Grand prize for BME undergrads at medical device design competition
April 24, 2023 — A student design team from the University of Minnesota's Department of Biomedical Engineering won the grand prize at the Student Design Showcase and Networking Event, held April 18 at the Design of Medical Devices Conference.
The winning project — called, “Novel Device Design for Large Ovarian Cyst Removal” — is the work of team members and BME students Atiya Anwar, Christobel Ekeocha, Emily Graba, Mary William, and Kayla Whatley, under the mentorship of Cyrus Rezvanifar.
Addressing a need
Seven percent of women worldwide have an ovarian cyst, a figure that jumps to 18 percent for postmenopausal women in the U.S. Some ovarian cysts can resolve on their own, but many require surgical removal.
Surgical removal is the only way to determine if a cyst is cancerous. But if a cancerous cyst leaks its contents during removal, cancer cells could spread to other parts of the body. So it’s critical to avoid spilling the cyst’s contents during the surgery.
Representing BME
This team was one of three BME design teams who were selected to present their projects at the conference. The other two teams' members are as follows:
- Roudra Bhattacharya, Heather Breidenbach, Elliot James, Sadhika Prabhu, Rachana Sangem, Mia Tran
- MC Arvidson, John Carlson, Mitchell Kowalke, Thijs Larson, Jared Snidarich, and Claire Westman
Advancing excellence in medical device design
The Student Design Showcase and Networking Event promotes and publicizes excellence in medical device design by teams of undergraduate and graduate students conducted as part of their coursework, while providing networking opportunities and cash prizes for the winners.
The Design of Medical Devices Conference is part of IEM Innovation Week, held annually by the University's Institute for Engineering in Medicine to highlight events that focus on advances and new directions in medical engineering.
