When do you allow yourself to take a risk? Would you dive off a rocky cliff without knowing what’s at the base? What about buying a new book from the store because the description sounded interesting? These situations are clearly polar opposites, but they’re both still “risks”. I don’t consider myself particularly impulsive; I often weigh pros and cons and seek the insight of others before making decisions. Some questions that I often ask before taking a risk:

  • What are the odds of success?
  • Do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages?
  • What hazards does it pose, and could they harm yourself and/or others?

Risks are important in science, as progress can’t occur without going outside convention and challenging dogma. When it comes to engineering, risk-taking is equally as important, so long as it is done safely. This week at my internship at Establishment Labs RDI, I’ve been preparing Use and Design FMEA (Failure Mode Effects Analysis) tables for our device. These tables serve as tools to analyze hazards of a device and their potential harm in a structured manner, ranked by severity and occurrence so that all aspects of the design are considered. By beginning these tables early in the design process and continuing to address them until launch, the safety precautions of the final product are constantly improved on and deeply incorporated into the design rather than slapped together in the end, making for the most effective precautions possible. Design FMEAs are meant to break down each major component of a device and analyze the hazards associated with each, like chemical, fire, and electrical hazards from a lithium-ion battery. The Use FMEA focuses on the user interaction of the device. It is for analyzing every step that the user will perform to use the device. To break down these interactions, I used the PCA method, or Perception Cognition Action. A simple example, to go back to the switches:

  • Perception: User sees power symbol on button
  • Cognition: User recognizes this as a symbol for power
  • Action: User presses this button to turn on device

For medical devices, risk assessments are ever more vital, since they are used on some of the most vulnerable populations. A malfunction in a Class II or Class III medical device could easily cause serious or fatal consequences, so the goal is to minimize harm as much as possible. Realistically, no device is 100% safe, so where is the boundary? Typically, that’s set by the FDA (for the U.S. market) which regulates medical device approval before releasing it to the public, and its strictness is based on what class it’s categorized in, as well as many other factors.

What about yourself? In living fearlessly, where is your boundary? It’s a complicated question, because everyone preaches to be bold, take risks, and go outside your comfort zone. Personally, being unattached in my early twenties with a world of possibilities ahead of me gives me such a wild breadth of freedom to explore as much as I can. While being in Costa Rica, I’m avoiding going to the same restaurant more than twice. I’m switching up my running route and going down new roads. For me, talking to people, seeking new experiences, and going to new places is the best way to experience a location, whether it’s around my apartment or abroad. This weekend, we went on a hike in Bebedero, a beautiful, lush, mountainous neighborhood in the nearby district of San Antonio. The risk was taking the hike solely from coworker suggestions and local word of mouth since there was zero information online. We had no idea where the “trails” began, where they’d lead to, or where we were going. We were dropped off at the front of a neighborhood church and our trail was whatever paved roads there were that wove, climbed, and dipped around the mountains, leading to many oxen, dogs, and breathtaking vistas. Wandering and exploring without knowing what was ahead was an exhilarating feeling. I’m glad that I took my coworker’s advice, but also was really glad that my phone was fully charged. The wildest opportunities in life don’t happen often, nor easily. All in all, set your boundaries after reviewing that list of questions, do a quick Life “FMEA”, and dive in.

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Bioengineer Armchair Philosopher.


A short Three Things I Did on Sunday, because we had a rather chill weekend, and I already wrote about Saturday.

  • Going to Feria Santa Ana on Sunday – Honestly thought it’d be bigger than the one in Escazú, but maybe it was smaller because it was the World Cup Final. It also had people cooking food and tables to sit and eat, which was definitely different. Escazú had more crazy fruit, though…
  • Writing blogs at Mocapan Coffee Shop in Escazú, a hip German-inspired bakery and café with two floors and tons of seating to choose from.
  • Celicioso – a gluten-free bakery also in Escazú. One of my fellow classmates has Celiac disease, so we stopped by there to check it out on the way home from Mocapan. We were greeted with a case full of colorful, delicious baked goods. They also make pizzas! We’ve noticed a lot of gluten-free-friendly restaurants and dedicated parts of grocery aisles to gluten-free goods in Costa Rica.

Bonus: Week 7 Exotic Fruit Bingo: Mamón Chino (Rambutan): This week’s EFB is mildly cheating on my behalf because I’ve had these before back in the U.S. The mamón chino is similar to lychees or longans. It has a distinctive “hairy” shell exterior and can be cracked open easily with fingers to reveal a firm, smooth, translucent white flesh. In the middle is a pale pit. The flavor is milder than a lychee but still juicy and sweet.