Preparing Students for Senior Design with a Rapid Design Challenge Joe Tranquillo Biomedical Engineering Bucknell University BME-IDEA 2009

The course was good, but…  Students not used to courses like design  1 st semester can be unsatisfying to students  All projects different – keep class unified  Need to balance planning vs. building  First exposure to entire formal step-by-step engineering design process  Some students hesitant to fabricate

The Design Challenge (DC) Challenge: Design and build a liquid infusion device for use in a 3 rd -world rural clinic that empties a 60 cc syringe in 10 minutes. Limitations: 1. No AC power4.$100 budget 2. No intervention 5. No IP protection 3. Restricted shopping6. ~3 weeks. + Design Build Test Refine

Step 1/5: Who are the users and what do they need? TOPIC(S)LECTURE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT Users Needs Solution Concepts Users Users Needs Objectives Objective Tree ID Users ID Users Needs Objective Tree Preliminary Solution Concepts

Step 2/5: What it should do and how well it should do it? TOPIC(S)LECTURE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT Functions Specifications Functions Specifications Measurable specifications ID functions from needs & objective tree Categorize functions Determine 5 or more specifications Categorize specifications

Step 3/5: The best solution and how to get there TOPIC(S)LECTURE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT Identifying best solution Planning Choosing best solution (decision making methods) Good documentation Effective meetings Present all possible solutions Explain how best was identified Gantt Chart Sign-off meeting

If you build it, it will work… Build Prototypes!!

Step 4/5: It’s done! But it doesn’t work! What now? TOPIC(S)LECTURE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT Preliminary test results Planned changes to system Importance of iterative cycle in design (plan, build, test, analyze, reevaluate, modify design) Effective memos Build prototype Test prototype Report test results Analyze test results Planned changes w/ justifications

Step 5/5: Evaluate the design process TOPIC(S)LECTURE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT Evaluate process (look backwards) Importance of looking backwards Info learned here can be brought into senior design Compare solution to objectives, functions and specifications Evaluate team performance Reflect on individual performance

The DC Final Event The Contest 1. Each team explains their solution and runs their system under supervision 3. Closest to ten minutes winner 4. Closest to 6 cc/min winner 5. Most creative solution winner 6. Overall winning team 7. Prizes awarded The Wrap-Up 1. Congratulatory feedback 2. Transfer to actual design 3. Build on positive feelings NEXT STEP: Form year-long design teams & GO!

The Teams and Their Systems J. Tranquillo and D. Cavanagh, “Preparing Students for Senior Design with a Rapid Design Challenge” Proceedings of ASEE 2009

BME at Bucknell Mission: To provide a high quality, hands-on education to a select group of undergraduates Enrollment: 54 students in four-year program; 3 classes of alumni Faculty: 5.8 FTEs Degrees: BS in BME, minor in BME Facilities: Hybrid Instructional Facility, Biomedical Teaching/Project Lab, College Facilities

BME Design at Bucknell  Two-semester sequence −1 st semester to identify problem and plan −2 nd semester to fabricate, test & deliver  Teams of 2-4 students matched by interest  Clinical Mentors from Geisinger Health System  Faculty adviser and course coordinator  Teams identify clinical problem, run meetings, manage budget, meet deadlines, etc….. They are in charge  First offering in

The DC Sales Pitch On first day of class: 1.DC syllabus 2.IDEO video 3.Student-selected teams 4.Set 1 st team meeting time 5.GO! -> 3 weeks to build, test, and deliver a medical device. -> Follow 5 steps process

Did the Design Challenge help? Faculty Observed Benefits 1.Students engaged on day one 2.Students designed twice in the year 3.DC acted as a common experience Faculty Observed Limitations 1.Takes time away from full design project – students not always see the value of DC 2.Not all students realize the transfer of skills from the DC to the design project.

Did the Design Challenge help? Summary of Student Evaluations 1.Most students were able to identify weaknesses in their DC efforts and made suggestions on how to improve 2.Students found that a ‘simple’ project with clear goals was effective to experience design process 3.Students were eager to begin the actual design project 4.When asked about the value of the DC, the average score of 31 students was 3.9/5.0.

Broader Application Ideas Alternative Implementations 1.Introductory engineering courses 2.High school courses 3.Service learning courses 4.Courses for non-engineers Alternative Formats 1.Vary the objective of the DC 2.Vary the limitations 3.Focus on specific aspects of design process 4.Many more…..