Biomedical Engineering Teams and Projects 2001-2002

These projects are supported by the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation.

We showed our projects on March 16, 2002, in the lobby of the Lindy Boggs Center for Engineering and Biotechnology on the Tulane University uptown campus, from 1 to 3 in the afternoon. The public was welcome.

Team 3BB

Ashley Schneider, Nader Shourbaji, Torrence Welch, Jay Young
As the result of a series of operations to remove a brain tumor, our client cannot rise and walk about. With something to hang on to, she can stand. We are designing a mechanized carousel to assist our client in transferring between her wheelchair and bed. 3BB show photo

Team W D C

Ron Winokur, Chris Fussell, Jayme Ormiston
Our client had polio as an adolescent. She is fully sensate, but has little or no motor control over most of her body. We are designing a track and pulley system to help her place her arm back on her wheelchair tray after it is used or falls off the tray. WDC show photo

Inertia

Brian West, Jack Schorsch, Todd Luka, Luke Dixon
Our client is a paraplegic special education teacher. She needs to get from her wheelchair to sit on the floor with her students. She can do this under arm power alone, but it is getting more difficult. We are designing a power assisted system for floor-wheelchair transfer. Inertia show photo

Team LARM

Claire Larson, Shawn Ragbir, Adanna Anyikam, Nick Maggio
As a result of a childhood stroke, our client has greatly diminished sensation and motor control of his right hand and arm. He really wants to play the guitar, and we are designing a system to help him do that. This system consists of a special tuning and a moveable, foot-operated capo. LARM show photo

The Usual Suspects

Crystal Simon, Scot Campbell, George Hartel
Our client is three year old blind girl with cerebral palsy. Because of her rigidity and her need for sensory stimulus, aquatherapy is recommended. The family has a bath chair, but it doesn't allow adequate immersion in the family bathtub. Our bath chair design avoids this problem. Usual Suspects show photo

Sixth Finger

Bryan Smith, Molly Maleckar, Sarah Cohen, Nels Anderson
Our client, age 6, has cerebral palsy. He is unable to leave his wheelchair to control entertainment and other items. We're designing an environmental control system that will let our client control the TV, CD player, and room lights. Sixth Finger show photo

Team Gold

Chris Wallace, Joe Olechowski, Chris Vandenberg, Dan Jung
We are working with a special education class of autistic children. The students have difficulty interacting socially. We are designing a system to help the teacher assist the development of their interaction skills. Our system will include recording and playback of short messages with a suitable controller. Team Gold show photo

Faded Apple

Richard Morency, Hoang Tran, Mohammad Mehmood, Michael Foltz
Our client is a sixth grader who has retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. We are designing a system to allow him to do his homework and reading independently. This system will include a video camera, lights, variable magnification, and NTSC compatible output for viewing on a standard TV monitor. Faded Apple show photo

Giffy

Stephen Myers, Ruben Rodriguez, Colin McDonagh, Jen Heddings
Our client has muscular dystrophy. While in her wheelchair it often takes an hour to put her feet up on a stool to alleviate stiffness and swelling. We are working on a rising stool to enable her to do this easily. Giffy

Green Team

Michael Valetutti, Aaron Lill, Leland Smith, Benny Larson
Our client is a wheelchair user who has a van equipped to load and transport her chair. Because of the height difference, she has difficulty moving from her wheelchair to the van driver's seat. We are implementing a lift system to help her with this transfer. Green Team