For a Physiology 2 class project, my teammates and I proposed the use of bispecific antibodies for the suppression of pro-inflammatory T-cells in lupus/SLE patients.
This solution would allow for more specificity than current treatments, reducing side effects and improving quality of life.
For an Intrumentation class project, my teammates and I designed and built an accessible game controller that allows users to play Tetris “telekinetically” without fingers or hands.
The controller contains three sensors: a myosensor that detects muscle contraction in the forearm, a gyroscope that detects rotational acceleration, and a 3-axis accelerometer that detects linear acceleration.
With these three sensors, users are able to play a simple game of tetris by flexing their arm for a “hard drop,” rotating their wrist to rotate the piece, and swiping side to side to move the piece horizontally. The controller could be adapted to other or more complicated games by simply mapping each gesture to different keys, as well as using two controllers, with one on each forearm.
In my BME Design lab, my teammates and I cultured 3T3 Swiss albino mouse cells in order to characterize them by their doubling time and their sensitivity to changes in pH.
Though I have worked frequently with suspended cell cultures in my research, this was my first time working with adherent cultures. Through this project, we learned how to determine confluency and how to count adherent cells cultured in T75 flasks.
In Development and Analysis in BME Design, we were tasked not only with creating a biometric wearable, but also with creating design documentation to make it compliant with the FDA.
Because I’m an avid TTRPG player, I convinced my teammates to create Critiac Arrest, a biometric dice tower with magnetic dice that altered roll probabilities based on the players’ heart rates.
Essentially, the device reads players’ heart rates from a pulse sensor clipped to their earlobe, and it then makes rolls more dramatic (rolling very high or very low) as tensions rise within the game. The device is controlled via an app on the game master’s phone, allowing for the game master to adapt the device to their table’s needs. In addition, the device can be connected to the game master’s Spotify account, and it will change the music selection automatically as the game becomes more serious.
In Physiology I, we were tasked with creating a wearable fetal heart monitor that would allow OB-GYNs to remotely track fetal health. Our goal was to minimize cost while creating a fashionable, washable, and comfortable garment that wouldn’t interfere with the wearers’ day-to-day lives.
To meet these objectives, we designed a wearable based off of belly bands, which are already used by pregnant people to help support the weight of their bellies. Washable silicone electrodes would be sewn into specific locations along the band and connected by a washable silver-based conductive fabric, which would transmit that information to a removable battery pod in the back of the band.
The fabric itself would be a soft jersey blend, and an adjustable strap in the back would allow for the band to adapt to different wearers at different stages of pregnancy.
We additionally created a fashion line around this band, including sweatpants, a dress, a skirt, and more that would seamlessly blend into any pregnant person’s maternity wardrobe.