Project Background

Project Background

With our team consisting entirely of biomedical engineers, our original intent was to create some sort of medical assist device. Some problems we thought of tackling were musculoskeletal degenerative diseases or optical disorders. However, given our limited resources and 10 week time frame we realized most medical assist devices would be too impractical to complete. Eventually we switched our goal from making a medical assist device to powering one. We envisioned a device that would be worn or attached on the human body and endlessly produce energy. This power source would then fuel pacemakers, ventricular assist devices, or any other battery-run lifeline. That was the dream, but reality is usually different. It is unwise for an engineering project to have such a vast goal and target so many different devices; it is even more unwise for freshman to attempt to power someone's pacemaker in the inevitable trial stage. Thus we eventually agreed upon powering one target: a battery. A rechargeable battery is common and cheap yet useful and versatile. The technology already exists, so we would have some available literature and references, and a charged battery could power medical assist device as well as any other human device. It was a solid goal.
Now that a problem had been specified we had to design a solution. Four solutions were thought of: a thermoelectric generator, a sterling engine, a bracelet that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy, and a piezoelectric generator. Based on previous engineering experiences, the team knew what to do from here. We researched on the credibility of each idea and did a S.W.O.T (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. Ultimately, it was determined that piezoelectric generator would be the best bet.