New Project Ideas
Request for new projects
If you have a possible project idea or a problem to solve, please contact Amy Lerner or Scott Seidman to discuss consideration for next year's class.
The Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Program is looking for great projects for our students. This two-semester design sequence requires student teams to investigate a problem, design and develop a prototype. These projects can be anything related to biomedical engineering: research instruments, clinical devices, home health care products, assistive technology, etc. etc. etc. They should not be "research projects" exclusively, but should involve creation of some kind of prototype, device or instrument that would be used in research. Students are allowed a reasonable budget for this development, but you may be asked to contribute for specialized components especially if the device prototype is destined to be delivered to your clinic or laboratory. As always, it is our goal to have a mix of clinically oriented, assistive technology and research-oriented projects. We need at least 15 great projects. All customers will be asked to "present" their problem to the students in a special class meeting in early September. Students will then be asked to apply for particular project, and the instructors will form groups of qualified teams. Each team is mentored and receives technical guidance from at least one member of the BME faculty, so your project will also receive the attention of a wider variety of technical experts over the course of the year.
The ideal project is
- a backburner idea that needs brainstorming, significant improvements, a fresh look
- of significant interest to your group
- not "mission critical" - your grant shouldn't depend on it, for example.
- of realistic scope and time frame for both development and prototyping (we can help here.)
- one for which some design concepts exist, but you should be flexible about the solution!
What we need from you (or your colleagues)
- ideas about problems to be solved (not the solution!)
- a willingness to meet with students periodically to serve as
customer
- customer expertise related to the problem
- expenses for specialized materials or parts greater than the students' allocation (This will only be requested after a thorough proposal, and with your approval.)
What you get in exchange
- a very thorough consideration of your problem, with a clear definition of the problem and its constraints
- consideration of alternatives (benchmarking the competition if appropriate)
- concept generation and selection
- development of a working prototype or device (in most cases)
- some test data, and suggestions for further testing
- consideration of patentability (you could be a member of the team, if appropriate)
- consideration of market, and other implementation issues (FDA, OSHA, etc.)
- evaluation of future employees