Project number
26048
Organization
UA Department of Biomedical Engineering
Offering
ENGR498-F2025-S2026
Overview
MediBrick is an open-source platform developed at the University of Arizona to measure physiologic signals in a classroom setting.
The system consists of modules to measure ECG and impedance, blood pressure and heart sounds, blood oxygenation, temperature, body movement and activity and air quality. Some modules are fully developed while others are untested and under development.
This project shall address three issues of the MediBrick:
- Dissemination path of a fully tested and debugged product that can be replicated by student engineers and researchers worldwide.
- Educational support materials explaining the measurement principles and medical need addressed by each module.
- Expansion of the system to include:
- Gas flow sensor to measure lung capacity inexpensively with state-of-the-art clinical sensor
- Electric power controller for passive heating and cooling elements.
The current project home is: https://github.com/uutzinger/BioMedicalSensorBoard
Safety
All systems must meet electrical safety standards for measuring on human subjects.
Dissemination
Modules exist as functioning prototypes, however their replication has not been attempted. Some modules passed measurement evaluations and accuracy tests however others have not yet measured physiologic signal because their software is under development. The team shall attempt replication and document the replication so that it can be attempted by other student engineers. If such instructions already exist, the team shall verify them and improve them.
Education Support Materials
Educational support materials need to be developed with clear learning goals stated. They shall be developed to describe the physical principles involved in generating the physiological signal as well as the principle used to measure it. They shall also include explanation of medically relevant conditions and purpose to conduct such measurements. If such educational material already exists for a module, it shall be verified and enhanced.
Modules
Modules shall be inexpensive. They shall interface with an ESP micro controller board that is interchangeable with the other measurement modules. The module must be battery operated and able to charge the battery. It must be able to communicate with the BLE interface. The sensor module physical dimensions must match the other modules dimensions. The module must have one general purpose button and one simple display for status information.
Flow Sensor
It must be able to measure 250 Standard Liter Per Minutes Gas flow from the lung and interface with standard clinical intubation equipment. A potentials solution is an interface to the SFM3300-D flow sensor from Sensirion.
Actuator / Power Control Module
The module must accept at least 24V input voltage and modulate a current of at least 12 Ampere using a MOSFET power switch. The controller shall be able to invert the current so that a Peltier element could either be heating or cooling. There shall be minimal self-heating. The power shall be adjusted through pulse modulation. The system shall be able to control at least two channels independently.
Documentation
Currently the project is housed on GitHub as a project of the sponsor. The team’s digital products shall be delivered either as a contribution to the existing project, or a new independent project shall be created. The project cannot be owned by the team or a team member alone. Other contributors shall be able to enhance and expand the project in the future whereas the sponsor will want to maintain an approver role.
Facilities, Equipment, and Supply Requirements
The work shall be conducted either in the Salter laboratory or the Engineering Design Center at the University of Arizona. No measurement on human subjects shall be conducted alone.
MediBrick is an open-source platform developed at the University of Arizona to measure physiologic signals in a classroom setting.
The system consists of modules to measure ECG and impedance, blood pressure and heart sounds, blood oxygenation, temperature, body movement and activity and air quality. Some modules are fully developed while others are untested and under development.
This project shall address three issues of the MediBrick:
- Dissemination path of a fully tested and debugged product that can be replicated by student engineers and researchers worldwide.
- Educational support materials explaining the measurement principles and medical need addressed by each module.
- Expansion of the system to include:
- Gas flow sensor to measure lung capacity inexpensively with state-of-the-art clinical sensor
- Electric power controller for passive heating and cooling elements.
The current project home is: https://github.com/uutzinger/BioMedicalSensorBoard
Safety
All systems must meet electrical safety standards for measuring on human subjects.
Dissemination
Modules exist as functioning prototypes, however their replication has not been attempted. Some modules passed measurement evaluations and accuracy tests however others have not yet measured physiologic signal because their software is under development. The team shall attempt replication and document the replication so that it can be attempted by other student engineers. If such instructions already exist, the team shall verify them and improve them.
Education Support Materials
Educational support materials need to be developed with clear learning goals stated. They shall be developed to describe the physical principles involved in generating the physiological signal as well as the principle used to measure it. They shall also include explanation of medically relevant conditions and purpose to conduct such measurements. If such educational material already exists for a module, it shall be verified and enhanced.
Modules
Modules shall be inexpensive. They shall interface with an ESP micro controller board that is interchangeable with the other measurement modules. The module must be battery operated and able to charge the battery. It must be able to communicate with the BLE interface. The sensor module physical dimensions must match the other modules dimensions. The module must have one general purpose button and one simple display for status information.
Flow Sensor
It must be able to measure 250 Standard Liter Per Minutes Gas flow from the lung and interface with standard clinical intubation equipment. A potentials solution is an interface to the SFM3300-D flow sensor from Sensirion.
Actuator / Power Control Module
The module must accept at least 24V input voltage and modulate a current of at least 12 Ampere using a MOSFET power switch. The controller shall be able to invert the current so that a Peltier element could either be heating or cooling. There shall be minimal self-heating. The power shall be adjusted through pulse modulation. The system shall be able to control at least two channels independently.
Documentation
Currently the project is housed on GitHub as a project of the sponsor. The team’s digital products shall be delivered either as a contribution to the existing project, or a new independent project shall be created. The project cannot be owned by the team or a team member alone. Other contributors shall be able to enhance and expand the project in the future whereas the sponsor will want to maintain an approver role.
Facilities, Equipment, and Supply Requirements
The work shall be conducted either in the Salter laboratory or the Engineering Design Center at the University of Arizona. No measurement on human subjects shall be conducted alone.