October was extremely fun and interactive because our team was able to engage in some hands on learning experiences. Our team leader reached out to the head of the Nursing department and we were invited into the nursing simulation lab to see and touch a real 18Fr Salem Sump tube. Each member of our team also practiced inserting one into a dummy. Below is each member’s experience!
In addition to hands on learning, our group updated our requirements once we received feedback from biomedical engineering faculty members to match our device more. We met with a couple people to progress our idea more: - Norma Brown, the Simulation Coordinator of the Simulation and Clinical Learning Resource Center, and Chris Woods, the Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist to assist with NGT insertion practice - Joe Zanetti, professional services specialist, to discuss machine shop procedures and safety - Dr. Erin Keaney, research scientist, COO and Co-Founder of Nonspec, and plastics engineering professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, to discuss her research in different methods of tissue modeling
To further our design, our group worked on:
- Creating a working budget and Gantt chart
- Identifying which standards our device must follow
- Solidifying our requirements and researching specifications
- Adjusting purpose of device to indicate pressure against tissue, and not the location of the NGT within the body
- Changing design solution to creating a better “dummy” versus an attachment to pre-existing NGTs