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Capturing the Cyclic Nature of Design with Multi-Generation Projects. Melissa Kurtis Micou, PhD Jeffrey H Omens, PhD BME IDEA Meeting September 26, 2007. Department of Bioengineering University of California–San Diego. Motivation. Design experiences are most effective when authentic
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Capturing the Cyclic Nature of Design with Multi-Generation Projects • Melissa Kurtis Micou, PhD • Jeffrey H Omens, PhD • BME IDEA Meeting • September 26, 2007 Department of Bioengineering University of California–San Diego
Motivation • Design experiences are most effective when authentic • Survey of 360 design courses revealed commonalities: (Todd et al J Eng Ed 1995) • Real world problems: 59% solicit projects from industry • Time constraints: 60% have duration <1 year • Financial constraints: average funding <$200 / project • Teamwork: 83% offer team projects • Cyclic nature of design not easily reproduced in a half- or full-year course needs assessment implementation problem formulation analysis brainstorming & synthesis
Objectives • Highlight the cyclic nature of design in the new bioengineering design sequence at UCSD • Improve professional skills critical to the success of lengthy, multi-generational projects
Course Overview Fall Winter Spring Spring juniors seniors juniors • Needs Assessment & Prob Formulation • 1 unit lecture • presentations of projects by faculty • Brainstorming & Analysis • 1 unit lecture & 3 unit lab • develop multiple designs • select the best design • Implementation • 1 unit lecture & 3 unit lab • build & test prototype • Needs Assessment & Prob Formulation • 1 unit lecture • presentations of projects by: • seniors (multi-generation) • faculty (new)
Expected Outcomes • Greater appreciation for the importance of and improvement in communication skills: • design notebooks • technical reports • presentations • Improved ability to critically evaluate design work and identify opportunities for future improvements • More effective and efficient integration of senior projects and ongoing research • Juniors benefit from hearing first-hand about the experiences, successes, and failures of the senior teams
amplify & filter A/D conversion digital processing Ex: Multi-Channel Amplifier for Regional Cardiac Mapping Objective: construct a low-cost multi-channel amplifier to measure regional electrical signals in a rat heart • Design Goals • Record simultaneous signals from multiple locations of cardiac tissue • Amplify and filter signals be-web.ucsd.edu/seniordesign/Past/studentpages/2006/Project11/Home%20Page.html
1st Generation Successes: • accurate ECG recorded from rat heart • determined signal quality higher when leads inserted into the myocardium compared to surface recordings • successful integration between amplifier and A/D converter • 2nd Generation Design Goals: • improve filtering • expand for simultaneous multi-channel recordings • develop custom software to allow multiple real-time ECGs to be displayed simultaneously
Integration with Ongoing Research Fall Winter Spring Spring • Needs Assessment & Prob Formulation • Identify instrumentation, device, etc needed for thesis project • Recruit senior students • Brainstorming & Analysis • Seniors work closely with MS or PhD student “client” • Implementation • Seniors work closely with MS or PhD student “client” • Needs Assessment & Prob Formulation • MS or PhD student • finalizes testing and incorporates design into research • Identifies needed improvements or related instruments
Summary • Incorporating cyclic nature of design with multi-generation projects provides a more authentic design experience • Multi-generation projects facilitate the integration of teaching and research • Using established assessment methods we will measure whether multi-generation projects improve professional skills: • written communication • ability to critically analyze designs
Assessment: Design Notebooks Each student maintains a design notebook including notes from meetings, research, calculations, data from testing, and sketches • name, date, e-mail, address and course # on cover • pages are numbered • entries are dated • meeting, individual work, & group work distinguished • participants listed • future steps indicated • clarity and quality of figures • quality of documented individual work • notebook is legible and neat • detail is sufficient • AVE= 80 ± 17% (n = 42)
Assessment: Poster Presentations Background Discussion Presentation