Week 8

 This week was more shakedowns and manufacturing ideas. After our meeting with Dr. Gordon, there were also some elastic properties that I had to look into. During class time we removed the bubbles from our system, and I looked at the flow sensor. I decided that we need to have a constant value that we subtract out, due to the inaccuracy of the sensor. 

Young's modulus/Thin Walled Vessel/Hoop Stress

Below are my notes for all of these topics. After doing calculations, I determined that given the anatomy of the eye and the size of the tubes we are dealing with, it is impossible to be considered a thin walled vessel. I also researched the Young's modulus on different tubes, but there is not much data out there for tubing our size, so I could not determine the type of silicone that is used for it. 

Jira 

This week I was in charge of the Jira schedule of the upcoming weeks and planning that out. I put Kierstin and I on assembling the tubing and resistors, and Alex and Fady will do the silicone plate. 

Manufacturing Designs

We went over how we are actually going to manufacture the tubing, given that it is so small, and we need to make it branching. Here are the ideas that I drew up. 

Dissolvable Spreadsheet and Design 

Put entire suture into a cup of water. Based off of weekly weight measurements, we are able to calculate the diameter change. I included all of this in a spreadsheet, so we do not have to hand calculate every time. 

Using this method, we will know the change in length over time, and the change in diameter over time. 

I have decided to test catgut 4/0 and 5/0 and have begun that testing by messing the lengths of the sutures, and the weight. I will check in on the sutures next week and take the measurements.