Two UBC student teams designed devices that enable doctors to take accurate measurements of the range of movement in the shoulder joint and of the range of movement and muscle resistance in the eye.
"An important consideration in the selection of the design projects was that the devices enable doctors to determine whether or not surgery is required in a particular case," said Ian McDougall, a fourth-year mechanical engineering co-op student who was a member of both teams.
The competition is held annually in B.C. and was sponsored this year by the B.C. Science Council. Prizes are awarded in seven categories related to health sciences and assistive devices.
First prize in the medical devices category was awarded to a four-student team for its design of a Modified Forced Duction Apparatus (MFDA) to measure muscle resistance and range of movement in the eye. The design team included McDougall, Patrick McCrea (engineering physics), Parsa Pirseyedi (mechanical engineering), and Lauren Walker (engineering physics).
The design of the hand-held device comprises a four-inch shaft with a small suction cup at the end to attach to the cornea. Strain gauges located in the shaft register the forces applied to move the shaft up or down or to either side. Also housed in the shaft is an ultrasonic transducer that records the motions of the eyeball.
The device was designed to help determine the sort of treatment appropriate for a particular eye condition called strabismus, or lazy eye, that involves a gradual deterioration of the eye muscles and affects the range of movement. The present method of determining the degree of muscle resistance and range of movement involves using forceps to hold the eye, and estimating resistance while moving it back and forth.
The other device, for which McDougall and fellow mechanical engineering student Brent King won second prize in the medical devices category, was designed to allow doctors to gain a better idea of the extent of a shoulder joint injury by isolating and accurately measuring the rotations around the axis of the upper arm.
The device for "characterizing humeral orientation" features an L-shaped bracket into which a patient's arm is secured with wide bands across the upper arm and forearm. A powerful magnet in the base is used to hold the device to a stainless steel examining table on which the patient is reclining.
"The device, when used with a measure of pain signals from the patient, will allow doctors to gain very accurate readings of the range of motion in the shoulder joint without overloading it," McDougall said.
The device will allow doctors to gather data in a consistent manner which will aid comparisons between patients. The present system used to determine the extent of a shoulder joint injury is relatively subjective, because it relies on the physician's estimate of both range of motion and pain experienced, McDougall said.
Both devices were designed in response to the express needs of medical professionals, McDougall said. The MFDA was designed in consultation with the Biomedical Engineering Dept. at Vancouver Hospital and doctors from the Eye Care Centre at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre and the Dept. of Ophthalmology at B.C.'s Children's Hospital. The shoulder device was designed in consultation with Western Clinical Engineering Services.
The students also worked closely with Prof. Antony Hodgson, who participated in both projects, and Prof. Doug Romily, who was involved with the MFDA project.
Since claiming the prize in the 96 Solutions+ competition, Hodgson, King and McDougall have been selected as finalists in an international student design competition, sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. They will present the shoulder device at the IEEE's conference in Amsterdam in next month.