October 6

A meeting with Dr. Nada B. Lawand, Ph.D.

When we thought about biomedical devices, the first things that came to mind were massive hospital machines and complicated tools that require many years of schooling to even begin to understand. Our team seemed to be stuck thinking about MRI machines, innovative prosthetics, and the items you normally would see in a hospital emergency room.

But Dr. Lawand changed all that! As a professional in the field of neurology and an adjunct faculty member at UAMS, Dr. Lawand shared with our team that even simple devices that we use regularly in our lives can also be considered a biomedical device. Such things as a thermometer, a blood pressure monitor, even a toothbrush help us stay healthy, and were designed by an engineer! "Anyone can invent a biomedical device," she told us.

She also explained about some remarkable treatments for problems in the brain, ingenious tools used in the operating room, and pointed out that even the operating room tables and lights are biomedical devices. We had not thought of that!

Thank you, Dr. Lawand for visiting with us, and for helping us with our research for the science presentation!

November 2010

We continue to be hard at work, programming the robot, building the "set" for our science presentation, researching more details about how to solve the health issue we have chosen. We have decided to focus on prevention of heat stroke. In the news, people are always hearing about athletes who suffer from heat related illnesses, and we are working on a biomedical solution for this problem.

Filming, filming, filming. "Quiet on the set!" is commonly heard during our team meetings in November. We're filming a documentary film about heat stroke, detailing the risks, warning signs, treatment, prevention methods that are currently available, and statistics about those who suffer heatstroke. To see our finished product here on this website, go to the home page, click on the "Video" tab, and watch this video presentation. We also have a brochure with this information on it, which is available to you as well. Contact our team, and we'll send you one!

We are also putting the finishing touches on our presentation for the competition. Rock City TV channel 399 is almost ready for their debut broadcast of the Biotech Report! We even have scrolling news at the bottom of the "screen" of our show!