Undergraduate Bioengineering Design Projects

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0119392EzenwaThe objectives of this project are: (1) to encourage undergraduate electrical, mechanical, computer engineering, and Allied Health students to conduct senior-year design projects in rehabilitation engineering, and (2) to focus such design projects towards the needs of specific individuals with orthopedic and/or neuromuscular disabilities. Students are recruited from the class rosters of the Departments of Allied Health, Occupational Therapy (OT), and Electrical Engineering, and elective course registrants from the mechanical, industrial and computer engineering departments. It is expected that 7 design projects will be completed each year of the three year program. Clients have been identified in the greater Milwaukee area who would benefit from the proposed senior design projects. The significance of the program is (I) exposing undergraduate engineering students to the field of rehabilitation engineering at a formative stage in their educational development might sensitize them towards the role of this profession in a rehabilitation setting; (II) exposing occupational therapy students to more in-depth characteristics of assistive technology device performance in order for them to be able to determine demands imposed on a device by a person with a disability; (III) by forming small design groups that comprise engineering and OT students, engineering students may grasp the physiologic and functional limitations necessary for effective problem formulation and solution; (IV) the students from Allied Health should learn why certain engineering components are used and to acquire the knowledge necessary to deal with vendors of assistive technology; (V) the students will be rewarded in contributing towards solving limitations imposed by physical impairments, and; (VI) the client will benefit by having the specialized technology that could enable independence, potential employment, or completion of schooling.