Melinda Harman (BIOE faculty): The BEST Design Workshop is becoming a cornerstone event in the GreenMD program. As an educator in bioengineering, this type of challenge-based learning allows us to “see the coursework in action” as the students apply knowledge they bring from all of their previous courses and experiences. This event really highlighted the advantages of engaging cross-disciplinary teams for medical device design, with enthusiastic interactions between attendees throughout the afternoon.
Katie Jurewicz (IE grad student): The BEST Design Workshop challenged me as a student and researcher. As a graduate student, I research one topic for four years, defend my dissertation and get a job, and because of the way this system is set up, it makes it easy for me to stay in my own silo of how I think and do work. The BEST Design Workshop provides the opportunity for me to see how other students interested in healthcare research approach problems, and it challenges me to think outside of the box and consider different perspectives to healthcare problems.
Angela Alexander-Bryant (BIOE post-doc): The BEST Design Workshop taught me that it is important to consider the potential for reprocessing in designing medical devices to expand their utility. Through the workshop, I also learned how to evaluate medical devices for reprocessing and reuse.
Jeremy Mercuri (BIOE faculty): What I thought was most beneficial about the event was that it really opened my eyes to thinking more critically about how to design reusable / reprocessable medical devices as opposed to the more traditional implants and biomaterials that I typically work on. It was great having cleaning and reprocessing experts there in the room with us to help critique current device designs.
Kristi Carlson (BIOE grad student): It provided a unique opportunity to hear the perspective of employees in the reprocessing industry and how real design criteria can improve the safety of reprocessing.
Moriah David (BIOE grad student): It allowed me to see the application of concepts we learn in GreenMD courses.
Joseph Pate (BIOE grad student): It provided better insight into the reprocessing industry and the skills necessary for designing medical devices that do not interfere with reprocessing.
Curt Laugh (BIOE grad student): It helped me focus on human factors in medical device design and see alternate design strategies to address those factors.
Katie Hafner (BIOE grad student): Gaining input from professionals in the reprocessing field, especially on the sales and marketing side of that industry, is a critical advantage in device design. It allowed me to hear what criteria, other than science or engineering inputs, can motivate business decisions.
Cristalei Polk (BIOE grad student): The BEST Design Workshop was a great experience. It provided me with the opportunity to sit down with industry leaders and learn more about what they do. It also opened up the door for a summer internship in the reprocessing industry!
Mat Stanford (BIOE grad student): Allowed me to present my research project and prototype device to a diverse group of people and receive direct feedback to improve the design for ease of use and ease of reprocessing.
Brittney Cotton (BIOE grad student): It was beneficial the way Dr. Harman organized us into small groups to evaluate the prototype designs and to use the worksheet to document key factors related to reprocessing.
Thomas Granger (BIOE grad student): Everyone involved had different experiences, including those with skills in mechanics, manufacturing, reprocessing, sterilization, electronics, which really provided clarity about design features of the different prototype devices.
Melinda Harman: The BEST Design Workshop brought together a diverse and tremendously enthusiastic group of participants. It is an advantage in medical device design, or any design process for that matter when there are contributions from people with different skill sets and strengths. The format of the hands-on workshop activity and networking that followed fostered opportunities for everyone to give and receive input.
Katie Jurewicz: I really enjoyed the interconnectivity and teamwork that occurred during the workshop. The only way to successfully develop a medical device that is designed for a variety of users and designed for recycling or reprocessing is to receive feedback from people with different points of view. If you are a biomedical engineering student asking another biomedical engineering student to evaluate the design of your device, you are missing the additional information that would only come from a different perspective. I think that engineers and scientists get too comfortable in their own areas to seek this type of feedback, but the BEST Design Workshop was perfect in the sense that it brought biomedical engineering students, human factors engineering students, surgical technician students, medical professionals, and those that are experts in the reprocessing design process. I think anyone interested in working in healthcare would benefit greatly from attending this workshop as you’re exposed to the different perspectives one might face when working in a healthcare setting.
Angela Alexander-Bryant: I really enjoyed interacting with the representatives from the reprocessing company. It was interesting to hear their advice on aspects of device design that should be considered for reprocessing.
Jeremy Mercuri: It provided a collaborative and engaging environment between students, faculty and device experts which fostered open discussions and learning.
Kristi Carlson: Gaining more insight into human factors and how they affect medical device designs.
Moriah David: We were able to engage local industry in evaluating medical device prototypes designed by Clemson Bioengineering students.
Joseph Pate: I really enjoyed getting a wide variety of perspectives on the prototype designs, including those from human factor specialists, industry professionals, and other students.
Curt Laugh: The interaction and group collaboration during the hands-on design evaluation activity.
Katie Hafner: I liked hearing the variety of topics discussed, from human factors to the prototype pitches from different students. The worksheet Dr. Harm provided for the hands-on activity really helped give structure to the design evaluations.
Cristalei Polk: I really enjoyed being able to see so many diverse device prototypes with different functions and clinical uses and then brainstorming with other attendees about some of the potential challenges of reprocessing them.
Mat Stanford: I liked meeting with professionals working in the medical device industry and hearing the diverse skills they use in their day-to-day jobs.
Brittney Cotton: I really enjoyed listening to all the speakers, especially the industry professionals. I felt we had a very useful dialogue during the prototype evaluations in the workshop activity.
Thomas Granger: I enjoyed the input from the industry representatives who helped to broaden my knowledge about the design process used in industry.