Last few weeks at Marcus Engineering and Project Update

My last few weeks as a full time intern at Marcus Engineering were a blast. While everyone was pretty high-strung because the sputtering deposition project for SCI was getting behind schedule, it was still a pleasure to be there. Everyone has been so kind and generous to me throughout this process and I am sad that it is over.

Though the full time work is done, my personal project is still in full swing.

Recently, I have connected with a number of people who have given me great advice for my work. One person I spoke to was James Niemi from the WYSS Institute at Harvard. He is a biomedical engineer who led a team of researchers in designing a vibrating insoles for shoes that have shown to be effective in helping promote balance in the elderly and in patients with peripheral neuropathy. This is a bit different than what I am interested in working on—something more focused on pain relief—but it is a very similar project. He was very generous and took time out of his busy day to give me a phone call. He talked to me about the research an design process for engineering biomedical technologies. He also told me about his team's device and the research that went into building and testing the device. He went over some of the challenges with building a prototype costs, timeframes, testing etc.), and sent me a number of very relevant papers for my project. Beyond that, he kindly answered many of my questions about the field of biomedical engineering at large (what opportunities his degree has afforded him, what the culture of the field is like, what he wished he would have known before entering the field etc.). Talking to him opened my eyes to the challenge of the project I have picked for myself but also made me extremely excited about it. He is such an inspiration to me and I find his work fascinating. I look forward to continuing our correspondence.

Last Friday I also got the opportunity to attend one of the weekly SALSA meetings at UMC. While Dr. Armstrong, Bijan and Manish were not there, I did get the opportunity to hear about the exciting research in biomedical engineering coming out of the U of A. I listened to project overviews from two different undergrads doing research at the UMC. One of them discussed their project on assessing frailty with objective measures especially for people who cannot walk. Another student discussed an innovative new exercise plan that utilizes virtual reality technology to help people with arthritis maintain their ability to walk and reduce their joint pain. I will be back there soon for another meeting and am also trying to schedule a time to sit in on a surgery (preferably a diabetic foot ulcer treatment) at UMC for more exposure to the field. While my fresh human dissection experience two years ago at the Laboratories of Anatomical Enlightenment showed me that I have a strong stomach in terms of dealing with the human body/medical procedures, participating in a real surgery carries a whole different slue of challenges (especially because foot ulcers are pretty gnarly to look at—the picture below is an illustration because the real life pictures seemed a little intense for this context).

I have also talked with a biomedical engineering student at the University of Arizona who did work on developing a vibrating insole for her own college senior project. She gave me a lot of advice and insight into the field and provided me with many resources for the project. 

The general outline for what I have to do now includes: 

Writing up a surgery to determine the desires/wants of the market. I am hoping to distribute these at El Rio, as well as at UMC and the VA. After I get feed back about what features matter to the intended market, I will write up a design plan for the project with a list of the features it must have. Based on this, I can develop a materials list and construction plan and begin working on a prototype. 
Optimally, by January I will have a basic prototype done and spend the next few months developing it more and interning with the Pascua Yaqui diabetes program to get the public health side of diabetes prevention. 

Update

First, let me say that from now on I will plan on posting bi-weekly. Despite my best efforts, posting weekly has proved difficult as I am very busy.

I am now settled into my weekly rhythms of summer; I work from 8am-5pm between four and five days a week at Marcus Engineering LLC. This work continues to be rewarding and I am learning a lot about engineering, running small businesses and pursuing personal engineering projects (more on that later). Because I have been busy at work, I am left to squeeze in time for my other passions during all other spare moments of the day--hence the not posting every week thing.

 On the bus rides home and in the evenings I have been devouring books (in the past two weeks I have finished: The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, War by Sebastian Junger, and Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout. Now, I am a reading I am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter which its fascinating. I thoroughly recommend all of these books). In addition, I have been getting my sweet rock climbing/yoga/hiking/outdoors/stargazing fix in the afternoons and on weekdays. Last weekend for instance, I pulled a triple wammie--yoga in the morning, followed by a nice hike to a climbing spot on Mount Lemmon (Munchkin Land/The Wall of the Trundling Trolls) where my fellow climbers and I proceeded to climb late into the night with headlamps. After sleeping under the stars, we started climbing again when daylight broke :) That was my first night-climbing experience and it was awesome. This Saturday I am will be out spelunking with some friends, which should also be fantastic. On weekends when I am not enjoying the beauty of nature, I am at Bit Bucket Robotics meetings learning Java programming for robots. On top of this, I am also working to keep my sister and my cooking blog up to date with tasty new recipes (here),  finish up a Handel sonata, Vivaldi concerto and Dvorak sonatina for my recital in August, and figure out the violin part to a song I am learning with my sister--Two Doves. On Tuesdays I have begun to participate in the WTF open hacks for women, trans, and femme offered at Xerocraft Hackerspace. It's absolutely amazing to see so many brilliant women working together in that space. Of course, on top of all this have to build in time to enjoy the company of my family, friends and pets and well as do my fair share of chores and gardening work. I also want to give a quick shout out to my mom who is now learning Chinese. It is awesome to be able to have conversations with my sister and mum all in 中文. Her dedication and passion has inspired me to start re-teaching myself some German as well. All in all I am very busy and totally happy. (Below is a photo of what one might see at a typical WTF night).

Now for my interning work update: I will go through some of the principals of my work and what I am learning.  I cannot touch on everything, but I am happy to take any additional questions about what I am doing.

I'll start with some basics. 

Printed Circuit Boards (PCB)
Chances are you have built at least some simple circuits before. In most high school science classes for example, teachers usually have some lab in which you build a circuit using a battery, some jumper wires, and a few light bulbs. Circuit labs are always some of my favorites. The results of functional circuits (all electronics) now play such an integral part of our daily lives, and I find it fascinating and practical to learn about how they work regardless of what field I ultimately hope to pursue. Anyway, these sorts of circuit labs allow students to learn a little about concepts of current, voltage, resistance etc. This typically goes hand in hand with a discussion of how current moves through different types of circuits (series circuits vs. parallel ones as pictured below), and you can then get into alternating and direct current systems, but the basic gist is summed up by the image below: Voltage difference between the positive and negative terminals of a battery causes current to flow which can then do interesting things. Simple.
 

PCB's work on essentially the same basic principals that the simple circuits you are probably familiar with do but on a much smaller scale and usually on a more complex level. They are typically made from plastic reinforced with glass and copper wires acting as the jumper wires did. Components (like the resistors, capacitors and microprocessors) then have to be soldered on or into the boards using a type of metal solder. A fluid called "Flux" is used to help the solder flow correctly and ward off shorts especially for the more complicated components like the integrated circuits. After boards are finished, they then undergo a cleaning process to remove the sticky residue caused by the flux and prevent corrosion.

The process of making a PCB starts with the design. At Marcus Engineering, Altium Designer software is used to design schematic layouts of all our boards. These schematics tend to look something like this:







But you can also get board images to appear like this with the software:





Or as 3-D models like this:











These schematics are then sent in to board manufacturers. What happens there is a bit mysterious to me but basically the digital schematics are converted into pixle images. The inner layers (copper and glass) are added and then the outer layers and then a finish. Once that happens, they are silk screened and then sent back to the company as a beautiful finished board. Next comes soldering. While I had not soldered before starting here, I had done a fair amount of welding. Welding and soldering are pretty similar except that 1. soldering the PCB's require working on a much smaller scale than  welding (I use tweezers and sometimes a magnifying glass when I work) and 2. in soldering, the pieces you are attaching together (a component to the board) do not actually melt. I have done a lot of soldering here by now. I use tweezers to align components and then solder them down. I find the process very zen. Through placing the components, and studying schematics one has to learn about what each one does and how it is labelled. Here is a dictionary of the common parts I see:


Resistors (R): a component that reduces current flow and lowers voltage levels in a circuit. They can have fixed or varying resistance values.
Capacitors (C): pairs of conductors separated by insulation that can store electric charge.
Diode (D): allows current to flow in only one direction. Some of these used for the boards are small LED's which light up when the current flows. This can tell you a lot about how the board is working.
Fuse (F): a low resistance resistor that melts if current is too great--protecting the rest of the board.
Jack (J): allow for the board to connect with other sources. There are tons of different types.
Inductor (L): resists changes in current. These contain a conductor like a wire coil that generates a magnetic field when current flows. 
Relay (K): an electrically operated switch.
Transistor (Q): semiconductor that can switch/amplify power or signals.
Variable resistor (VR): contains a sliding component that adjusts a voltage divider allowing for varying resistance. I have been using two types of these for the arduino project I am working on. Mainly a linear one called a "soft pot."
Integrated circuit or microchip (U): these are my favorite components. They are basically tiny circuits themselves that contain their own components. They can be super small (down to around only tens of nanometers). Putting me on them on the PCB's make me think of the Russian nesting dolls because within the circuit I am building there is a smaller circuit within the microchip. (Below is a photo of some integrated circuits).



While soldering at Marcus Engineering is done by hand by people like me, some huge industrial companies have automated soldering systems. The robots are programmed to place components and then the boards are heated until the components attach. There are some really cool videos of this process that I suggest checking out. Here's one. At the company, we are actually working on converting an old toaster oven into a heater that could do the heating part of the soldering process for us.

I have also been doing testing of these boards which means I have been spending lots of time with the multimeters, which is fun.

BOM
I have learned about the reverse engineering processes--figuring out how things work by taking finished ones apart. This is a basic idea, but in practice it can be very time consuming. While some components on PCB's have their part numbers printed directly on them, others have no markings at all. This means that sometimes I can spend hours looking through digikey and mouser catalogue listings in search of the right parts.

Skill Building: Arduino, Altium, CAD, Photoshop
Arduino: I received an Arduino start up kit for Christmas this last year. When I came here, I had already worked through a number of the projects outlined in the project book that came with the kit. Arduino is a simple microcontroller that is great for DIY projects. It uses C++, is mostly open-sourced and has a wonderfully supported online community/forum. As I mentioned last week, one project the company is working on involves designing a control board for a linear actuator that will be part of a robotic arm set up. To do this, I have been teaching myself a lot about arduino and arduino coding. I designed a set up that ran the motor in one direction while feeding position info (from the soft pot potentiometer in the actuator) into the serial port. I then went on to redesign the set up incorporating an H-bridge so that I could have the motors run in both directions. I fear the H-brige might be broken or some error might be in my code because so far the motor won't run in either direction. While I have been scouring the arduino forums for help, it is still in the works. Once I get that working, I will redesign it again using a small pololu motor control board that I have. From there, we can design a PCB to control the actuator.



I have also been working through tutorials for Solidworks and Altium. I have also been doing work with photoshop, making labels for the interlock module systems.

Miscellaneous Ventures:
Inspired by my work, I have been doing some self-teaching about wifi-controlled irrigation systems, and the future of farming. National Geographics have been doing a lot about this topic which I think is great. I am also trying to get up to date on 3-D printing technologies, and after hearing the newest RadioLab episode, I have decided to build my own TDCS device as a fun side project.


My SRP Plans 
I am still feeling very excited about my SRP project. I had already narrowed the topic to type II diabetes. As I mentioned, I have met with Dr. Armstrong. I will be meeting with him again soon as well as some of his colleagues (most likely including Dr. Bharara and Dr. Najafi). I am really excited about continuing to work with them at the UMC, because they are all so inspiring, intelligent and generous. In addition to getting the perspective of these giants in the diabetic field, I have also been put into contact with another of my idols--Dr. Breanne Everett, who is a doctor and CEO of Orpyx Medical Technologies. Lastly, I have also reconnected with the Yaqui El Rio clinic (where I volunteered the last two summers) as well as the Yaqui Wellness Center which focuses on diabetes prevention through lifestyle shifts. I plan to spend part of my January project period working on with the Yaqui health organizations on diabetes related projects. While Dr. Marcus, Dr. Armstrong and his team, and Dr. Everett are providing me with a strong medical/engineering perspective for my project, through my connections with the Yaqui tribe  I plan to further my understanding of the public health preventative perspective on diabetes. I recently discussed my project plans with my previous mentor from El Rio, the amazing Dr. Renteria. Lovely as always, he reminded me not to become too nearsighted focusing on the engineering and biology side of this project. He called on me to consider the longer term causes of diabetes such as depression, lack of access, poverty etc. and once again awakened my passion for public health.

For my project itself,  I have found that while Dr. Armstrong, Dr. Everett etc. are making huge leaps and bounds with regard to developing cutting edge tech to help diabetics, these devices tend to be very expensive. This makes sense because they are in the stream of high quality, complex wearable technologies--some of the first of their kind. The only problem is that diabetes is a disease highly correlated with poverty, and my fear is that these immensely cool treatment devices will not make it to many of the people who need them the most. I have several low cost project ideas in this are spanning issues including pain management devices, sensory support devices, fainting/emergency technologies, and pill reminders. After my meetings in the coming week, I plan to have settled on one of these and begin my designs.


Best wishes,


Xóchitl

Takeoff

Starting Early

Like many BASIS Students, my preliminary musings as to what my Senior Research Project would be began the very day I entered the eight grade. With a diverse array of passions and interests, by the start of junior year I had an eclectic smattering of possible and optimistic routes for my project which included: 

1. Intern with NASA (work with Mars Rovers!) to study modern developments in space technologies 

2. Work with El Rio Health Clinic to research women's health concerns in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe

3. Collaborate with astronomers at Kitt Peak/Mount Lemmon Sky Center/Mauna Kea and intern at the Hayden Planetarium (a long shot, but Neil degrasse Tyson has been one of my greatest inspirations for a long time) to study astronomy and communication methods between scientists and the public

4. Intern at the UN headquarters in New York (reminiscent of my roots in MUN) 

5. Travel to China to research urban environmentalism 

6.  Study robotic applications in medicine (nano-robots, prosthetics, mobility assistance devices etc.) 

7. Intern with a science show team (Wonders Series, Nova Science Now, Cosmos—the classics!) 

8. Study the global impact of the bicycle (evoking connections to the Xtracycle company and the World Bicycle Relief)

9. Study crowd sourcing through the lens of projects like ReCaptcha, Fold it, EteRNA, DuoLingo etc.  10. Research immigration politics in Southern Arizona (with a special focus on border issues)
10. Continue working with the Snyder Lab at the U of A to study emergent contaminants 

With these in mind,  throughout junior year, I considered my options and began the workings for planning a real project. What I finally concluded was that the most important resource that I would need to produce a final product that I would be proud of was time and access. Consequently, I decided to begin my project early and center in Tucson for convenience. This decision prompted me to focus my energies on finding a project in Tucson that I could passionately pursue throughout the summer and following year. 

I contacted a number of professors who worked in areas I would be interested in studying (aeronautics, mechanical engineering, robotics, material science, alternative energy and neuroscience) and inquired about opportunities. I also reached out to my contacts/mentors at the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association and the U of A astronomy club.  At the same time I strengthened my interests in robotics and engineering through my involvement with the Bit Buckets robotics team and Xerocraft Hackerspace. Through BASIS I was also put into contact with a local Engineering company (Marcus Engineering). All of these opportunities further opened up a slew of new options for my project. After meeting with a number of professors, astronomer enthusiasts, engineers, and physicists, I ultimately found that what Marcus Engineering had to offer through an internship was most in line with my vision for my project and my time frame. That said, I am keeping my list of dream projects in mind for future ventures. With my decision, I was finally set on a path for my project. 

NOTE: I officially will not begin the process of refining my project with the BASIS criteria until school starts in August and the project internship process technically does not have to begin until the end of January 2015, but I am currently laying the groundwork for what I will do. My plan is to do an engineering project in which, with the guidance of Dr. Marcus's team, I will be able to build a prototype for a product that I could launch on kickstarter or submit to local and national science fairs by the end of the school year. 

Internship Begins

I began my internship with Marcus Engineering on May 29th. I have been very busy since then, which is why I haven't posted earlier, but from now on I hope to post weekly updates. My time there has so far been split between 1. learning technical skills, 2. planning my personal project and 3. working for the company. 

1. Technical Skills: 

So far I have been doing a lot with soldering, playing with motor controllers, learning about circuit boards and circuit design, practicing with schematics in Altium designer, completing practice projects with my arduino (ultimately for a larger project for the company), learning about product testing and product failure analysis, and all in all studying the electrical engineering design process. Everyone here is very enthusiastic about what they do and ready to teach. Robby Laity (also one of the masterminds behind Xerocraft's greatness) has been an especially amazing teacher (especially with all the soldering, understanding schematics and product testing). There is so much I still have to look forward to learning here (about design, embedded systems, programming, industrial level wiring, LabView etc.). I am searching for some good theory books to supplement my learning on this front.  

2. Planning my project: 

Surprisingly, this has been the most difficult part of my work so far. I am curious about so many different things that it is difficult choosing just one. To help with the process, Dr. Marcus had me write list of areas in engineering that both interest me and are in line with the company's expertise. I wrote a list of project areas I would be happy to work on including: 

a)  Working on devices to assist, monitor and support individuals with type 2 diabetes, 

b) Building medical monitoring devices that link directly to iPhone and would contact doctors in     emergencies 

c) Building cheaper versions of existing medical devices (like Doppler devices), 

d) Working with wearable technologies,

e) Researching neural headsets linked with robotics and prosthetics,

f) Delving into smart home technologies: wireless mesh networks, devices that track electricity use, personalized energy generation, small induction cookers, small scale alternative energy systems, and air quality/sound quality monitors. 

While I find all these potential research areas fascinating, I ultimately have decided that I would like to do a project relating to assistance devices for people with type 2 diabetes. As I have spent time during my last two summers volunteering at the El Rio health clinic with incredibly talented and inspiring doctors like Dr. Renteria on the Pascua Yaqui reservation, I have thus had a lot of experience with individuals living with diabetes. Because of this work, I feel very connected to this problem and its implications. This exposure has left me with a desire to alleviate the suffering that this disease can cause, as well as continue working with the contacts I have made in this community. This research space is still very large, however, and I still must narrow my focus down for my final project. 

When I centered on this field of study, Dr. Marcus immediately set up a meeting for me with Dr. David Armstrong, a local surgeon and pioneer in the diabetic foot-space. Talking with him and Dr. Marcus about all the possibilities in this field was incredibly inspiring, and reaffirmed my passion for this project. 

As of now, I am still refining what my project in this area will be. I have a number of ideas that have potential, and that I am very excited about. I will give a more specific update on these maters next week.

3. Working for the company: Marcus engineering has a number of projects going on at once. I have gotten to do some work on a number of these as well as observe on some more. Over the first few days, I did analysis work on a linear actuator. I was testing to see if the resistance given by the potentiometer was consistent at different distances from the motor. This work is for a larger project—building a robotic arm. I have also done a LOT of soldering for a variety of different projects. I have soldered for a number of motor control boards, small so called "Derp" boards (for a USB project) etc. I was also tasked with doing some failure analysis on Marcus Engineering Ditto glucose meters. We found that most of the errors resulted from assembly errors (shorts between Rx and Tx pins and Rx-ground, Tx-ground pins), and thus had to go about fixing them.

All in all, I am very excited about my work/project so far.