Growing the Next Generation of Engineers and Entrepreneurs

Each June, the Bakken Medical Device Center (Bakken MDC) welcomes a new cohort of undergraduate students to its Medical Device Innovation Experience for Undergraduates (MDEIU) summer course. Over eight weeks, these undergraduates build a medical device concept to address a clinical problem. This year, the undergraduate team built something worthy of a presentation at a national conference.

Students Nangah Awasum, Viet Cao, Cassandra Doshi, Farhan Shaikh, and Yashaswi Subedi worked alongside clinician mentor Enio Perez Torres, Interventional Radiology Resident at the Department of Radiology, to address chronic liver disease. When a liver becomes fibrous in chronic liver disease, blood flow is obstructed, causing serious health complications and, at times, even death. Surgeons can alleviate the problem with a stent, but there is very little training material to help them develop the skills necessary to do so. After eight weeks of designing, redesigning, and prototype testing at the clinic, the students were able to create a 3D-printed model prototype for surgical practice.

At the very beginning of the summer, these students aimed at presenting their research in September at the Portal 360 Symposium in Chicago. “Dr. Torres approached the idea to us at our first meeting,” says Doshi. “It was intimidating at first but also really exciting. We were all very enthusiastic about it. Having the conference in mind during the program brought a more real-life perspective to the sort of impact our project could have.” More details about the model are currently confidential as the students prepare for further development and intellectual property protection.

Since completing the MDEIU summer course, the students are continuing to work at Bakken MDC to adjust their model for Portal 360 based on the feedback they received at their final program presentation.

Reflecting on their success, the students credit their mentor and Bakken MDC for encouraging and supporting them at every step. “We’re really grateful to have worked with a clinician mentor,” says Shaikh. “It was very cool getting to go to the clinic with Dr. Torres to test our prototypes and get a piece of real-life situations where our device would be used.” For some of the students, the program helped them find a sense of belongingness within STEM. “Working with my team and our great mentors made me feel a sense of community and connection as an engineering student,” says Subedi. “It’s something I don’t always find in my classes and I’m really happy to have found it this summer at Bakken MDC. The program has made me more confident and excited in choosing biomedical engineering as a career path.”
 

(Left to right) Enio Perez Torres, Farhan Shaikh, Cassandra Doshi, Yashaswi Subedi, Nangah Awasum, and Viet Cao