Intelligent Medical Drill
Company and Internship
Aside from the design and engineering aspects, this internship involved creating a student run company under which the product would be marketed. This involved:
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Company branding,
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Logo design/ graphics creation on Illustrator, Photoshop and Coral Draw,
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Report writing,
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Project planning,
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Documentation management in Windchill,
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Meeting/ presentation organisation and minute taking,
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Budget management.
The Brief
“Develop a sensing and feedback device to gauge the quality of bone whilst drilling, hence provide guidance on which fixation device to use.”
Research, Design and Development
The overall focus of the research was related to what could be measured from a drill and how it could be done. The suggested solution:
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Measuring the current drawn from the motor whilst drilling and categorising the result against a determined scale relating to the density of bone.
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My specific area of research related to the product and ergonomic aspects, covering:
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User requirements,
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Ergonomic and anthropometric considerations,
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Competitor products and patent infringement,
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Reverse Engineering.
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A key factor during the design process was to balance the futuristic/ uncommon approach that the client wanted with something that would work in a regulated and reserved industry. The design process for this project involved:
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Hand sketching on both paper and digitally,
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Regular reviewing and concept selection with the client,
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Further development, considering the arrangement of internal components,
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Creating a CAD model using surfacing on Creo and rendering on Keyshot.
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Due to a change of priorities within the internship, the design process didn't progress much further than determining the outer shape of the drill. Some thought was given to the internal structure however, looking at other drills and working with an electrical engineering intern to think about how the parts we needed could be housed.
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User Interface Design
By working closely with the client and undertaking a period of research into existing user interfaces (medical and non-medical) a series of initial concepts were put forward in relation to how a final UI could look as part of the overall project solution.
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The main point of consideration was to ensure key information was as visible as possible. The working solution at the last point of consideration was one where the graph of density and progress was at the forefront, with other key information being highlighted by green, eye catching borders. Secondary information such as the time and date are still present however as they are less important they blend with the back ground more.
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As with the drill design, development of the UI was halted with the changing of priorities.
Testing
As our priorities shifted, testing to validate the idea became an essential aspect of the project, involving:
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Clear communication, ensuring repeatable tests,
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Controlled drilling and hand held drilling,
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Testing of multiple variables,
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Drill bit type,​
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Spindle speeds,
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Lubrication,
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Flute blockage,
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Understanding and analysing results,
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Taking measures to overcome issues,
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CT scanning drill bits,
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Correspondence with component manufacturers,
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Correspondence with senior project engineers.
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Project Outcome
The end goal for the project as a whole changed from creating a physical product to licensing a software and internal hardware package. This was due to a patent issue uncovered late in the project.
Despite this, the team saw the patent in a positive light as it validated the thinking behind our idea and showed the progress that was made during the 12 month internship.
Skills Used and Gained
Communication and teamwork with client, suppliers, machinists and team members;
Creo Parametric;
Keyshot;
Design packages (Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw);
Microsoft Office;
Prototyping;
Project data management, using Windchill, working to ISO 13485 standards;
Patent law and patent infringement;
Business skills (budgeting and project management).