Week 1 (5th April, 2016 - 12th April, 2016)
This week was spent setting up the necessary logistics for a successful project. First, as a group, we outline goals and objectives we will achieve at the end of this project. Our goal for this project is to design, build and develop a simulation of the small intestine and produce a magnetic colonscope controlled my a larger external magnet.
This week was spent setting up the necessary logistics for a successful project. First, as a group, we outline goals and objectives we will achieve at the end of this project. Our goal for this project is to design, build and develop a simulation of the small intestine and produce a magnetic colonscope controlled my a larger external magnet.
This week,
we also discussed the necessary material needed to simulate the small intestine
and the magnetic colonoscope. We developed a timeline and budget to accommodate
our project objectives and goals. The goal this week was to produce a project
proposal and develop our project blog.
We also
outlined our individual responsibilities in addition to our responsibility as a
group. As Human Resources Manager, Tyler Banas is responsible for obtaining
surveys, interviews and personal opinions related to colonoscopy and pneumatic
and magnetic control of colonoscopy. As the Technical Advisor, Nneoma Nzeduru
is responsible for the maintenance and development of the blog. As Project
Development Manager, Sofia Tanvir ensures that we meet the necessary deadlines,
and requirements of each outlined task for our project. Youssef Jouchiate, as
the Logistics Manager, he will analyze our project ideas and objectives and
ensure they are feasible. As a group, we hope to cooperate with each other and
develop a great project.
Week 2 (April 12th, 2017 - April 19th , 2017
This week, Nneoma, Tyler, Sofia and Youssef were able to gather
more intel about colonoscopy and our pneumatic and magnetic colonoscopy
design. On 15th April, 2017, Tyler Banas had the opportunity to
interview Dr. John Volpe, who specializes Gastroenterology
and Internal Medicine. Dr. Volpe educated on us on his personal experience with
giving colonoscopies throughout the years. We were fortunate to see a real
colonoscope and its various parts. From this encounter, we learnt that our
colonoscope, in a practical sense will go through the anus in order access the
colon and analyze its parameters.
We were also able to interview Dr. Hisham A Abdel-Aal, a professor
at Drexel University, who takes interest in researching High-Speed Machining
and Bio-based design. Dr. Abdel-Aal helped us analyze the mathematical aspect
of our design. With his help, we were able to understand the concept of
Reynolds Number, fluid velocity and Froude's Number and their relevance to our
design. Dr.Abdel-Aal stressed the importance of persistence and trial and
error. As an engineer, we shouldn't give up easily when things don't go well at
first. Dr. Abdel-Aal's words of encouragement and knowledge were inspiring and
informative.
This week we also ordered magnets that were suitable for our
design. Unfortunately, the magnets we ordered not not truly magnetic so we had
to resort to the magnets made available in the Innovation Studio and the
Bosonne Engineering Lab. Thankfully, these magnets were powerful.
Overall, this week was a very progressive week and we were able to work
together towards developing and improving our pneumatic and magnetic
colonoscope.
Week 3:April 19th, 2017
- April 25th, 2017
In the beginning of week
3, lots of more research was conducted in order to establish values like,
Reynolds number, Froude's number, Bernoulli's equation, the viscosity of the
fluid, the velocity of the capsule, and the pressure of the air. The team split
up the research and worked efficently and productively throughout class in
order to gain as much information as possible. Also, the team went around to
various departments in search of meterials so that we do not have to buy it
all. From there we developed a supply list that is necessary to be bought.
Tyler will be utilizing his amazon prime account in order for all the materials
to arrive on time. Since time is quickly running out it is extremely important
that we productively utilize all the time we have left. Then, Tyler and Sofia
met with Dr. Abdel-Aal and discussed ways to calculate these values. We came to
the realization during the meeting that any calculations involved with this
assignment are beyond our mathematical capabilities, due to the fact that we
have no background in fluid mechanics. So, for these values, like the amount of
pressure, the length of the pipe, the distance of the two magnets from each
other, will all have to be justified using trial and error.
Week 4: April 26th, 2017
- May 2nd, 2017
During the week, various tasks were necessary to be
completed as time is quickly running out. First of all, an update on the supply
list; the clear PVC pipe finally came in from amazon. We made sure that it was
clear in order to visually see the colonoscopy simulation as it occurs. Also,
ball bearings came in the mail too but it seems that the description online was
not consistent with the product. Once again, this has showed us, that the
internet is not the most reliable of sources. The team went off to search for
strong horseshoe magnets first looking in the physics lab department, the
Bossone Engineering Research center, and the innovation studio. We ended up
finding magnets that we needed in the Bossone Engineering Resource
center.
Having the PVC pipe, we began to think more depth into our ideas for establishing an air flow within in the tube. Therefore, we headed off to the machine shop in search of what options were available. We began to speak with the specialists there and a man by the name of Mark began to feed us some knowledge. He told us that we needed to make an object that would take up the majority of the diameter of the tube to take up the different vibrations when air is flowing through. Because we are not using the airflow to control the position of the device, we simply want a cushion of air surrounding the object. Another useful piece of information that he provided was that we need to regulate the pressure coming in and out of the tube. To do this, we will have to purchase air flow regulators. With the given knowledge we began to research different sites in order to find the correct, but at the same time affordable parts.
Week 5: May 3rd, 2017 -
May 9th, 2017
We started this week with establishing a schedule for the
remainder of the time available. This allowed us to take a moment to realize
what we still needed and what is complete. From there, we began on completing
tasks necessary for this week. First, we put some thought into what will
enclose the magnet while it is being controlled from the outside. We decided to
fabricate this part to utilize the resources available to us in the innovation
studio - a 3-D printer along with the Afinia 3D Printing Software. To create
this part it was necessary to create a .stl file that will be compatible with
Afinia. We realized that many .stl files were available online, so we decided
to use our resources effectively and find a part that we could print online.
After setting the correct dimensions adhering to the requirements that Mark
specified in the earlier weeks, the printers available were sadly
malfunctioning. We will continue to go to the Innovation Studio in hopes of
finding a working and available 3-D printer.
Going off the advice that Mark gave us,
we also began to look into the pressure regulators that will be necessary for
this project. They will be on either side of the clear PVC tube regulating the
air that flows into and out of the tube. This is important because air flow as
well pressure inside the tube is an essential component to being able to
control the magnet throughout the tube. These regulators were ordered this week
and should arrive by the beginning of next week.
Week 6: 10th May, 2017 - 16th, May 2017.
On Wednesday, our team came to the innovation studio around 3:00pm with the intention of creating an acrylic pill with the use a 3D printer. With the use of Afina Studio, a 3D printing software, our team could create a 3D pill design on the software. The 3D design created on the software is seen below. The hollow space is where the magnet will be placed to make the pill magnetic. The pill was designed to be able to comfortably fit into the PVC pipe with minimal space surrounding it. It took four hours for the 3D printer to print both parts of the pill. The estimated time for the printing of the pill was forty minutes. Unfortunately, the printer malfunctioned numerous time so we couldn’t get the printing done within the estimated time.
After printing the pill, the team met later in the week to construct the colonoscopy simulation model. First, the PVC pipe was cut to 3.5ft and the rough sides were made smooth with the use of sand paper. The PVC sealing were punctured and the pressure regulators were firmly and securely placed in the holes. The pill was placed in the PVC pipe. Finally, with the use of adhesives, the sealing were permanently placed on side of the PVC pipe. The colonoscopy simulation model was left to dry overnight and testing was set to begin in the following week.
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| Figure 1.1: A Sample Pill: The pills dimensions are 5.5 cm in length and 2.7 cm in diameter. |
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| Figure 2.1: A Pressure Regulator Attached to A PVC Cap |
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| Figure 3.1: The Colonoscopy Simulation |
Week 7: 17th May, 2017 - 23rd May, 2017
Week 8: 24th May, 2017 - 30th May, 2017
This week we started to put together our final presentation. We had to acquire all of the necessary material that we gathered throughout the term and organize it into a PowerPoint presentation. This includes our knowledge about a colonoscopy, a supply list, a project timeline, design specifications, and our results. Our project is complete and getting these materials should not be difficult.
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