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Project Overview

The Problem

Dr. Tim Becker's Center of Bioengineering Lab are performing research in regarding to an ideal methodology for treating brain aneurysms by testing the medication through mixing trials. Our Client's, Dr. Becker's, problem is that the researchers in his Bioengineering Lab have no way to reproducibly and reliably mix the aneurysm medication component gels in their lab to derive the ideal mixing protocol for the most efficient way to treat aneurysms. These researchers in our cliens lab are looking into the areas of mixing speed, measured in inches per second, and mixing duration. Both of these parameters play an important role in the efficacy of the medication after administration.

Our Mission

The mission of our team is to design a syringe mixing system for Dr. Tim Becker's Center of Bioengineering Lab which intends to perform research regarding an ideal methodology for treating brain aneurysms by testing the medication through mixing trials. The system which we have been tasked to design involves mixing three syringes with separate medication gels in which the energy imparted on the gels while mixing has a direct correlation on the efficacy of the drug's effects to treat brain aneurysms during human administration.

Project

This project uses an Arduino Mega microcontroller, three PA-15 linear actuators, a MultiMoto 4-channel motor driver shield, three linear potentiometers with positional feedback, several 3D printed components, and a LCD screen with keypad to prompt the user for desired speed, duration, and delay to specify a perfected protocol and yield a finalized medication gel from three syringes. With the use of the MultiMoto shield, the device is able to reverse the actuation movement in unison with another motor in order to push and pull the liquid properly. The use of 3D printing through Solidworks was necessary for holding the syringes in place, the motor-to-syringe connectors, and the bases for the motor/actuator pairs. The components went through numerous reprints and redesigns due to excess heat during the printing causing warped regions, generalized redesigns, and after some components were deemed to loose to handle the demands of the motors. Preliminary 3D components were also printed at lesser densities as trials.

System

The User Interface was constructed using the Arduino Wiring Language. The figure below shows a block diagram of the interface of the GUI as the program runs. This program consists of a step by step user input of shells where it prompts the user for the different mixing options as well as values for the duration or number of mixes, and mixing speed storing the value which will be called upon during the mixing protocol.

Picture

Documents

User Manual Project Schedule Budget Design Review
Undergraduate Symposium Poster Undergraduate Symposium Presentation

About Us

Austin

Austin Heller

Team Lead

Austin is an Electrical Engineering major with an emphasis in Electrical Engineering. Austin has experience with NAU in the Real-Time Intelligence Systems and Networks Laboratory working on a project known as the Southwest Experimental Garden Array (SEGA)

Lamar

Lamar Callico

Team Treasuer

Lamar is an Electrical Engineering major with an emphasis in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. Lamar has experience in embedded systems and has great knowledge of Java and C++ computer programming.

George

George Aubrey

Team Liason

George is a cadet in the university's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and has prior university experience in embedded signal design as well as a rudimentary understanding in medicine from personal curiosity specifically in pathology and treatment