MIT graduate engineering students working to aid doctors determined to solve difficult medical problems presented their prototypes of proposed medical devices at the March 4 Forum at Simches Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The students were part of a CIMIT-inspired program, the 2.996/6.971 Biomedical Devices Design Course, which links engineers with medical professionals. Moderator of this Forum was Hong Ma, PhD, postdoctoral associate, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, and instructor of the 2.996/6.971 course.
 
The goal for the students is to deliver a working prototype and a journal-quality article in one semester. The course has been a great opportunity for clinicians to test novel ideas and stimulate new collaborations.

One prototype presented was the GRIT Chair Alarm. The Gesture Recognition Interactive Technology alarm was designed to improve wheelchair alarms for patients at risk of falling when they stand. This system responds with light and voice alarms that can encourage the patient to remain seated and/or make use of the system’s integrated nurse-call function. The team’s solution can be integrated into existing hospital WiFi network, sending messages to the nurse call system as well as providing the patient’s location. Team members included Lauren Kattany, RN, clinical nurse specialist at MGH, and students Heather Knight and Jae-Kyu Lee.

A second team presented the SmartPad, a device that displays a patient’s electrocardiogram (EKG) signal without adhesives or wires. Instead, sensors are bonded to a foam mat, on which the patient lies during an operation. The device displays an EKG waveform, which, while inferior to a cardiologist’s EKG, would be sufficient for the doctor to monitor the patient’s health. It is designed to obtain data without having to use multiple electrodes on the body, which can sometimes inhibit the success of clinician’s hands-on access to the patient. Team leader was Dr. Sheridan, who is chief, Burn Surgery Service, Shriners Hospital for Children; and co-director, Sumner Redstone Adult Burn Unit, MGH, and students Fred Chen, Pei-Lan Hsu, Brad Stronger, Henry Wu and Dr. Ma.

A third team produced a Hand-Held Endotracheal Tube Placement Sensor. This team has developed a hand-held ETT placement sensor, which is a portable device that allows a doctor or nurse to “see” the endotracheal tube’s position in the throat. Currently there are no convenient means of verifying the tube’s position in a patient’s throat. The device uses a two-dimensional array of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) sensors to localize the position of a tiny magnet embedded into the ETT. As the sensor is held over the sternal notch, the sensor unit measures a magnetic strength underneath the sensing area. An onboard microprocessor displays an intuitive color-coded map on an LCD screen.  The device is designed to fit into a hand or pocket, and run off an internal rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. An integrated wireless module allows the device to be adapted for continuous monitoring and automated notification of hospital staff if a potential problem is detected. Team members included Dr. Sheridan, and students Keith Durand, Byron Hsu, Brandon Pierquet and Warit Wichakool.

Several engineering students said they are now interested in seeking opportunities in the medical-device field as a result of taking the course.

When a patient is unable to adequately breathe on his or her own, an endotracheal tube  (ETT) is placed into the patient’s trachea via the nose or the mouth and is positioned at the bifurcation of the trachea, just above the carina.  Correct positioning of the tube is essential for adequate ventilation.  If the ETT migrates too low or too high, significant morbidity and mortality can result. 

Currently, there is no economical and convenient way to verify the position of an ETT.  Although the outside portion of the tube may appear to be positioned correctly, the inner tip of the tube may have moved so that ventilation is not satisfactory, or it may subsequently become dislodged.  Periodic X-rays done to assess the placement of the tube give information for only one point in time as well as being expensive and exposing the patient to repeated radiation.  Graduate students from MIT developed a device to sense the position of the ETT to confirm initial placement and subsequently check the position of the tube.  A small magnet is embedded into the ETT itself, and a hand-held placement sensor is then held over the sternal notch of the intubated patient.  This portable sensor measures the magnetic field underneath the sensing area using a two-dimensional array of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) sensors, localizing the position of the magnet embedded in the tip of the ETT.  The device then displays a color-coded map indicating the position of the magnet, or it sends the data wirelessly to a computer.  It provides real-time information regarding the position of the ETT rather than information at one point in time, as would be given by an X-ray.  By confirming initial placement of the tube and by checking for any migration of the tube, the device will hopefully decrease the need for emergency tube replacement.  In the future, the device could be adapted to continuously monitor ETT placement and to automatically notify the medical team if a problem with placement were detected.  

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