Art and science
The discipline behind designing devices for the medical community requires a multitude of different types and styles of thinking. Fields usually unrelated need to be understood and brought together in a very cohesive motion. And as it turns out, my explorative way through college was just the right recipe for training and learning in the field of medical device design.
I began with an enormous interest and desire to study medicine. I am so interested in the magnificence of the human body and how it works. Beyond that, medical science and trained professionals have discovered many interesting ways in which to fix or repair the body when something is not functioning in its correct order, that too is something I have paid very close attention to.
Courses such as Human Anatomy BIOL 2325 and Human Physiology BIOL 2420 were great introductions on how the body is structured and how it functions. Kinesiology ESS 3092, physics I & II PHYS 2010/2020 and Bioengineering BIOEN 1102 courses laid out many of the principles used to help fix, repair, or heal the body. I loved the connections I was able to piece together the more I learned. I began to see each of the sciences playing a role with one another. I started to see that healing and repairing of the human body takes place only at the microscopic level, and that any human involvement with the body's systems is only useful if able to better allow the natural healing process to continue.
But the creative side of me begged for something less bounded. I found myself looking into artistic and creative fields of study and came across multi-disciplinary design. A large light bulb came on as I realized the potential of applying “Design Thinking” to almost any process. Design thinking DES 2615 was a course taught by a teacher and mentor of mine named Jim Agutter, who later would become my mentor and guide through the Innovative Scholar Program.
Jim’s inspiring way of teaching opened the world of design to me. Medicine and healthcare were all very interesting , but without wanting to be a clinician or healthcare professional I wasn’t seeing how I could best apply what I was learning. Design thinking became the vehicle to getting creative and thoughtful ideas into motion. Design thinking is a process of careful evaluation of a specific situation, free thinking of ideas, and then test modeling those ideas to determine how to refine the best possible solution and outcome. I used to think of design as the free wielding pen or paintbrush in the hands of a talented artist, but now I see it as the process of extracting the best of human thought.
From there I knew that design was going to be a big part of my future. That next semester I took the Design Studio DES 3600 course which involved not only a lot of thought process, but also hands on crafting of concept models and products to match our ideas. This taught me discipline in precision and time dedication to details. And finally I took the Design Capstone course DES 4010. This is the course that brought it all together. Going through the design process from start to finish, our project was focused on building prosthetic limbs for developing countries. Now my health and science background was seamlessly merging with design and engineering. I used to think my different fields of study were unrelated, until they all came together with this course, I was able to see the synergy of science and art together.
In order to gain even better perspective of the medical community, I decided to experience it from the inside out. I began working in the surgical suites in the main University Hospital as an OR tech. I was responsible for prepping the patients for surgery, and assisting in whatever is needed by either the doctors or nurses during surgery. Now with a hands on experience of working with the surgical staff and individual patients I have a whole different perspective. While designing what works for the healing process is important, is it also important that other patient needs don't get neglected like reduced costs, minimal life interference, and social seclusion?
This led me to ask the big question, "Could medical devices be better designed to conform with the social and physical needs of the patient?" My quest for bridging that gap has opened my mind to greater opportunities and exciting ideas as to where medicine and it's therapies could be headed in the near future.
I began with an enormous interest and desire to study medicine. I am so interested in the magnificence of the human body and how it works. Beyond that, medical science and trained professionals have discovered many interesting ways in which to fix or repair the body when something is not functioning in its correct order, that too is something I have paid very close attention to.
Courses such as Human Anatomy BIOL 2325 and Human Physiology BIOL 2420 were great introductions on how the body is structured and how it functions. Kinesiology ESS 3092, physics I & II PHYS 2010/2020 and Bioengineering BIOEN 1102 courses laid out many of the principles used to help fix, repair, or heal the body. I loved the connections I was able to piece together the more I learned. I began to see each of the sciences playing a role with one another. I started to see that healing and repairing of the human body takes place only at the microscopic level, and that any human involvement with the body's systems is only useful if able to better allow the natural healing process to continue.
But the creative side of me begged for something less bounded. I found myself looking into artistic and creative fields of study and came across multi-disciplinary design. A large light bulb came on as I realized the potential of applying “Design Thinking” to almost any process. Design thinking DES 2615 was a course taught by a teacher and mentor of mine named Jim Agutter, who later would become my mentor and guide through the Innovative Scholar Program.
Jim’s inspiring way of teaching opened the world of design to me. Medicine and healthcare were all very interesting , but without wanting to be a clinician or healthcare professional I wasn’t seeing how I could best apply what I was learning. Design thinking became the vehicle to getting creative and thoughtful ideas into motion. Design thinking is a process of careful evaluation of a specific situation, free thinking of ideas, and then test modeling those ideas to determine how to refine the best possible solution and outcome. I used to think of design as the free wielding pen or paintbrush in the hands of a talented artist, but now I see it as the process of extracting the best of human thought.
From there I knew that design was going to be a big part of my future. That next semester I took the Design Studio DES 3600 course which involved not only a lot of thought process, but also hands on crafting of concept models and products to match our ideas. This taught me discipline in precision and time dedication to details. And finally I took the Design Capstone course DES 4010. This is the course that brought it all together. Going through the design process from start to finish, our project was focused on building prosthetic limbs for developing countries. Now my health and science background was seamlessly merging with design and engineering. I used to think my different fields of study were unrelated, until they all came together with this course, I was able to see the synergy of science and art together.
In order to gain even better perspective of the medical community, I decided to experience it from the inside out. I began working in the surgical suites in the main University Hospital as an OR tech. I was responsible for prepping the patients for surgery, and assisting in whatever is needed by either the doctors or nurses during surgery. Now with a hands on experience of working with the surgical staff and individual patients I have a whole different perspective. While designing what works for the healing process is important, is it also important that other patient needs don't get neglected like reduced costs, minimal life interference, and social seclusion?
This led me to ask the big question, "Could medical devices be better designed to conform with the social and physical needs of the patient?" My quest for bridging that gap has opened my mind to greater opportunities and exciting ideas as to where medicine and it's therapies could be headed in the near future.