MAS.S63 | Fall 2013 | Graduate

Engineering Health: Towards the Tricorder

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 1 session / week, 1.5 hours / session

Labs: 1 session / week, 1.5 hours / session

Prerequisites

This course requires permission from the instructors.

Course Description

The convergence of medical technology, consumer wellness devices, and rapid prototyping technologies for medical devices represents an opportunity to reinvent delivery of health and wellness. This course will present to students an array of diagnostic and fabrication technologies for health that include microscopy, multispectral imaging, molecular diagnostics such as antibodies and aptamer functionalization of nanoparticles, microfluidic devices on chip and paper, sensors for wearable and continuous monitoring devices, and vital signs sensing such as pulse oximetry, plethysmography, temperature monitoring and respiration rate.

Through guest lectures and 10 hands on laboratories, students will learn to fabricate, remix, and design detection and monitoring devices for health along three main interelated subject tracks:

  • Tricorder Design Components–Individual mechanisms of physiological monitoring
  • Construction Set Design–Application of components into a reproducible kit that can be deployed and remixed by users
  • Device Ecology Strategies–The application of devices within an ecosystem of care and other consumer devices. Lectures, assignments, labs and a group design project culminating in a medical device prototype will acquaint students with diagnostic device design process.

Evaluation

ASSIGNMENTS GRADING DISTRIBUTIONS
Class participation and attendance 20%
Homework assignments 15%
Lab write-ups 20%
Project blog updates 10%
Midterm review 15%
Final Device / Venture Summary 20%