Week 1

Week 1 consisted of forming groups and deciding on a design idea that we wanted to pursue. The project topic is biomedical devices and technologies.

This group consists of four members:

1. Elizabeth Higgins
2. Jana Smuts
3. Ronald Vitola
4. Yifan Zhu

There was a variety of ideas that came to mind. One of the fist ideas was a medication dispenser that would dispense medication at a set speed. Ideally, this device would have been for patients who have to administer medication from their home. The medication dispenser would lessen the possibility of a patient wrongly administering their prescription. 

 The second major idea was a mobile application that would monitor the temperature of a child via bluetooth technology; however, there were quite a few of these on the market already and it was difficult to think of ways in which to improve the preexisting devices.

Finally, after thinking through a variety ideas the group came up with idea of a device for pregnant women. This device would help females who are in their third trimester, determine if their water broke. First time mothers-to-be sometimes believe that their water broke and go to the emergency room, only to find out that it was not their water breaking. 

The device would be similar to the shape and size of a sanitary napkin. The device would change colors when the woman's water broke because amniotic fluid has a different pH level compared to normal vaginal discharge. Each individual device would have a one time use, like the majority of feminine hygiene products on the market. This would ensure that device would be hygienic. 

While it is not unheard of for pregnant woman to use litmus paper in order to determine if their water has broken, it is not ideal. Besides using litmus paper, there are no other devices on the market that accomplish this task. We believe that women, especially first time mothers, would use this device. This is because they could tell if their water broke where ever and whenever, as compared to rushing to the emergency room.