Weekly Reports
Week 1 (8/24 - 8/31)
All team members used Dr. Klaesner's provided list to search for potential clients. We emailed 7 clients total from 8/27-8/29 whose possible projects piqued our interest: Devon Ackroyd (Logan Health Centers), Rex Clingan, Courtney Dunn, Suzanne Erb, Sharon and Mike Sabo, Dr. Zachary Vesoulis, and Dr. Brendan Watson. We received 5 replies by the end of the week, 2 of which indicated that the clients were already working with other groups. We set up phone call meetings with 2 clients, Suzanne Erb and Sharon Sabo, and planned an in-person meeting with Rex Clingan. We called Suzanne Erb on 8/30 to discuss assistive technology and some of her ideas for projects. We then spent the weekend exploring and discussing assistive technology, including web accessibility, "dumb" braille systems, and navigation assistance, to decide if we were interested in pursuing this project.
WEEK 2 (8/31 - 9/6)
We called Sharon and Mike Sabo on 9/2 to discuss Tricentum Technologies and the wound analysis/custom bandage project idea. The next two days we reviewed the documents they sent us, looked into wound care and wound profiles, and discussed as a team to decide if we wanted to pursue this project. We met with Rex Clingan at St. Louis Bread Co. on 9/4 to discuss his extraction device and methods and his ideas for how we could contribute. Based on all of our meetings and further discussions, we decided to work with Sharon and Mike Sabo on the wound analysis system. We notified Suzanne Erb on 9/4 and Rex Clingan on 9/5 that we as a group had decided to work with another client based on our interests, skill sets, and confidence in our ability to develop the project to its full potential. We informed Sharon and Mike Sabo on 9/5 of our decision to work with them for our senior design project and scheduled a follow-up phone call to discuss the project further.
WEEK 3 (9/7 - 9/13)
We called Sharon and Mike Sabo on 9/8 to ask some clarifying questions about the project overall. Mike sent us an outline of a project scope and specifications along with some online resources, and we used the conversation to refine the scope and better understand the details of the project so we were all on the same page. We spent the week discussing as a team and drafting our need statement, project scope, and initial design specifications. Hannah and Victoria met with Dr. Klaesner on 9/10 to discuss our project with him and review a rough draft of our project scope. We met as a team later that night to go over Dr. Klaesner's comments and make revisions, but we had more questions and wanted clarification from Dr. Klaesner. Victoria and Yushin met with Dr. Klaesner again on 9/11 to discuss the project and clarify our scope.
WEEK 4 (9/14 - 9/20)
Over the weekend we exchanged emails with the clients as well as with Meghan Fox, an alumni contact, to revise our project scope and specifications. We met as a group on 9/15 to finalize the project scope report, particularly the deliverables and types of specifications, based on feedback from the clients, Meghan, and Dr. Klaesner. We used input from the clients combined with online resources on imaging systems, wound care, and bandages, in order to come up with initial design specifications with metrics and values. We submitted our project scope electronically on 9/16. For the remainder of the week we did individual research, beginning with the resources suggested by the clients and then further exploring relevant information, and we added notes to LabArchives. Our research this week focused on wound classification and stages, translation of digital models into physical objects, and wound care.
WEEK 5 (9/21 - 9/27)
This week we continued to do individual research and add notes to LabArchives. Our research this week focused on pressure ulcer statistics and costs and determination of depth from 2D image analysis. We also reached out to the Barnes-Jewish Surgical and Wound Care Clinic for more information about current wound care practices and areas for improvement. Victoria called the clinic during the week to get information for Sandra Mennes, the manager of the clinic, and we have directly contacted her. We are also reaching out to two other local wound clinics. We hope that speaking with other sources regarding wound care can supplement some of the information we have received from Sharon Sabo about her experiences dealing with wounds and bandages. As the first report is due next week, we also scheduled team meetings over the weekend and deadline goals for our first draft in order to have adequate time to receive feedback and ask any questions.
WEEK 6 (9/28 - 10/4)
This week we worked on our preliminary report. We individually conducted web searches, patent searches, and literature searches on existing solutions and background information to include in the report. We prepared a first draft by 10/2 and met with Dr. Klaesner on that day in order get feedback on our content. We then met as a group on 10/3 to finalize the report and print out two hard copies. Hannah submitted an electronic copy of the report on 10/4 and turned in the two hard copies into the BME office that morning. In terms of outside contacts, we emailed a list of questions regarding wound care practices to Jane Kelly at the St. Luke’s Wound Care Center and Laurel Wiersema-Bryant at the Barnes-Jewish Surgical and Wound Care Clinic. We also called Missouri Baptist two more times during the week and left messages but did not receive a response. We started working on presentation slides, and Hannah prepared for the preliminary presentation.
WEEK 7 (10/5 - 10/11)
This week we mainly worked on the slides for our preliminary presentation. We each contributed to the slides using the information from the preliminary report and our research. Hannah practiced the presentation individually over the weekend. We all met with Suyash on 10/6 to go over the presentation content, and in particular we received feedback on how to cut down on time and make sure to only communicate the most important information. We edited the slides accordingly on our own time. On 10/7 we met as a group for Hannah to practice giving the presentation and make any final adjustments. Hannah gave the preliminary presentation in class on 10/9 and individually submitted the PowerPoint slides electronically that morning. In terms of outside contacts, we received a response from Jane Kelly at the St. Luke’s Wound Care Center regarding our questions about wound care practices. We were unable to include this information our preliminary report due to the deadline, but we are planning to use it to inform our project development going forward. We also once again reached out to Laurel Wiersema-Bryant at the Barnes-Jewish Surgical and Wound Care Clinic.
WEEK 8 (10/12 - 10/18)
This week we received our preliminary report back from Dr. Klaesner and reviewed the feedback. We continued to establish our design schedule and in particular considered what we need to complete by the end of this semester. We also all met on 10/17 to discuss content and design layout for the webpage. Hannah continued to work on the webpage to make sure all the necessary information is included.
WEEK 9 (10/19 - 10/25)
This week Hannah worked on adding all of the necessary information to the webpage, and we submitted the final link: https://anovelbandagesystem.weebly.com/. We also reviewed the comments from the preliminary grading of our LabArchives notebook and took note of the main areas that were missing information. We each will work on filling in those areas, particularly the initial definition of problem, project management, and preliminary report sections. We also discussed how to keep the notebook more up-to-date and comprehensive, especially by recording any team meetings relevant to the project even if they are informal. At our team meeting on 10/24 we decided to each do further individual research on wound analysis technology, bandage manufacturing, and medical standards for sterility in order to be more prepared for future team brainstorming sessions.
WEEK 10 (10/26 - 11/1)
This week we again did individual research on both software aspects and production method aspects for our eventual novel bandage system. We planned a team meeting for next week to do brainstorming on a whiteboard and share and record all of our ideas in-person. We also plan to reach out to our client and any community contacts to help narrow down criteria for our Pugh chart to compare and evaluate potential solutions.
WEEK 11 (11/2 - 11/8)
This week we had a team meeting “check-in” on 11/4 since it marked three weeks from the due date of the second report. We want to have a rough draft done by at least one week before the due date in order to ask any questions and receive feedback. We realized while brainstorming on our own that we ended up brainstorming wound analysis solutions and bandage production solutions separately. Our final solution will incorporate the optimal combination of both, so we want to make sure we not only cover both of those aspects when brainstorming but also start to consider if and how they can be combined. We also did an internal review of the LabArchives notebook and realized that while everyone was contributing individually, there were still some sections that seemed incomplete and could be unclear to someone unfamiliar with our project. We met on 11/7 in-person to update the notebook as a group, particularly the relevant patents. We also updated the team responsibilities based on observations that certain aspects of the project such as software development will likely require more effort and time than we had initially planned for. Our major brainstorming meeting to discuss all of our ideas is happening in the evening on 11/8.
WEEK 12 (11/9 - 11/15)
At the very end of last week on 11/8, we met as a group for our large brainstorming session. We each shared the ideas we came up with individually, and there was quite a bit of overlap, so we tried to brainstorm some more solutions as a group. On 11/13 we met again to begin working on the first draft of the progress report. We started outlining the “statement of design alternatives” section based on our potential solution ideas. We have not yet made the Pugh chart or decided on the final solution because we want to make sure that the weighting of the criteria is in accordance with our research findings and client insights. We plan to meet this weekend to finalize our chosen solution and work on the analysis of why we chose it. We want to have a draft finished by Monday or Wednesday in order to receive feedback and allow us 5-7 days to complete the final draft.
WEEK 13 (11/16 - 11/22)
This week we focused on writing the progress report which is due next week. We wrote some parts individually based on an outline we previously made, and then we met on 11/21 to go over the draft together. Victoria and Yushin are meeting with Dr. Klaesner on 11/22 to ask questions and get some feedback. We plan to meet again over the weekend and finish up the report to turn in next week.
WEEK 16 (1/11 - 1/17)
This week we met as a group to develop an overall plan for this semester. We used the “yellow stickies” to list all of the tasks that need to be completed, estimated the time frame for each task, and assigned a primary group member for each task. We determined that software and writing code will likely be our critical path and the most difficult part of our project. We are working on implementing structure from motion analysis, our chosen solution for wound analysis. We also all completed the online Makerspace training and are attending the on-site training later today. We met with Dr. Klaesner on 1/17 to discuss our project.
WEEK 17 (1/18 - 1/24)
This week we continued to work on software and implementing structure from motion analysis. We also reviewed the rubric for pure software projects and have decided to spend more time on user interface. Hannah and Yushin completed on-site Makerspace training and online laser cutter training, and Victoria will do so later today. We were told that our choice of material should be safe for laser cutting, but we need to test it to confirm when we go in for on-site laser cutter training.
WEEK 18 (1/25 - 1/31)
This week Hannah finished on-site laser cutter training. Yushin purchased the fabric that will be laser cut for proof-of-concept demonstrations, and she and Victoria will go test it at the Makerspace during on-site training. We met on 1/30 as a group to discuss our individual coding progress and determine what areas we each needed more help or time with. We plan to continue working on software for the upcoming weeks.
WEEK 19 (2/1 - 2/7)
This week we mainly continued to work on software. Our fabric finally arrived yesterday and we are going to test it at the Makerspace. We will meet and adjust anything as needed after that.
WEEK 20 (2/8 - 2/14)
This week Yushin completed on-site laser cutter training and received approval for cutting the fabric. Next week our group plans to cut some trial “bandages” to get more experience with the laser cutter and refine that part of the process. We met as a group on 2/12 to discuss laser cutter options (we eventually were approved) and to work on software, particularly the wound analysis part which has been most difficult. We are also trying to finalize what wound models to use to test and what our plan is for verification and validation.
WEEK 21 (2/15 - 2/21)
This week Yushin successfully laser-cut a trial bandage with the chosen fabric. We met as a group on 2/18 to discuss our progress and start working on the verification and validation report. For software, the general user interface is in place and just needs some refinement, so all of us are focusing on wound analysis code right now. We are planning to meet this weekend to work on code together and complete a first draft of the report.
WEEK 22 (2/22 - 2/28)
This week we met many times to work on software, discuss verification and validation testing plans, and finish the V&V report. Our main objective was to complete the V&V report. Hannah submitted it electronically on 2/28, and we all turned in two hard copies to the BME office that morning. We also started working on the presentation slides, and Yushin started preparing for the V&V presentation.
WEEK 23 (2/29 - 3/6)
This week we met over the weekend for Yushin to practice giving the V&V presentation. Yushin then gave the actual V&V presentation in class on 3/2 and individually submitted the PowerPoint slides electronically. Heading into Spring Break, we are focusing on software and development of the testing models. We had borrowed someone’s point- and-shoot camera prior to this but were just told that the person may need it back. If we cannot coordinate a schedule to both use it for our projects, we may need to order a camera soon (we accounted for this in our budget but never followed through because we believed we could use someone else’s). We are planning to meet with the person this weekend and have a phone call team meeting this weekend in order to discuss the camera and overall project.
WEEK 26 (3/21 - 3/27)
This week we were adjusting to the remote learning systems and online platforms. We had a group phone call to review the revised course syllabus and final video/report rubric and talk about the remaining assignments. We are planning to join the zoom meeting next Monday to ask questions, and we will adjust our team responsibilities accordingly.
WEEK 27 (3/28 - 4/3)
On Monday Victoria joined the zoom meeting to ask questions for our group about DesignSafe analysis and some logistics. We mostly worked independently this week on software. We are having a zoom meeting later today to discuss DesignSafe and help Yushin try to make our wound model out of artificial skin.
WEEK 28 (4/4 - 4/10)
Over the weekend we had a zoom meeting to work on the artificial skin wound model. We made a preliminary version to practice cutting and coloring the artificial skin. We will make another version of the wound model this weekend. Yushin also downloaded the designsafe software, and we will have a zoom meeting to finish that together. Overall, we are trying to work on all of the components – our software, writing the report, making the video presentation – in these last couple of weeks.