Recently, Barrett Honors and biomedical engineering student Mohammad Mousa attended the Biomedical Engineering Society and FDA Frontiers in Medical Devices Conference in Washington, D.C. Mohammad is a FURI researcher who has been conducting research under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey Labelle. He attended the conference to present his research poster titled, “Advanced Manufactured Pressure Sensor for Low Level Sensitivity Detection for Prosthetics.” When he returned, he gave us the details of his experience.
In layman terms, what was the conference about?
The conference was focused on innovation of medical devices that concentrate on patient centered healthcare. There was an array of projects ranging from disease diagnosis to rehabilitation devices.
What motivated you to present at this conference?
I was motivated to attend this conference to present our research to a different and unique set of people not often seen in Arizona. It helped in providing feedback on our project as well as show that Arizona State University is indeed making strides in medical device innovation.
Tell us about some of the presentations you attended!
One presentation I attended was about a new technology called SURGEM, which is an innovative new technique for pediatric surgical planning. With SURGEM, biomedical engineers are able to give surgeons a real life and accurate model of the cardiovascular system both virtually and 3D printed. This leads to less mistakes and miscalculations when the actual surgery is performed.
Another presentation I attended was about modeling femur fractures in patients. With use of the software they created (unnamed) they are able to account for patient variables and surgical variables, which will minimize the risk when orthopedic surgeons fix the broken femur.
What was the best part of the conference?
The best part of the conference was seeing so many different projects from a majority of Ivy League schools and how it differs from the research done at ASU. It gave me much insight and connections that can benefit me greatly in the future.
Has your involvement with this conference influenced your research plans?
This conference has sparked a motivation in me to continue our research as it was taken fairly well by many of the conference attendees.
Any suggestions for other students regarding conferences?
Make sure you understand your project completely and be prepared to get plenty of questions regarding foundational topics on your project. If asked a question you do not know the answer to, kindly tell them you are unsure of this part of the project, as it will be obvious if you make something up on the spot.
Going to a conference? Have research-related travel needs? Apply for the Undergraduate Research Travel Grant!
