Glaucoma Gals

 Week 11/12 consisted of coming up with a design to measure the volume of the eye after the implantation of our prototype to monitor IOP. Inflow/outflow ratio based on volume to determine the success/failure of the product. If the inflow is higher than the outflow then the volume would increase and vice versa. This is another way of testing the product besides the pressure sensors. I researched various volume-measuring devices but found none that would work on a spherical solid other than using a graduated cylinder which will not be accurately monitored over time. Here is an example of the devices that are offered on the market, Cube 1 from Blickfeld LiDAR: These devices would not be suitable for our project. I did research on laser/ultrasonic sensors and came up with a design that contains 11 small and accurate ultrasonic sensors that would surround the eyeball from every direction and get a continuous reading of the distance. I reached out to the company to inquire about the sensors

 This week consisted of the final testing and creation of the powerpoint. During class time, Alex and I tried to figure out the constant pressure machine and how to work it. Kierstin and I went into the lab later to test our two final prototypes with a constant pressure machine.  This machine ensured the the syringe was pushed at a constant rate, so the data would not be skewed by hand pushing. We tested it at multiple speeds for each of the prototypes, as well as measured the length of the sutures for each model. The data for this is shown below:  Large Tube: Ahmed Valve Tube:  After this testing was done and the final prototype was made, the rest of this weeks time was spent on taking pictures and organizing the powerpoint. 

 -This week, my main task was to work on the notebook I uploaded to the journal  - I practiced the following slides for the upcoming presentation 

  Lab:  In the lab photos above, I drilled through the different valve housings, and flushed them out so fluid would be able to freely flow through. I then glued the different-sized tubes inside of them, but the curing time was 24 hours.  In the top right picture, I shaped the epoxy and manually had to drill holes through it. Lab:  In the pictures above, for the soft epoxy, once I drilled holes through it I had to attach the tubing and seal it. This was very difficult because the tubing was so soft. I used a large needle as a catheter to insert the tubing and then pulled out the needle leaving the tubing wedged inside the valve housing.  Checklists:  I created the first checklist for me before I started working on the ppt, and the second one I made with Brinkley so we could be on the same page while making the final ppt.  Lab:  Brinkley and I went into the lab to test the prototypes. We set up the system and tested the three valves shown in the pictures above at different syringe speed