Exploring Light and Health: Designing a Light-Based Diagnostic Device
Example of device.Copyright AI-generated photo to support student brainstorming process.
Students use the engineering design process to build and refine a low-cost, light-based diagnostic prototype that simulates real-world biomedical tools. Students learn how light interacts with matter through spectrometry and explore how photonics technologies are used in point-of-care devices such as pulse oximeters to assess blood flow and cardiovascular health. Using everyday materials to model scattering “blood” samples, students test and compare how light transmission changes, analyzing brightness and clarity rather than precise absorbance.
Biomedical engineers design low-cost, light-based diagnostic tools that use light transmission, reflection, and scattering to measure health indicators, such as pulse oximeters that shine red and infrared light through tissue to detect blood oxygen levels. Engineers also develop accessible, non-invasive biosensors that analyze how light behaves as it passes through blood to identify cardiovascular conditions. In this lesson, students apply these ideas by designing and testing a simplified, photonics-inspired device to explore how changes in blood thickness or clarity affect light transmission and how this information can be used to detect potential heart-related conditions.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe how the mixing of two or more substances results in a new substance.
- Explore how blood clarity can inform us of the heart’s health.
- Solve a real-world problem involving light-based diagnostic tools.
- Describe spectrometry and how it is applied in point-of-care devices.