Author: ddruckerman
Final Thoughts
I was really impressed by the videos in this class. I honestly did not expect the videos to be as successful as they were- I certainly underestimated the capabilities of my classmates to be as creative and artistic as they were. However I am still not pleased with my own work. I wish I had more time to learn about video media and perfect it for this class, as there were so many things I wished I could have accomplished. I had grand ideas of beautiful panned shots, pristine audio, animations, videos within videos, and didn’t know how to do any of them. Thankfully, Leah has a Mac computer, and iMovie was a user-friendly enough interface that we were able to accomplish the voiceover and video cutting and editing.
I really liked the media used. While there was a lot more preparation and time put into this medium as opposed to a PowerPoint, I truly think it was a worthwhile experience.
3D PRINTING IS A LIE
When we first began this project, the idea of printing each baby a little nasal cannula soon after they were born seemed so feasible and novel and WOW. But oh were we wrong. The 3D printing experience was pretty tedious, and not efficacious. The first trial resulted in no prongs. The second resulted in no prongs and no middle section. The third resulted again in no prongs, and an incomplete middle section. It turned out that we could not print the thin features of our device as the printer extruded in .1 mm increments, leading us to print a 3x scale model. Even this model was not perfect! There was some delamination and the supports were not easily removed.
This experience taught me a lot about design and innovation. A new technology may be touted as the next great thing, and be able to do cool things like print people’s busts or cute little tools (the scholar’s lab in Alderman had a fantastic adjustable wrench), but that doesn’t mean it will function for every potential need. Reflecting on the startup from last class reinforced this concept. The entrepreneurs recognized the limitations of their pocket ultrasound device, but the way it was marketed seemed to be an “all around device” (except for fetal imaging!). Looking back this is likely misleading- after all they did note that the device may lose some functionality in certain tissues, populations, or body types. In the future I will be sure to vet any product and not eat up the ads and hype surrounding it.
abstract reflection on iterative processes
I truly believe iteration is the path to innovation. The wheel has been continuously reinvented in an iterative process in order to meet the needs of the current consumer. But from a creative standpoint, I go between ‘painfully stagnant’ and ‘too abstract in order to make something meaningful’. When my team and I began the brainstorming process of designing a medical device, David instructed us to include the most outlandish ideas along with the more realistic ones. My abstract ideas, while fun, were not practical. My realistic ideas were so similar to current paradigm that they were not innovative. Iteration after iteration, I found the boring ideas became more boring, and the outlandish more out there. Perhaps it is my creative nature to go to extremes. Perhaps the project itself pulled me in these two directions. I think the most accurate representation of why this occurred is that I need to practice this process more. I need to iterate my iterations!
What is a targeted health goal?
Debbie
After completing the first portion of the Personal Health Project, I realized that my goal of getting stronger isn’t exactly specific. I know I improved upon it by changing it to being able to do a pull up, but I still don’t feel as if this is correct. I think the ability to do a pull up is a physiological goal; and I’m not sure that this one weight bearing exercise is really that pertinent to the concept of health. I think that is why I suggested Albert study/intervene/understand my ventures into mindfulness in the next PHP component. As part of a 2 credit class I am taking, I am aiming to practice mindfulness at least 30 minutes a day, increasing to 1 hour per day by the end of the 8 week course. I have struggled to find the time and have been hesitant to practice mindfulness when I am inundated with assignments as stress can be the motivator to get tasks done.
After Albert’s wonderful data visualization for the PHP part I presentation, I think I have lots to learn from him.
We’re still working to figure out what the implications of Albert’s new goal, to decrease the time watching TV, will be. I hope to gather data on how much TV he watches, on what platform, the dates/times I intervene, and the things he wishes he had done with the time he spent watching TV. In a way I am encouraging him to practice mindfulness, in that by having him reflect on the potential better usages of his time he may be more mindful of his time. This data collection will then act as an intervention in itself!
We hope to work with eachother more, through increased contacts via text or face-to-face meetings in order to get a deeper understanding of these PHP targeted health goals.
Debbie and Albert the PHP team to beat
Debbie’s First Post
My name is Debbie Druckerman, a third year biomedical engineering student. I am involved in advocacy groups on grounds (mainly OneLess), and a member of Sigma Kappa sorority. I enjoy cooking and baking, working on problem sets, woodworking, skiing, and long walks on the beach. I am taking this class because I hope to be a clinical BMengineer- I hope to bioengineer a kidney as my long term career goal. Ask me about that if you’re interested! I hope to get a better grasp on the clinical design process and a better understanding of needs assessment through this class, and to get a leg up on capstone!
BME Design 