Nyeli Kratz will host the Hack Chat on Wednesday, February 7 at noon Pacific.
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Although medical doctors and engineers generally work in completely different domains, there's a fair amount of overlap between the disciplines. At the end of the day, they both solve problems, and while doctors clearly focus on the biological aspects of disease, there just might come a point where the problem has to be addressed with engineering principles. From the intricate design of an artificial hip to the electrical interface between an amputee's nervous system and a prosthetic limb, biomedical engineers can make a tremendous contribution to positive patient outcomes.
Nyeli Kratz, a recent biomedical engineering grad, has worked on quite a few engineering solutions to diseases. Many of her projects, like this stand-up mobility aid or a wheelchair attachment that lets a tetraplegic father interact with his newborn child, seem aimed at making it easier for patients to interact with the world. She'll stop by the Hack Chat to talk about these projects in particular as well as what the engineer brings to the table when it's time to design hardware that heals.
I'd like to know how you find do-it-yourself assistive technology and devices, where you get help to produce, improve and use? Many disparate sites are out there, from thingiverse to many fablab sites. Has anybody thought of unifying them with some aggregator? Where do BME get their inspirations?