08.15.14
Every year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) holds an undergraduate biomedical engineering competition. This year, first place was snagged by a young team that produced a spine device to treat postoperative neurological or vascular complications. Such complications occur from the more than 20 percent of screws placed incorrectly along the spine during the nearly 500,000 spinal fusion surgeries performed each year in the United States.
The judging was based on four criteria: the significance of the problem being addressed; the impact on clinical care; the innovation of the design; and the existence of a working prototype. The first place team will receive $20,000.
“We are very proud to announce the winning projects,” said NIBIB Director Roderic I. Pettigrew, Ph.D., M.D. “All four of them show how a fresh perspective can create inexpensive, effective, and transformative technologies to solve longstanding challenges in healthcare. I am excited to see how this next generation of biomedical engineers will continue to create technology that is better, faster, and less costly.”
The challenge was managed by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), which is a part of the NIH.
The undergraduate team of seven students from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., designed an improved pedicle probe, a device used to create a path for the screws, aimed at reducing breaches in spinal fusion procedures. Dubbed the Accuspine, it provides feedback to the surgeon through vibrations and LED lights, warning them when a breach is detected.The judging was based on four criteria: the significance of the problem being addressed; the impact on clinical care; the innovation of the design; and the existence of a working prototype. The first place team will receive $20,000.
“We are very proud to announce the winning projects,” said NIBIB Director Roderic I. Pettigrew, Ph.D., M.D. “All four of them show how a fresh perspective can create inexpensive, effective, and transformative technologies to solve longstanding challenges in healthcare. I am excited to see how this next generation of biomedical engineers will continue to create technology that is better, faster, and less costly.”