BME 205: PROBLEM SOLVING & DESIGN
The three-student team tasked with developing a medical device that provides insight into the sleep patterns of college students (pictured from left to right): Kaye Lumayog, Ashlyn Bray, and Celestin Munyaneza.
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IN SESSI N
Launched in the fall of 2019, the Biomedical Engineering program has already hit the ground running, providing Stevenson students hands-on experience in the research and development of medical technologies and devices. The three-student team in the BME 205: Problem Solving and Design course was tasked with developing a system that provides insight into the sleep patterns of college students.
Following the engineering design process and tools covered in the classroom, the three students developed a complete set of requirements, system conceptual designs, and then selected one design concept to pursue. During the balance of the semester, the students worked together in the BME lab while following social distancing—as well as remotely—to develop the mechanical, electrical, and software components of the system. Since the device was to be wearable and needed to be lightweight, all mechanical components would be made using the 3D printer in the BME laboratory.
Using an accelerometer, the system could detect when the wearer stopped moving and was, therefore, asleep and should start recording heart rate data—which was stored on an SD card. As the end of the semester approached, the system was assembled, the software was finalized, and it was then worn by each team member to collect their own sleep data.
After recording and analysis, the students presented their results in class and created a poster display in the Manning Academic Center on campus. The system met all of the project requirements and clearly identified known patterns in heart rate that indicate different sleep patterns. Reflecting on the project, the students identified a number of ways the system could be improved in future iterations.
Ashlyn Bray, one of the participating students, says, "The hands-on experience of applying the material that we were learning in class was a great way to not only help reinforce the knowledge that we had learned, but also see its application to real world problems."
"It was funny seeing the device tell me I did not have a good night's sleep like I thought otherwise," says Kaye Lumayog, who also worked on the project.
The Biomedical Engineering program at Stevenson prepares students to solve important human health-related scientific problems through the application of engineering princples, ideas, methods, and inventions. Learn more at stevenson.edu/biomedical.