Ray Young | Portfolio

Medical Device Design: Thoracic Surgery

9/2007 - 5/2008

During this year long project sponsored by Boston Scientific, a group of four other students and myself were given $15,000 to develop a novel design concept for instrumentation used in thoracic surgery. We worked as an interdisciplinary team of both mechanical and biological engineers along with a faculty advisor and a Boston Scientific liaison. Working approximately 12 hours per week during the course of the year, we were ultimately able to deliver a well-developed concept as well as the accompanying control system. This concept is currently undergoing review by Boston Scientific for potential patent submission.

At the beginning of the project we conducted literature reviews, observed surgeries, and spoke with medical professionals to determine the potential areas of opportunity for instruments utilized in thoracic surgery. As a result, we made the decision to base the designs of our instrument on the need for visualizing the pleural cavity and obtaining biopsy samples. In addition, the principle of ensuring that surgical procedures are as minimally-invasive as possible was an important underlying value throughout the design process.

After making these determinations, we undertook an iterative design process of brainstorming concepts, developing prototypes and presenting them to our sponsors for review. We also underwent bi-weekly design reviews from a mixed panel of students and faculty and sought ongoing feedback from several surgeons with which we had developed a relationship.

Design for Manufacturing: Wrist-band Lights

Spring 2008

The goal of this project was to design and manufacture four small injection-molded flashlights suitable for use as pre-production prototypes. I worked as part of a team of four to design a mold to specification that was then fabricated in the Olin College machine shop based upon our drawings. In addition, we designed and fabricated the necessary circuitry and elements needed for construction. To complete our lights, we filled our molds with plastic and then assembled all of the necessary components.

To provide some context and a balancing factor for our design decisions, we were asked to briefly choose and evaluate a target user group among Olin College students. My group chose to design for users that frequently attend raves, or electronic music parties. Through conducting observational interviews, we learned that these users felt gratification from expressing themselves with glow sticks, yet found them to be somewhat cumbersome to hold. As a result, we incorporated slots into our design so that a strap could be attached to the wrist, leaving the hands free. In addition, because they described finding enjoyment from experiencing a variety of sensory inputs, we utilized an extruded hexagonal shape with a rough surface finish to provide for additional textural stimulation. For additional visual stimulation, we also designed the circuitry with multi-colored LEDs that would blink in random patterns.

Mechanical Design: Gearbox Redesign + Printer Mechanical Autopsy

Spring 2006

Gearbox Redesign and Fabrication

The aim of this project was to redesign a simple gearbox to reduce its weight while still maintaining machinability. Our constraints were that we had to maintain a clock-cage design utilizing the original arrows, we could not change the materials, and we had to be able to fabricate the parts ourselves using standard machine shop equipment.

I took a straightforward approach to redesigning this gearbox by utilizing smaller gears so that I could remove two of the posts which were made out of brass and therefore a significant contributing factor to the overall weight. In addition, I chose to hollow out the two remaining posts and scale down the size of the plates. I did not make any cutouts in the plates as they were made of aluminum and the effort necessary to do so would not have resulted in a significant weight reduction.

Mechanical Autopsy of a Printer

For this 'mechanical autopsy' I was asked to take apart a standard printer and describe in detail all of its components.

Bio-Inspired Design: Gecko Wall-Walker

Fall 2004

Our task for this project was to design an electromechanical device that would walk up a vertical wall with a gait resembling that of a creature found in nature. We were given six weeks to choose an animal and take our ideas through brainstorming, concept development, detail design, prototyping, and testing and refinement. In the end, my team of five students was one of only two teams in our first-year class to successfully complete this task. The accompanying video briefly showcases our final design.