This grant supports the enhancement of a recently launched two semester Interdisciplinary Medical Product Development (IMPD) senior design capstone course sequence in the Department of Bioengineering at UIC in two significant ways: (1) development of a Biomedical Clinical Immersion course to serve as a gateway to IMPD, and (2) acquisition of a Fused Deposition Modeling rapid prototype machine. Two complementary directions of proposed curricular innovation will be integrated: a truly interdisciplinary teachingof early product development that is based on an understanding and appreciation of user needs, and an iterative approach to advanced prototyping and testing of medical devices to meet regulations and standards. IMPD is modeled on the nationally recognized Interdisciplinary Product Development (IPD) program developed at UIC a decade ago starting with mechanical and industrial engineering. In IMPD, design teams are comprised of seniors in Bioengineering, MFA Industrial Design students, and MBA students, and the course is co-taught by faculty from all three colleges (Engineering, Architecture and Design, and Business). IMPD benefits from frequent feedback from clinician mentors assigned to each team that are selected based upon the project topic. In addition, the project is sponsored by an industry partner, which provides industry-perspective mentorship to each team. The IMPD program exposes students to the entire medical product development cycle, beginning in the earliest stages of needs assessment. The IMPD course does provide for clinical observation and engaging clinical input from the earliest stages; but, a Biomedical Clinical Immersion course will provide the depth to holistically understand the clinical environment, including process flow, workarounds, and inefficiencies. Proof of concept testing lies at the opposite end of the product development cycle, and necessarily relies upon a physical prototype. The process of iterative prototyping permits refinement of the concept such that it is appropriate in look, feel and function. Acquisition of a Fused Deposition Modeling rapid prototype machine will permit students to quickly actualize and respond to their CAD-based concept designs, and allow them to experience the entirety of the product development cycle in as real world scenario as possible.

Public Health Relevance

A Biomedical Clinical Immersion course will be created to provide bioengineering students an opportunity to interface with clinicians in the hospital environment in order to enable them to methodically identify opportunities and requirements for medical device design. These students will then feed into a newly launched Interdisciplinary Medical Product Development course, comprised of seniors in Bioengineering, MFA Industrial Design students and MBA students. This course, itself, will be enhanced by acquisition of a rapid prototyping machine to emphasize iterative prototyping and design.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Type
Education Projects (R25)
Project #
5R25EB018239-04
Application #
9252238
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZEB1-OSR-E (J1))
Program Officer
Erim, Zeynep
Project Start
2014-04-15
Project End
2019-03-31
Budget Start
2017-04-01
Budget End
2018-03-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
$38,844
Indirect Cost
$2,844
Name
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department
Engineering (All Types)
Type
Schools of Engineering
DUNS #
098987217
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60612