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[July 2006] In the last newsletter we announced the 18th Annual Medical & Sports Engineering Student Project Competition and in this issue we’ve decided to take a look back at past winners.

Last year the prize for the Best Medical Engineering Project was won by John Geary. John presented a prototype "Greenfield Titanium Blood Clot Filter" (Figure 1) that was his final year degree project at the Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland. The filter prevents pulmonary embolisms by capturing blood clots. John was particularly involved in developing forming techniques for the wires used in the filter.

	Figure 1. John's blood clot filter

John worked on this project together with Boston Scientific, Cork and since he completed his degree, Boston Scientific has continued to develop the filters. The information gained from John’s project has given Boston Scientific a detailed understanding of the processes involved in forming the titanium wires. Through John’s work Boston Scientific is now able to develop smaller filters that are easier to install in the human body without affecting the safety and effectiveness of the product.

Not only has John’s project been put to good use, but also his prize money!
John’s winnings enabled him to gain valuable biomedical research experience in Australia.

In 2003 the Best Project Prize was won by Darren Hart for his Dropped Foot
Simulator that he developed during the penultimate year of his Electronic
Engineering degree at Southampton University. The device uses functional
electrical stimulation to assist in achieving a more efficient natural gait for
hemiplegic dropped foot subjects.

After winning the competition, Darren continued to work on the project and
presented a paper at the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society Conference 2004 in Bournemouth. A paper on the project was also accepted by the Journal of Medical Engineering and Physics.

While working on the Dropped Foot Simulator it was already clear to Darren that he wanted to pursue a career in Biomedical Engineering. In January 2004 Darren applied to the NHS Clinical Scientist Training Scheme and was offered the training position at the Clinical Science and Engineering Department, Salisbury District Hospital. During this training Darren completed the taught phase of an MSc in Biomedical Engineering at Surrey University and then returned to Salisbury for clinical based training that will continue until September. Darren has very much enjoyed this training and getting to see the positive effect that engineering can have on people’s live. He highly recommends this route to people considering entering the medical engineering profession.

After the end of his training, Darren hopes to be able to continue developing his clinical experience at Salisbury a few days a week. He would also like to undertake a part time PhD in a clinical engineering area, possibly further investigating the electrical stimulation effects of his Dropped Foot Simulator.
 
In 2001 Lucy Zimmermann (née Porter) won the First Prize with her final year project from her Mechanical Engineering degree at Cambridge University. She presented the design of a wheelchair for hemiplegic people (Figure 2) that could be propelled with just one arm and steered using a single foot (Figure 3).

	Figure 2. Lucy's wheelchair design

	Figure 3. Using the foot to steer

After Lucy graduated she continued to work on the project and presented a paper on the wheelchair design at the Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology 2002. Since then the design has been further developed by Lucy’s project supervisor, Samuel Lesley, who has added a 2:1 belt drive for a tight turning circle with reduced strain on the knee. A National Health Service HTD scheme grant has been awarded for clinical trials, the design of a low-cost production model and for CE certification.
 
The competition winnings were used to help fund Lucy’s year after graduation, when she undertook medical engineering placements in six countries around the world. The placements varied in length from four weeks to three months and she worked on projects such as the design of a uniski for paraplegics as well as gaining valuable practical experience. Lucy is now very much enjoying working in the area of Oral Care at Braun in Germany.

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