November 2007 by Pioneer

ISSUE TWO VOLUME TWO

NOVEMBER , 2007

A GT-BMES STUDENT PUBLICATION FOR THE COMMUNITY OF GT-BME

Students Discuss Research Monica Liou ‘10

Biomedical Engineering is a very wide field with endless possibilities of research. With more than 20 different labs at this school alone, it should not be too hard for an undergraduate BME student to spark an interest in one particular lab. In addition to neurological sciences, biomaterials, and drug delivery, the BME Department offers a lab that investigates one of the most important organs in the human body: the heart. As director of the Cardiovascular Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Dr. Yoganathan has been actively working in this field for nearly three decades. He devotes his research to the fluid mechanics of artificial heart valves and also works with complex cardiac defects. Supported by government and industrial organizations, Dr. Yoganathan has medi-

cal collaborations with Massachusetts General Hospital, University of AlabamaBirmingham, Emory University, University of North Carolina, and NIH. As an undergraduate student, Sarah Hooson has worked

called mitral valve regurgitation. This is caused by remodeling and distortion of the left ventricle, which results in the displacement of the papillary muscles. This displacement of the muscles tethers the leaflets of the mitral valve into the left ventricle and therefore restricts the ability of the valve to close efficiently. Current techniques are ineffective, allowing the condition to resurface in five years or less. Hooson’s project deals with cutting the chords attaching the papillary muscles to the leaflets as a possible treatment. photo courtesy of Lexi Gentry Hooson has conducted a series of in Dr. Yoganathan’s lab since experiments. The valve in the this past summer. flow tube is run in various posi“I really like research betions; first as a control with a cause it gives you a hands-on low regurgitation volume to approach to a topic. It’s a good show that its position would be way of applying knowledge that that of an actual heart. The valve you learn from class and lets is then dilated to 2.0 times its you dive deeper into a certain original size and the papillary topic or specific area,” said muscles are displaced by 10 mm Hoosen. in the apical, posterior, and latHer research deals with a eral direction. complication of heart disease

ISSUE TWO VOLUME TWO

BMES Pioneer Editorial Board

Editor in Chief Aileen Li ’10 Layout Editors Lexi Gentry ‘12 Michael Zhang ’10 Features Editor Rebekah Hamrick ’10 Staff Writers Inez Falcon ‘10 Melody Keith ‘09 Monica Liou ‘10 Kiersten Petersen ’10 Development Editors Alice Chan ’10 Patrick Shannon ’10

What’s Inside? ‣

Students Discuss Research

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EMS- Can You Save a Life too?

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EWH

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BMES Student Research Panel

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Upcoming Events

NOVEMBER , 2007

Then, the strut chord on and still returns to finish his reeach papillary muscle as this search. Liou was interested in takes the tension off the valve. tissue mechanics and a friend With the tension from the musrecommended Dr. Yoganathan’s cles pulling on the valve relab. moved, the coaptation of the “I chose the lab primarily leaflets is improved, which because it was a great opportueliminates the leaflet tenting nity. It was a chance to work into the left ventricle. This in with Dr. Yoganathan who has a turn reduces the mitral regurgigreat reputation and I knew that tation. I could receive a meaningful The flow tube in this reresearch experience there,” said search project is used to simuLiou. late the heart with the flow tube Two major projects that system. It simulates the flow Liou was involved in included from the left atrium and the left studying the strain characterisventricle using a mechanical tics of the chordal insertion on aorta and includes a pressurized the mitral valve and determining system. the strain char“I usually acteristics with “Research is a good way of applying knowledge that you learn from class and run two exdifferent sadperiments a lets you dive deeper into a certain topic or dle geometries week, analyze, specific area.” on the mitral and compare valve. to find a trend in the regurgitaAfter having graduated for a tion fraction volumes,” Hooson year, Liou is still working in Dr. said. After the running of exYoganathan’s lab. Research not periments, data is gathered to only facilitates academic learnunderstand the force balance on ing, but also personal growth. the valve by using c-ring force “My next step involves attransducers and attaching these tending dental school. Even to the chords and measuring the though it seems like dental tension on each chord as the school and tissue mechanics valve closes and opens. seem to be worlds apart, a lot of “If we can prove that the principles still apply. Because chordal cutting will release the my advisors had high expectatension off the valve so that the tions, I was constantly applying valve leaflets can increase coapmy critical thinking abilities. It tation and decrease the regurgiinvolved applying my reasoning tation volume, then surgeons skills at its best and these skills could use this method as a way can translate to any profession to treat heart disease and prevent and that includes dentistry,” the heart disease from recurLiou said. ring,” Hooson said. A Georgia Tech graduate in 2006, Will Liou, has worked in Dr. Yoganathan’s lab since 2004

ISSUE TWO VOLUME TWO

EMS - Can Yo u S a v e a Life to0? Melody Keith ’09 It’s 7 pm on a Monday, and I’m sitting in the IC, gazing up at a picture of a tipped over monorail. I look around the room, slightly wishing I had someone to talk to neutralize my “new place awkwardness” feeling. “What IS this thing?” I wonder to myself. My curiosity is soon satisfied when I sit down with Dave Druga, a senior at GT and registered EMT in the state of Massachusetts, to speak about the vision of EMS. “ W h e n you’ve lived in multiple small towns and communities, you realize that anything can happen to anybody.” Druga has an awareness of the everyday potential risks on campus, noting the dangerous chemicals in labs, frequent binge drinking on campus, and injuries on the CRC fields, and takes them seriously. “Ambulance crews have a hard time finding stuff on campus - they have to be escorted by the [GT] police.” Being an EMT, he's seen cyclistvehicle crashes, falling injuries, vehicle crashes… "Things happen all the time," he notes.

“GT EMS will be the first lines of service when an individual is ill or injured. It is not designed to replace further steps of care, but to provide quick services when warranted,” says GT pre-health advisor Jennifer Kimble, one of the administrative figures who Druga contacted about EMS in 2007. Druga also noted that although GT is not a hazard waiting to happen, it could defi-

NOVEMBER , 2007

fit to the campus, but what about the students who are involved? “It's going to be a student organization first and foremost. Two students will be on call at anytime, 24/7, so it won't be a casual thing, but it won't be anything too demanding, either,” Druga explains. “We want to give pre-health students some clinical experience before applying to med school." Students will fill officer positions, handle medical protocols, and undergo the proper training to be campus EMTs. Although there will need to be a selection process because the right kind of character is obviously needed. EMS is a widely instituted practice, so participation would definitely pay off in the future as good volunteer or photo courtesy of Lexi Gentry part-time work. Sure EMS would nitely do better. “We’re looking be great thing to put on my reto reduce response times to sume, but after sitting with medical or trauma emergencies Druga for awhile, I began to on campus. Right now it's at ponder the deeper purpose of the about ten minutes, and the goal organization. This EMS prois two minutes.” gram, completely volunteer, “We're working on for would function like a smallsome grants to get started, as far community fire department, alas buying a vehicle and medical lowing GT students to contribsupplies, long-term funding ute to their own community. "It sources, as well as legal things is a really rewarding experience. to make sure we’re covered. For a lot of people who call 911 We’ve accomplished a lot of for an ambulance, it may not little goals, but we’re just waitseem like an incredibly difficult ing for the administration to problem for us, but it's still a give us a few green lights.” problem that they can't solve,” So it seemed to me like shared Druga. GT EMS would be a great bene-

ISSUE TWO VOLUME TWO There is a profound theme in the idea of students helping students. It’s this kind of self-sacrificial service which leads to strong character building. It is understandable why EMS service would be attractive to medical or graduate school admissions. In fact, one of the reasons that Kimble signed on board with the project was because of the EMS program at Emory, her alma mater. Druga mentions that the director of EMS at Grady hospital actually started the EMS program at Rice University, and he has found that “students in first response are much more attached to the school once they've graduated, and tend to be much more active as

alumni.” So it seems logical that students involved would defintely grow to become a more integral part of their community. So how could I, a student with no medical experience get involved with EMS, to help further this vision and support the goal that it would offer? Druga says come to the meetings at 7 pm on Monday nights in the IC. In retrospect, I realize how ironic it was to feel so awkwardly new at the GT EMS because my participation would ultimately lead to an intimacy with GT students where it would be impossible to feel awkward, and in which case, I would grow a stronger relationship with my

NOVEMBER , 2007 campus and indefinitely leave my mark. What about you? Think you can’t change the world? Think again!

Join BMES Today! www.gtbmed.com

BMES IS RENTING OUT THE TECH REC BOWLING ALLEY! On Thursday, November 8th 7:00 pm in the student center

Come Bowl, mingle, and have a great time! Free for GT-BMES members and $5 for non-members

ISSUE TWO VOLUME TWO

T h i n k Yo u Ca n’t S a v e t h e Wo r l d ? Think Again. Inez Falcon ’’10

Many developing countries in Asia and Africa have very limited medical care, while the need is tremendous. Medical equipment is scarce, and technologically far, far behind. We have medical equipment – a lot of it. As a matter of fact, hospitals in the United States discard billions of dollars worth of medical equipment each year. This equipment is discarded because it is old, broken, or sometimes merely because something new and better has taken its place. A group of students who saw this problem and decided to get together twice a month to fix those broken and old equipments into something better than “usable” and ship them to developing countries. This group of students calls themselves “Engineering World Health” (EWH) Georgia Tech’s chapter of Engineering World Health is relatively new to campus, but the reach of its impact is far. EWH offers students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the engineering of and the repair of medical devices while participating in a unique humanitarian effort. GT’s EWH

works mainly in conjunction with MedShare, to repair old or used medical equipment which will be sent to hospitals in developing countries. The organization meets and carpools bi-weekly to the MedShare Warehouse in Decatur, GA. These repair sessions are organized by James Eames, Vice President of Repair Sessions within the GT chapter. Eames meets periodically with one of

NOVEMBER , 2007

blood pressure cuffs, providing a variety of choices for students to work with. The repair sessions provide experience for students majoring in biomedical engineering by allowing them to study and observe equipment they may work with in the future. Eames states, “For me, it’s a way to do volunteer work and still learn something that I’m interested in.” While BME students may be specifically drawn to the program, EWH welcomes all students from all majors. An undergraduate BME student does not have significant advantage over the average GT student in the repair of medical equipment. “Some projects are simpler than some people’s home entertainment centers,” said Eames. Over the past year, repair sesphoto courtesy of EWH sions have grown in size and have Medshare’s biomedical engiincluded students of different neers, Eben Armstrong, to select majors, such as Architecture and items that need to be repaired PTFE. EWH also invites other depending on their current deschool organizations to particimand in hospitals in the develpate in joint repair sessions. oping world. A list of projects is Last spring, EWH had a generated from the selected joint repair session with Alpha equipment for EWH volunteers Eta Mu Beta (AEMB) and the to work on when they arrive. Georgia Professional Society of Once the list of projects has Biomedical Engineers. This been shown and explained on year, EWH is planning a joint Saturday morning, the students session with not only AEMB, break into small groups, and but also with Engineering Stueach group selects a different dents without Borders and Alpiece of equipment to begin pha Omega Epsilon. working with from the list. The In addition to giving experimedical equipment ranges from ence to students and strengthenhospital beds to endoscopes and ing their hands-on abilities,

ISSUE TWO VOLUME TWO EWH provides a social atmosphere for its members. With a few retreats and informal outings to places like Rocky Mountain Pizza, it becomes easy to get to know those you are working with. Moreover, EWH values students’ time and holds few meetings and optional repair sessions in attempt to minimize required time commitments that so many other organizations demand. EWH also has two other facets of the organization. First, it offers a summer program in which you receive training and actually go work in a hospital in a developing country, such as El Salvador. The time there is spent working on devices on-

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NOVEMBER , 2007

site and training the doctors in the use of the equipment. It is a rewarding experience offering a unique study-abroad perspective. Secondly, EWH has a design group, comprised of mainly upperclassmen. The design group works independently from the rest of EWH, and meetings usually overlap with the repair sessions. The design group works on building low-cost medical equipment that can be used in developing countries. It requires more background in engineering than repair sessions; the work done is similar to that of a senior design group. Last year, a solar-powered refrigerator was designed to keep vaccines at a stable temperature

while being stored in hospitals with unreliable electricity. Current and new members seem satisfied with the progress being made within EWH thus far. New member Jordan Wynn, BME, has said in regards to her experiences with EWH, “Since I plan to pursue a career involving engineering, medicine, and humanitarianism, EWH is ideal for me because it incorporates all of these facets.Overall, the organization is well-led and extremely informative; I am glad I joined it.” If you’d like to know more about EWH and how you can be part of the solution, please contact Inn Inn Chen at inninnchen@gatech.edu or be on the look out for their next repair session.

11 AM Bioengineering Seminar. Shu Chien, Ph.D.

8 PM DramaTech presents Macbeth

11 AM AEMB Undergraduate Research Smposium

8 PM DramaTech presents Macbeth

7 PM: BMES bowling @ Tech Rec 11 AM Undergrad Prof Internship Orientation

9 AM Engineering World Health @ student center by MLR

6th GA Tech-ORNL International Conference on Bioinformatics

PURA Awards Announced

8 PM GT Symphony Orchestra & Jazz Ensemble @ Ferst Center

Thanksgiving

8 PM GT Symphony Orchestra & Jazz Ensemble @ Ferst Center