Protect the Pump: Prototyping Designs for Biomedical Devices
A student repairs a suction pump in Nicaragua.Copyright 2015 Engineering World Health
Students learn how biomedical engineers work with engineers and other professionals to develop dependable medical devices. Specifically, they learn about suction pumps, which are important devices to keep in good repair, especially when they are used in remote locations. Student teams ask, research, imagine, plan, create, test, and improve prototypes of suction pump protection devices to keep fluid from backing up and ruining the pump motors. Using a real suction pump, they conduct repeated trials to test their devices for reliability, making improvements as necessary.
Biomedical engineers design a wide variety of medical equipment used in hospitals, from stretchers and gurneys to surgical equipment and imaging devices. The best medical equipment has built-in safety features that prevent users from damaging the equipment, such as the safety mechanisms in suction pumps that prevent fluid from overflowing into the motor and ruining the pump. In the event that these safety mechanisms fail, repairs must be made. For example, Engineering World Health, a nonprofit biomedical engineering organization, repairs such devices in hospitals that serve resource-poor communities in Nicaragua, Tanzania and Rwanda. In this activity, students act as engineers and follow the steps of the engineering design process to ask, research, imagine, plan, prototype, test, and improve their prototype designs for suction pump protection devices.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain the purpose of the safety feature on a suction pump.
- Describe the role that biomedical engineers play in developing medical devices.
- List the steps of the engineering design process.
- Explain the concepts of reliability and repeatability.
- Describe the concept of a vacuum and how it relates to a suction pump.