No Valve in Vain
Students design for the heart.Copyright Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heart_vsd.svg
Acting as biomedical engineers, students design, build, test and redesign prototype heart valves using materials such as waterproof tape, plastic tubing, flexible plastic and foam sheets, clay, wire and pipe cleaners. They test them with flowing water, representing blood moving through the heart. As students creatively practice engineering problem solving, they demonstrate their understanding of how one-way heart valves work.
Biomedical engineers work with physicians to design and test replacement human body parts that extend human lives in situations of disease or damage. Researchers apply their understanding of physics, mechanics, materials and mathematics as well as their understanding of how the body and its interdependent systems function to prototype and test prosthetic devices for body parts. Designing long-lasting and dependable heart valves is a grave challenge that requires great creativity and perseverance.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain how heart valves work.
- Describe a prosthetic valve and how it works.
- Explain how engineering contributes to solving problems in the body.
- Describe the steps of the engineering design process.
- Explain the steps they took to design, construct and test prototype prosthetic valves.
- Explain how the heart valves they created work and the logic of their designs.