This week was honestly one of the most exciting weeks I’ve had to date here in Costa RIca! I am very shocked about how much time has gone by, and how we have about 2 weeks left until we are back in the US.
Irazu Volcano
This weekend, our entire crew headed to Irazu Volcano in Cartago. I was personally very happy that we finally could enjoy an activity where everyone was together for the first time in a long time (since Arenal?!) Upon arrival (which was about 10,000 ft in elevation, mind you), we were greeted by a ton of fog, which was eerie at first, but then we realized how extraterrestrial it made everything in the park look. Because the sand (crushed up volcanic rock) was black, and there we some pools of water along with some patches of grass (seriously, how did they survive if it’s so cold up here), it really looked like the moon. And it certainly did feel like we were walking upon another planet. Also, I’d like to mention how COLD this park was – it was about 40 degrees F, which was not what I was expecting for this warm country. I opted to keep my N95 on just because it kept me warm from the windchill. And I was really glad I wore a sweater underneath my raincoat too because boy was that wind powerful!
Jhalak and Raniyah walking off into the distance on the black sand beach in Irazu. Kind of looks like the moon.
In the park, we were only able to see 2/4 craters, and we were also not able to go to the highest point (about 11,000 ft) of the park due to time constraints. But honestly I am okay with that because we were still a) able to get cute group photos, and b) at one point in time we were starting to feel very tired from hiking, potentially due to such a high altitude. But nonetheless, we got some incredible footage/photos while freezing in the cold.
Group picture in front of one of the two craters.
Design Criteria and Brainstorming
Last week and earlier this week, Raniyah and I continued to flesh out our design ideas on a powerpoint. We went through the brainstorming process for each idea(s) we had come up with during each rotation we have had in the hospital. Using sticky notes, Raniyah and gave ourselves 5 minutes to come up with solo ideas, drawing pictures and writing labels. Then, when the time was up we would share our ideas and identify any overlaps.
Internship Highlights: Low-Fidelity Prototyping
This week, our materials finally arrived in the Innovation Space at Hospital Clinica Biblica! We were so happy. The center was nice enough to provide us straws, plastic cups, paper, clips, foam, and, finally, lots and lots of playdough! With no time to lose, Raniyah and I decided to channel our efforts into prototyping this week. This worked out for us because our supervisor was unable to actually place us in our ER rotation, since the person we are supposed to shadow is currently out.
I decided to create two prototypes – one for a problem I found in pharmacy with staining slides, and for a another problem I found with effecitively injecting dye in women during hysterosalpingographies. For the latter, I have included the following brief info to catch everyone up to date:
- A X-ray or fluoroscopy test of the uterus, also known as Hysterosalpingography, is conducted to help determine fertility, and abnormalities (e.g. fibroid tumors) and the structure of the uterus and fallopian tubes. During this test, a thin tube is threaded through the vagina through which the contrast agent is injected into the uterus.
- There is a need for an low-cost, easy-to-use, and robust simulation models for hysterosalpingography (contrast-dye injection) procedures, so that doctors and nurses accurately and quickly position the catheter into the vagina and cervix, thus decreasing discomfort in women throughout the procedure.
For the blog post, I will share with y’all my hysterosalpingography training model prototype! Based on my brainstormed solutions (see image above), I decided to go for a vertical cross-section of a woman’s vagina and and lower extremeties and cover just the uterus/fallopian tubes, because this is the area of interest in this radiology procedure. I wanted it to be a relastic model that nurses and doctors could use frequenty by practicing their catheter technique within the model.
Inserting catheter (represented by straw) in low-fidelity hysterosalpingography model
Along the walls of the cervical cavity, I envision there being pressure-sensitive or thermochromic paint to inform the user of how well they did (in the case of thermochromic paint, the catheter would be hot). This is so that nurses can practice quickening their technique without sacrificng the comfort of the patient while the catheter is stuck inside.
Backside of prototype
Color-change from thermochromic pain on model showing that when the cather is positioned in correctly or too much on abdominal wall, when nurses turn the movel over they can see how much disturbance they created. The black wire represents contrast dye seeping in through the catheter
Overall, I am very happy with how my first prototype turned out. However, I know there is room to improve. For example, maybe I could iterate on this model and try to use a different approach to how I want to present the anatomy. Right now, the view assumes the patient’s legs will be open. However, in the operating room, the patient may be turned compeltely around, with their bottoms facing the ceiling. Thus, I could change the mold of the prototype to accomodate for this. These are just some initial thoughts though, and with feedback from Dra. Fonseca from radiology, I am hopefully that I can keep bettering this solution!
That’s all for now – tomorrow is a special someone’s birthday (Raniyah!) so I will be sleeping now to save energy for the great night tomorrow 🙂 Until next week!