This week I learned some valuable information about Brazil. The first main learning moment came when searching for places to order project supplies. I found out that Brazil has very high importation fees. This makes it very expensive to use the typical sources I would go to in order-to-order materials. However, this means that there are multiple new markets that are created to fill this gap of certain things being too expensive to import. For example, while it can be very difficult to find a 3D printer for sell at a good price, there are many places that print off things for you for a significantly cheaper price. Alternatively, since a main export of Brazil is plastics, 3D printer filament is cheaper and easier to find. Another thing I learned this week happened when working on a research project related to different imaging systems. This is not really an area of expertise for me, but I learned a lot about the layers that goes into imaging systems. It helped me understand why it can take so long for certain fields to create something that is applicable to clinical settings especially when used to help diagnose medical issues. In conclusion, I experience a surprising deep dive into Brazil economics and the intricacies of the field of bioimaging. I am excited for next week where I plan to continue doing research about imaging systems and started new research about mammogram participation in different communities.
