Nexsonic
Team Name: Nexsonic
Team Members:
- Babatimilehin Osundina - > Project lead and quality management
- Michael O'Melveny - > Communication liaison / Power Engineering lead
- Anthony Chung -> Financial Officer/ Electrical and Prototyping
- Mussie Abebe - > Power / Control systems and embedded systems lead
- Mohamad Wan Zawawi -> PCB Lead and financial tracker
- Jake Johnson -> Lead Software Developer
Project Origin: Medtronic Sponsorship
User Problem
Medtronic is a leading developer of medical equipment and surgical devices. Medtronic engineers relay on quick prototyping and testing to save time on the development of the ultrasonic dissector. As medical technology continues to advance, surgeons are able to rely on the precision/ performance of electrical instruments in order to ensure a successful procedures. During surgical procedure certain elements such as stress and impedance can cause the performance of the surgical device to degrade. We want to know the limits of these devices to understand it limitations early, so that the surgical equipment is the last thing that surgeons must worry about.
Overall Product Solution
We have developed a surgical ultrasonic Test Development System that will allow for the rapid testing of all medtronic ultrasonic dissectors. We will be initiating three types of modules to test the devices, which will be the Impedance analyzer, stress bender test. The goal is to gain important impedance data from these devices with regards to power, with that data the devices can be improved in the future. Next the stress bender test is intended to Ìýtest the ultrasonic waveguide blade which can only handle a certain about of stress before discontinuing optimal performance. The product will include a mechanical device that will apply a certain amount of force to the waveguide to test the limits of the amount of stress the waveguide can handle.
This performance data is essential performing a successful surgery. Using the data collected, we can further advance the ultrasonic technology and its application in the medical field to increase the chances of success in surgery.
Who needs this? Who will benefit from this?
Medical companies like Medtronic would benefit from a testing tool that we develop because it will further protect the ultrasonic instrumentation, and help test new ways of create precise ultrasonic transducer systems that can have many applications. It will allow Medtronic engineers to test new devices quickly and efficiently. Since time is money getting products out of the development step can really help Medtronic push new and improved products later on.
What capabilities does your product/device provide that are not commonly available?
The product is a specialized ultrasonic test development system that we are creating for the Gunbarrel Medtronic engineers. This test system has everything that the Medtronic engineers requested, as well as being a modular system that can be improved and catered to specific needs later on. There isn’t a modular test bench that is this specialized toward a specific device on the market at this time.