Senior Research Proposal

 

Senior Project Proposal

Christina Smith

9/26/2014

 

 

1. Title of Project:

Seeing Through New Eyes

 

2. Statement of Purpose:

Millions of people each year contract eye infections such as eye conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink-eye, or dry eyes. And with each given year, more medical devices are created to detect these infections. For my research project, I will delve into the world of biomedical engineering focusing on such optometric devices. I hope to answer the following questions: What are the biomarkers of eye infections? How do I screen print electrodes? How can screen printing electrodes help in the process of creating an optometric device?

 

3. Background:

            People who truly know me understand that I have an aversion to things coming near my eyes. I can attest that I probably have one of the strongest reflexes when it comes to my eyes. Whether it be shampoo, dust, eyelashes, water, or eye drops, nothing can come close to them; and I try my hardest to get those foreign anomalies out. I believe this became my inspiration for my research project: to overcome my aversion and work with the eye.

            Along with this inspiration, I also have an interest in biomedical engineering. I plan to major in this field when I go off to college next year. So, I wanted to experience what research would be like in this field. And when I heard of a project that works both with engineering and optometry, I believed it would be a perfect opportunity to research with an interdisciplinary approach. I believe biomedical engineering is at the forefront for creating medical devices. Researching electrodes, the screen printing process, and eye infections will connect all my interests together in one project to see this: from a first-handed experience in a biomedical engineering lab and from interviewing optometrists about eye infections.

            Within my research in the biomedical lab, I will be learning how to screen print electrodes for screening eye infections. From this, I believe I will learn how electrodes can be used for future medical devices. As well as create new solutions for detecting certain chemicals in a less painful way than drawing blood. In 2012, I interned with my current on-site mentor Dr. LaBelle in his lab at ASU. However, I worked with 3D printing RFDI tags to monitor blood chemical levels. I wanted to continue the path of research with electrochemistry while adding a more mechanical engineering approach by learning how to screen print electrodes.  

 

4. Prior Research:

            The same lab I’m interning at produced the Tear TOUCH Glucose Sensing project. In this project, the lab created a device that can detect glucose levels from a person’s tears. The researchers wanted to find a way to detect glucose levels that is more practical and less painful than pricking a finger (Ira A. Fulton, 2012 and Integrated Device, 2014). This project fueled the research on the project I was assigned. My project will be using the same process of screen printing electrodes to detect biomarkers from the eye to see if the infection is viral or bacterial.

            Individuals have also researched Pine Screen Printed Electrodes for blood glucose detectors as well. In this research, they described that a certain electrode- a screen printed carbon electrode- has less pristine makeup than glass electrodes, thus “making an exact determination of electrode area difficult.”(Working with Pine). Although this doesn’t pertain to detecting eye infections. This research gives results as to how electrodes work, and creating another possible question to determine what materials to screen print electrodes for my research project.

            The most common eye infection today is known as conjunctivitis, or pink-eye (Pinkeye). But there are other eye infections and disease one should think about. For example Uveitis, or the inflammation of uvea, composed of the iris, choroid body, and ciliary body. Uveitis causes eye pain, sensitivity to light, blurred vision and spots in the field of vision. Although it can be treated if it is left unattended it could cause a serious and more caustic eye problem such as permanent vision loss, glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal detachment (Eye Infections-Causes, 2014 and Eye Infections, 2014).

           

5. Significance:

By combining optometry and biomedical engineering, I hope to gain knowledge on how interdisciplinary research opportunities can be. My research could help individuals in the public understand eye infections on a deeper level, as well as understand the devices doctors may use in the future to diagnose their eye infections. I know many individuals can be skeptical of new technology arising, but if the public understands how these devices work, how they are made, and how they are applied they may be less frightened and more welcoming of these medical devices. And if they welcome new technology, the eye infections and diseases the public have could be treated earlier. And if those illnesses are treated earlier, there will be less damage to the eyes instead of becoming harmful if left alone untreated.

At the end of my 10 week onsite internship at ASU’s Fulton Biomedical Lab, I plan to continuing researching electrodes and the sensor project during the summer. And If I continue this research in college, hopefully it will be published in a scientific journal. Aside from the future though, I will publish my findings in a blog post to track these experiences, as well as help bring awareness to the public about eye health and protocols. 

 

6. Description:

            By the end of my senior research project, my project will yield an understanding between medical problems issued by doctors and biomedical engineers who create devices for those doctors to use. I will be able to screen print electrodes and understand the mechanisms behind them as well. Additionally I will understand the different methods of diagnosing eye infections and possibly the biomarkers of them. To accomplish said task, I will be conducting library research on how electrodes work and the various properties within them. By contacting multiple local optometrists, hopefully an interview can be arranged with at least one local optometrist to understand how they diagnose eye infections. I will make observations in the lab on how electrodes are made. And finally, I will conduct my own experiments in screen printing electrodes by myself.

             

 

7. Methodology:

            During my research I will have three main methods; library research, experiments, and interviews. At ASU’s Science library I will research eye infections as well as potential biomarkers for them. In addition to this, I will also research the dynamics and mechanisms of electrodes. From this I hope to have a deeper understanding on how electrochemistry works before I start my work on screen printing electrodes.  My second method is the experiments done in the Dr. LaBelle’s biomedical engineering lab at ASU I’m interning in. This includes the actual screen printing process and testing them to be used in other parts of the project. And lastly I will create a questionnaire for optometrists in my local area to discuss common eye infections and medical devices used in their practice. Among these question, I will ask doctors about issues in their field concerning diagnosing eye infections and diseases. From these three methods, my project will yield an understanding that research is a collaboration of multiple disciplinarians. In addition to how different engineering fields combine together to complete a project.   

 

 

8. Problems:  

There are multiple problems I expect to encounter in my research. Number one is the library research. There may not be substantial prior research on biomarkers of eye infections, so I may need to find a different way to answer my questions. Secondly, in terms of lab experiments, there could be issues of sterilization when testing and creating electrodes. In addition to this, the accuracy of screen printing electrodes vary from the materials used. And lastly, optometrists might not respond to my requests to interview or complete a questionnaire.

 

9. Bibliography:

 

·         "Eye Infections- Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Diagnosis.” MediResource, Inc. MediResource, Inc. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.  

·         "Eye Infections." Johns Hopkins Medicine. Johns Hopkins University. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.

·         "Researchers Pinpoint Most Common Causes of Dangerous Eye Infection Post Surgery and Trauma." Highlights: Researchers Pinpoint Most Common Causes of Dangerous Eye Infection P. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. Web. 9 Dec. 2014

·         "Pinkeye (Conjunctivitis) Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment." WebMD. WebMD. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.

·         “Properties of screen printed electrocardiography smart ware electrodes investigated in an electro-chemical cell.” Biomedical Engineering Online. Biomedical Engineering Online, 5 Jul 2013. Web. 9 Dec 2014.

·         "Integrated Device for Surface-contact Sampling Extraction and Electrochemical Measurements." Technology -. Arizona Technology Enterprise. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.

·         "Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering." LaBelle Lab — Tear TOUCH Glucose Sensing. LaBelle Lab. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.

·         "Electrode." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Apr. 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

·         "Standard Electrodes." Chemwiki. Ucdavis.edu. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

·         Yeung, Karen. "Bacterial Conjunctivitis Treatment & Management." Bacterial Conjunctivitis Treatment & Management. Medscape.com. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

·         “Working with Pine Screen Printed Electrodes.” Pine Research Instrumentation. Pine Research Instrumentation, Jul 2007. Web. 6 Dec 2014.

Introduction: A Little Bit About Me

Hello, guys! My name is Tina Smith and I’m a current high school senior at BASIS Scottsdale. BASIS Scottsdale differs from many high schools in terms of its academics and standards; but one significant difference with my school and other schools is senior year. Instead of going to classes the last trimester of the year, like normal high schools have its students do, seniors at BASIS Scottsdale have the ability to participate in a project to receive high honors. This project is called the “Senior Research Project” or SRP. In this project, students select a project to work on for 10 weeks and then create a presentation to show their findings.

Medical devices are one aspect of the medical field that I find fascinating. To me, they are giant mystery books; the various plot twists and turns leave the reader, myself, wanting more and more. The further I read, the more I learn, and stronger the pull to know the mechanisms behind the device. I want to know how it came about, how it is made, and how it works. In today's world, science and technology are rapidly growing. New techniques, new procedures, and new research fill the void of knowledge left from previous mysteries. Science and technology now work together to create new devices for doctors to use in medical practice. And for me, that is the reason why I choose to work in the biomedical engineering field for my Senior Research Project.

I chose a project that will incorporate many components of engineering, electrochemistry, and optometry-- a field of medicine. I will delve into the world of biomedical engineering focusing on optometric devices. At Dr. LaBelle’s biomedical engineering lab at ASU, I will be learning to screen print electrodes; in addition to, self-researching about optometry. Why you may ask? From prior research, I discovered millions of people each year contract eye infections such as eye conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink-eye, or dry eyes. And with each given year, more medical devices are created to detect these infections. And I want to know how this process occurs. How can two different fields of study—engineering and optometry- combine together to create a product. So, I hope to answer the following questions in my research: What are the detectors of an eye infection? How do I screen print electrodes? And how can screen printing electrodes help in the process of creating an optometric device? 

If you want to read more about my proposal, my next post will contain my full Senior Research Proposal. Hope you guys have an awesome day!