Engineering World Health Hosts Gingerbread House Building Competition

Engineering World Health hosted its second annual Gingerbread House Building Competition on Sun. Dec. 4. Three teams were challenged to create the best house in under 25 minutes given the following point categories: Tallest Gingerbread House; Holidays Feels; Overall Aesthetic and Creativity; and Santa Sleigh Ride Test, a shake table test.

This team had the tallest gingerbread house, though it fell apart during the Santa Sleigh Ride Test. From left to right, the group included junior Christopher Yin, senior Pranav Singh, junior Alan Loi and sophomore Harleen Singh. 

This team tied for first place, scoring best in overall aesthetic and creativity. From left to right, the team included freshman Hannah Peterson, junior YiDing Fang, freshman Justin Burger, junior Bryce Killingsworth, freshman Sheela Thoreson and sophomore Ella Stimson. 

This team tied for first place and had the highest score for Holiday Feels with their evergreen tree, fit with presents and broken candy canes around the perimeter. From left to right, the group consisted of sophomore Elijah Garcia, sophomore Sienna Schmolesky, senior Yajur Maker and second-year transfer Geovanni Alarcon. 

Curbing the HIV Epidemic: UC San Diego Students Design Low-Cost HIV Viral Load Monitoring System for Tijuana, Mexico

A group of students from the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego will spend the summer trying to curb the HIV epidemic in Tijuana, Mexico. 

Two teams from UC San Diego’s Engineering World Health (EWH) student organization and Global TIES program are combining forces this summer to bring a device they created to monitor viral load in HIV patients to a clinical setting in Tijuana, Mexico for testing. 

The teams were tasked with building a low-cost HIV monitoring device for a hospital in Mozambique. UC San Diego Health doctors Matt Strain and Davey Smith are advising both of the teams. 

“Patients in the United States on HIV therapy are tested every three to six months to make sure their treatment is still effective,” said Yajur Maker, Co-President of Engineering World Health and bioengineering undergraduate student at the Jacobs School. “This enables doctors to change the patient’s therapy if the virus has become resistant to the drugs being given.”

To establish when the virus has become resistant, the patient’s viral load or the amount of virus present in the blood, must be assessed.

“If a therapy is working, the viral load goes down,” said Maker. “If the virus has become resistant, it goes up.”

Viral load test equipment costs roughly $80,000, and $65 per test. The students from the Global TIES Open Viral Load (OVL) Team and EWH have each developed prototype viral load testing devices that cost under $2,000.  The projected cost per test is $5. 

The two teams are combining forces to take their completed devices to a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico for testing, with the help of their advisors.

EWH Team

“We’ll adopt the best components from each team’s design and incorporate them into a system that’s ready for field implementation,” said Maker.

The teams have won over $31,000 in funding this year, including the Open Viral Load and Engineering World Health systems winning first and second place respectively in the Big Ideas at Berkeley Global Health track and receiving $2,000 each from the UCSD Social Innovation Fund. 

"The Open Viral Load Team was one of two [Global TIES] teams selected for this year's Clinton Global Initiative University, said Mandy Bratton, the Executive Director for Global TIES at UC San Diego.  “We are very proud of the work these students are doing and the impact it promises to have for HIV patients in low resource areas.”

Low-Cost HIV Monitoring

The key is determining the viral load, or the copies of HIV present in the body. After a certain threshold, or above a certain number of copies, the virus is determined to be resistant to HIV therapy, and patients must start new therapies. However, in low resource settings and without the necessary equipment, changing therapies is nearly impossible for doctors to justify.

The OVL and EWH teams are approaching the problem differently. In EWH’s case, the device consists of a low-cost centrifuge, PCR thermocycler, and a gel electrophoresis box.

The centrifuge, part of the Open Viral Load HIV-Monitoring device, processes blood.

“The centrifuge processes the blood so that we can get to the viral RNA,” said Maker. “After we extract the RNA, we amplify a gene specific to HIV using the thermocycler. Finally, we run it through the gel box to see whether viral RNA is present in large quantities. This helps doctors make the call on whether the patient’s HIV medication is not working. This process isn’t novel, but we’re making it accessible to hospitals and clinics in low-resource areas, such as Tijuana, which is so close to home.”

The difference between EWH’s device and the device the Global TIES team has built is the output.

“The difference is a qualitative versus a quantitative output. EWH’s device has a qualitative yes or no output, identifying for the doctor when a viral load threshold has been reached,” said Maker. “On the other hand, the OVL Team has built a device that quantifies the amount of virus present.”

Hayley Chong and Kirk Hutchison are part of the OVL Team. 

Chong is a third year bioengineering major. “I chose Global TIES as a freshman because every student I met that was in the program was passionate about their project,” said Chong.

Hutchison, a second year biology major, chose to participate in Global TIES after hearing a talk by a Global TIES member at an event.

“Global TIES is the reason I came to UC San Diego,” said Hutchison.

The two joined the OVL Team at the same time, after taking the introductory course  in the Global TIES program. 

“We decided to come up with a way to quantify the viral load,” said Chong. “We started with a microwell chip – once we extract the RNA, we can deposit it on the microwell chip and use a fluorescent probe to detect the number of copies in each sample. If five wells on the chip light up, there are five copies of the virus.”

The device is also advantageous because its components can be used separately to identify other diseases. Students will also be working with Dr. Davey Smith this summer to adapt the device as a rapid response test for the Zika virus.

Impact

Over the course of the summer, groups of students from the two teams now look to clinically validate the designs and begin field implementation. Lab testing will continue under Drs. Strain and Smith here in the U.S. and with their new partner Dr. Jose Roman Chavez Mendez at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) in Tijuana. With the teams collaborating and working together this summer, the future looks bright as they look to make an impact on the first of many low-resource settings.

Engineering World Health Presents Low-Cost HIV Monitoring System at TEDxUCSD

Last weekend at the TEDxUCSD event, Co-President Yajur Maker and Mechanical Lead Alan Loi of the Engineering World Health Organization presented their Low-Cost HIV Monitoring System. The organization composed of 30+ students focuses on building low cost medical devices for low resource settings, and has currently partnered with the Health Frontiers Clinic to deliver their low-cost Centrifuge, PCR Thermocycler, and Gel Electrophoresis Box to help with monitoring the growing HIV Epidemic in Tijuana.

To learn more about the organization visit: ewh.ucsd.edu

#ILookLikeAnEngineer: Christopher Yin

Meet Chris, the next student of our campaign and VP Project Team for Engineering World Health. With a passion for improved global health, he hopes to impact entire populations through engineering - all while listening to The Velvet Underground and doing some creative writing. 

Name: Christopher Yin

Major: Bioengineering

Graduation Date: 2018

Why did you choose engineering at UC San Diego?

When I was applying to schools, I wasn’t even really considering UC San Diego. I was set on attending a private university, and if that didn’t work out and I had to choose a UC, then, of course, it would have to be Berkeley. The only reason I included UC San Diego was because I saw that its bioengineering program was ranked second in the nation. I attended Triton Day and  realized that it’s a great school for engineering. There are a ton of resources available for research and a number of engineering organizations on campus - those were primarily what drew me here.

What are your career goals?

I want to pursue either a Ph.D. or an M.D./Ph.D. program. I like being in school, and I like learning. Ultimately, I want to be involved in research that has an impact on global health. I love the science and I want to understand as much as I can, but I also really appreciate the part of engineering where you actually build your solutions. It’s pretty satisfying to make something tangible, and especially to have that something matter to other people. Engineering represents the opportunity to affect not just individuals, but entire populations.

Do you have a favorite quote or mantra?

From David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest: “I do things like get in a taxi and say, ‘The library, and step on it.’”

What are three things that are unique about you?

(1) Along with being a bioengineer, I would also like to write stories and novels. (2) I love brussel sprouts. (3) I listen to old and weird music, like The Velvet Underground, King Khan and BBQ Show.

What does this campaign mean to you?

The only way I can think to answer this question is with something platitudinous like, “It’s important for people’s awareness of engineering to encompass the full breadth and diversity of the people who do the engineering.” But just because it sounds cliché doesn’t mean it’s not true. I still think there needs to be a greater push early-on in education for all students, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexuality, etc., to explore STEM fields and figure out for themselves if it’s something they want to pursue. From my experience, any demographic disparities are due not so much to a lack of ability or opportunity, but a lack of awareness of ability and opportunity. If campaigns like this could change that, then that would be pretty great.

Engineering World Health Hosts HealthHack 2016

The UC San Diego chapter of Engineering World Health held its second annual HealthHack February 27-28, garnering over 110 students of varied engineering and health science majors to produce a prototype or design to solve a serious global health problem.

The teams, comprised of up to four people, were given the following challenge: “To diagnose, limit, prevent, or treat a mental condition and its associated problems. Empower a patient to curb dependence on inaccessible resources, specifically in a low-resource setting.”

Neel Parekh, President Project Team for EWH, described what generated the prompt for HealthHack was what he sees as a significant need.

“I guess the simple answer is that mental health solutions are just not represented well in the engineering community,” Parekh said. “Engineers often focus on infectious and chronic diseases, but tend to give up when it comes to mental health. I also researched the [statistics] and felt bad myself for kind of not contributing to that realm enough, and [I] decided to pursue it further until I realized that there could be some really interesting engineering solutions to these mental health issues.”

According to the World Health Organization, countries with low and lower middle incomes carry almost three-quarters of neuropsychiatric disorders worldwide. Almost one-third of countries do not have a defined budget for mental health. Even more so, roughly 21 percent of countries that do have specific mental health budgets provide less than 1 percent of their total health budget on mental health.

The competition consisted of 27 hours of hacking, with the aid of graduate student, faculty, and industry mentors. Additionally, all participants had Arduinos and access to the MAE Design Studio at their disposal, in addition to workshops on 3D Printing and Hardware. Teams had to submit a written proposal, outlining the current need for the prototype or device, explanation of the solution, process for implementation, and any limitations and potential collaborations.

The first round of judging was a project expo, in which the 23 teams that submitted final proposals delivered 3-minute pitches to judges from academia and industry. Six finalists were selected for the last round. After a keynote speech from Illumina representative Adrian Fawcett, each team gave an 8-minute presentation before a panel of judges, including representatives from ResMed, the von Liebig Entrepreneurism Center and UC San Diego. 

Prototypes and designs included:

• Hidden watch for anxiety and epilepsy
• Wearable headband to aid narcolepsy patients 
• Mobile game for individuals affected by autism spectrum disorder
• Whole cell biosensor for a holistic approach to depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and ADHD
• Stuffed animals to comfort those suffering from depression 
• Mobile app that tracks diet and physical health to improve awareness and self-diagnosis of depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive and bipolar disorders
• Aid for refugees suffering from PTSD
• Focus on maternal stress and cortisol levels 
• Isolation prevention for the mentally distressed  
• Game that improves independence for the depressed, without having the affected realize the game is for treatment
• Application of radio frequency to provide diagnostic information for PTSD patients 
• Aid for the chronically homeless affected by mental and behavioral disorders
• Game for young adults suffering from depression 

Finalists

Third Place: PEN

Rodolfo Flores, Applied Mathematics, ‘18

Alfredo Lucas, Bioengineering: Bioengineering ‘18

Gustavo Umbelino, Computer Science, ’18

Focused on ADHD, in particular students who easily fall under in-class distractions, the team developed a Stimulating Pen that sends constant reminders to the users through vibrations and visual cues. The device also has a component for anxiety relief that allows the user to continuously press the button on the pen’s top, similarly to clicking a pen nonstop. The incidence of ADHD is higher amongst impoverished individuals, correlating income with the disease’s prevalence.

Second Place: Calm Cap

Neha Chhugani, Bioengineering: Biosystems, ‘19

Anokhi Saklecha, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, ‘19

Renu Singh, Bioengineering: Bioinformatics, ‘18

Vaish Sridharan, Bioengineering: Bioengineering, ‘19

These four girls were awarded $500 in prize money for their $5 wearable head device that alleviates anxiety, the most prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder worldwide. The device utilizes acupressure beads at acupressure points GV 24.5 and GV 20, cerebral regions that the International Anesethesia Research Study reports to correlate with stress relief. In addition, the device includes a battery-operated sound chip that plays calming music or meditation instructions and a microprocessor that records frequencies and durations of panic attacks. Calm Cap is worn at patient’s discretions, such that they may put on the device when they feel a panic attack approaching, and they may do so without any additional aid.

First Place: Amniotic Wrap

Niranjanaa Jeeva, Bioengineering: Bioengineering, ‘19

Ella Stimson, Bioengineering: Bioengineering, ‘19

Julie Yip, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, ’18

                                   

With the prize money of $1000, the team looks forward to collaborating with the von Liebig Entrepreneurism Center to further develop their prototype. The team was focused on Postpartum Depression, a disorder that affects 15 percent of mothers after giving birth, and this condition affects almost twice as many women in underdeveloped countries in comparison to industrialized countries.

One of the symptoms of PPD is difficulty bonding with the infant, thus, the team created a blanket that connects mother to child. The baby has a small sock with Lilypad Arduinos and infrared sensors, which detect the baby’s pulse and therefore its heart rate. This heart rate is sent via Bluetooth the mother’s blanket, which has Lilypad Arduinos and vibrational motors that mimic the baby’s heart beat. A study at the Eindhoven University of Technology revealed that biosignals of an individual’s heart beat can form an intimate connection and interpersonal distance with another person. In addition, the changes in the infant’s heart rate will be analyzed to gently awaken and notify the mother, before hearing the cries of her child. Estimated at $12 in cost, the design strengthens the mother-infant bond and has potential to relieve other symptoms of PPD, allowing the mother to independently improve her health in the comfort of her home.

First year Bioengineering student Niranjanaa Jeeva expressed her surprise, noting her attendance was derived in her hope to develop more engineering skills, and she noted how competing was a humbling experience.

“HealthHack was definitely an exciting experience!” Jeeva told the Jacobs School. “I went into it hoping to learn a few engineering skills, maybe create a viable idea to present at the end of the weekend. As a first year, I believed that there was really no way that I could win. Luckily, I was part of a great team. Together, we worked hard through many frustrating hours to come up with our idea and had a great time doing it. Maybe it was because I was so exhausted by the end of the second day, but I was so surprised when we won. All the other teams who competed had such amazing ideas. I am so grateful for the chance to have met and competed with such creative and innovative people!”

Ella Stimson, also a first year Bioengineering student of Amniotic Wrap, described how the event has encouraged her to further pursue engineering for improved quality of life and global health.

“Initially, I joined for the experience and not so much for the competition itself,” Stimson said. “This mindset continued until our group found a topic and design idea that all of us were passionate about,” Stimson said. “I’m thrilled that our enthusiasm was reflected in our product and supported by others. This competition made me realize that there are so many areas of our world’s health that is lacking resources and help and it amazes me that just 24 hours of designing and hacking can make an impact in that - whether it’s our group or any of the other groups’ idea. Now, I really want to make sure that our idea gets out there in the world and makes some kind of difference.”

As for the future of HealthHack competition, Parekh said to the Jacobs School, “I just want the idea that engineers can contribute to global health to continue to prosper and…have the UCSD community of engineering, including professors, entrepreneurship, and administration, to understand that they should be conducive to students that can come up with really amazing things.”

Engineering student org helps dramatically lower cost of HIV monitoring equipment

Watch bioengineering major Gillie Agmon explain how her student organization, Engineering World Health, helped bring down equipment costs for a test for HIV drug resistance from $80,000 to $2,000. She spoke this spring at TEDxUCSD.
The organization works in partnership with the Maputo Central Hospital in Mozambique. More than 30 undergraduates are working on the project, from design, to manufacturing, to distribution.
"I learned how engineering can be used to solve public health issues," Agmon said.