Experience 1: Medtronic: Research & Development Engineering Summer Intern (Summer 2024)
Dates: June 2024 – August 2024 (400 hours [anticipated])
Advisors: Mr. Saks Tongkhuya
Medtronic is a leading medical technology company, offering medical devices and therapies to more than 72 million people across 150+ countries. I will be joining Medtronic as a Summer 2024 Research & Development Engineering Intern in Jacksonville, Florida (as part of the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinical Division). During my internship, I will work under the guidance of an electrical engineer on an iteration of their Integrated Power Console Device. This internship will allow me to gain entrepreneurship experience as well as experience behind the full process of designing a medical device. This opportunity will help bridge my interests in medical device design as a BME Design Fellow at Duke into industrial applications.
Experience 2: Biomedical Engineering (BME) Design Fellowship
Dates: January 2023 – present (200 hours)
Advisors: Dr. Mark Palmeri
The BME Design Fellowship at Duke is a 3-year fellowship, which prepares undergraduates with necessary skills needed to work in the MedTech Industry. The courses as part of the BME Design Fellowship include BME 290 (MedTech Prototyping Skills), BME 373 & 374 (Medical Device Design I and II), and BME 554L (Embedded Medical Devices). During the BME 290 MedTech Prototyping Skills course, I used KiCad to create a Blinking LED & Timer Circuit Schematic and PCB layout. I also used OnShape to make a CAD enclosure for the PCB. Furthermore, I also developed and tested a blinking LED and timer circuit using an Arduino microcontroller and KiCad. UsingCAD (OnShape platform), I also assembled various parts to create the neck of a Standard Hybrid 6 Year-Old Model. This fellowship is essential in allowing me to learn about various engineering standards and skills (ranging from CAD & ECAD to Agile Project Management) used within industry.
Experience 3: Duke MEDesign Engineer
Dates: September 2022 – present (150 hours)
Advisors: Dr. Mark Palmeri
As part of Duke’s MEDesign organization, I have worked on a variety of projects, designed to suit specific clients’ needs.
In my first project, I helped develop a wearable breathalyzer for college students to measure BAC levels and interface with app with capabilities to alert via SMS for dangerous BAC levels. For this prototype, the circuit was designed using KiCad. A PCB was created to build circuit with Arduino and Nano 33 BLE with MQ3 sensor in order to help quantify BAC content levels. I worked on designing the CAD encasing for the PCB to make a wearable with flip-up tube for user to breathe into for reading.
Currently, I part of another project, which aims to build a device that can predict desired muscle movement, and then enhance that movement further. Onshape was used to develop the prototype for the enclosure for the user’s arm. As a part of the electrical team, I am currently working on circuit schematic and testing, in order to ensure our circuit allows the EMG signals to pass through (by using a variety of high and low pass filters).
This experience exposed me to the product development and iteration aspects of engineering, essential for developing medical devices within industrial settings.
Experience 4: Development of Low-Cost Postpartum Hemorrhage Training Model
Dates: 01/10/2022 – present (300 hours)
Advisors: Dr. Ann Saterbak
I worked with other undergraduate students to develop a low-cost postpartum-hemorrhage training model. Postpartum hemorrhage is characterized by heavy bleeding after birth that does not stop or slow. Globally, causes 127,000 deaths per year. Most importantly, it is 375% more likely to be fatal in low income areas, partially due to half of all deliveries being attended by unskilled professionals. To develop the prototype, my responsibilities included performing 3D-printing, laser-cutting, and molding to develop the various uteri stages and their enclosures. Under a Duke IRB approved protocol, Duke attending physicians and residents tested our prototypes in order to identify healthy models compared to mild and severely atonic models. I am a co-author on a manuscript in preparation for publication, using the results and data obtained from the Duke Health attending OBGYN physicians and residents per the Duke IRB approved protocol.
During our medical device development, we pitched our project at the 2022 Pratt Student Design Fair and 2022 international Rice360 Global Health Technologies Design Competition (where we were subsequently recognized as semi-finalists).
This experience allowed me to learn more about the intersection of product development and entrepreneurship.
