott Stapleton, Mechanical Engineering
  • Corporate Mentor: Corin Williams
  • Team Lead: Sam Hurvitz, Mechanical Engineering
    • Abigail Shin, Biomedical Engineering
    • John Baltayan, Biomedical Engineering
    • Jen Schultz, Mechanical Engineering
    • Josh Lee, Mechanical Engineering

Schlieren Optical Imaging System for PPE

  • Project Description: A schlieren optical imaging system and a laser illumination system were created in order to visualize the airflow during different respiratory acts, such as breathing and coughing. This was done while using various commonly used face masks, in order to determine the relative effectiveness of each mask in preventing the spread of pathogen containing respiratory droplets. Using the results of the study, a recommendation will be made to the general public regarding which face masks are the most effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
  • Mentor: Jinxiang Xi, Biomedical Engineering
  • Team Lead: Brendan Walfield, Biomedical Engineering
    • Olivia McCarthy, Biomedical Engineering
    • Alyssa Mulry, Biomedical Engineering
    • Erick Caisapanta, Biomedical Engineering
    • Tung Nguyen, Biomedical Engineering

Mechanical Ventilator

  • Project Description: The team's objective is to design a prototype noninvasive mechanical ventilator with basic function and controllable pressure & airflow outputs by June 2021. This project was enacted in response to the rise in demand for ventilators from the pandemic.
  • Mentor: Jinxiang Xi, Biomedical Engineering; John Palma, Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Team Lead: Alexander Shin, Biomedical Engineering
    • Andy Difut, Biomedical Engineering
    • Ernest Pellegrino, Electrical Engineering
    • Samuel Agwu, Biomedical Engineering
    • Shrestha Akhanda, Electrical Engineering
    • Metrek Saleemah, Electrical Engineering

Development of tissue model for the validation of nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 testing

  • Project Description: We are developing a model of a human nasal cavity in order to validate injection-molded nasopharyngeal swabs to combat the global swab shortage for SARS-CoV-2 testing. This model is 3D printed and is lined with artificial mucus-soaked silk sponges. The mucus is spiked with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus and the analysis of swab samples will be done using RT-PCR.
  • Mentor: Chiara Ghezzi, Biomedical Engineering
  • Team Lead: Stephanie Jones, Biomedical Engineering
    • Shreya Patel, Biomedical Engineering
    • Molly Shutt, Biomedical Engineering
    • Joshua Marchand, Biomedical Engineering