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  Stormwater Management for Greenwood Hills Bible Camp

  Abigail Bartels, Caleb J. Hilton, Warner C. Hockenberry, Caleb R. Light, Daniel O. Thomas, and Thomas S. Soerens

  The stormwater team addresses flooding and erosion issues. In the spring of 2022, the team analyzed erosion problems for Greenwood Hills Bible Camp near Chambersburg PA and designed a system to capture and divert the runoff that is causing erosion. The design includes collection of the runoff with French drains and rock channels and conveyance of the water through a culvert with discharge down-gradient of affected houses. The system should lessen the erosion affecting the camp road and fix nuisance flooding and erosion at the residences. In the fall of 2021, the team partnered with the City of Harrisburg and Capital Region Water to address flooding in the Allison Hill neighborhood of Harrisburg Pennsylvania and designed a plan to mitigate this problem for neighborhood residents.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  A Modular Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) System for Gait Assistance in Pediatric Cerebral Palsy

  Wyatt P. Bingaman, Andrew T. Clancy, Nick Hamann, Callan W. Heise, Timothy Lee, and Ryan J. Farris P.E.&Ph.D.

  Foot drop, the inability to lift the forefoot during gait, is a common symptom of disorders such as diabetes, stroke, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy. This condition makes walking difficult and unsafe, often resulting in stumbles and falls due to lack of ground clearance. The current standard of care is orthotic bracing, which presents donning and doffing challenges, restricts ankle motion, and contributes to social stigma in many parts of the world. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is an alternative approach which uses small amounts of electrical current delivered through skin-surface electrodes to stimulate peripheral nerves, thus generating muscle contraction and ultimately functional movement of a human limb. When packaged in a wearable device with onboard sensors capable of detecting gait phase, stimulation current can be applied to the lower leg to cause the foot to lift during the swing phase of gait. While several FES foot-drop systems are commercially available, they cost upward of $13,000 and provide a level of adjustability and complexity not needed for many conditions. The Messiah FES team is working to develop a low-cost, portable, easy-to-use, and durable electrical stimulation device to restore legged ambulation to children with mobility impairments resulting from cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and other conditions with similar effects. Our clinical partner is CURE Ethiopia, with our primary contacts being Dr. Tim Nunn and Dr. Laurence Wicks at the CURE Ethiopia Children's Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Muscle Activated 3D Printed Prosthetic Arm

  Paige M. Campbell, Antonio P. Santelli, Caleb J. Wright, Lindsay L. Haseltine, Jaymie R. Monday, Meghan L. Sampson, and Tim Howell

  Due to the rapid growth of children and the cost of myoelectric technology, children are not given the same opportunities to use myoelectric prosthetics as adults. The Muscle Activated Prosthesis (MAP) team seeks to reconcile this by creating an affordable, trans-radial, myoelectric prosthesis that utilizes the flexibility of 3D printing technology for a fourteen-year-old congenital amputee named Lily. The MAP team has completed the design and prototype of a myoelectric prosthesis with a material cost of approximately $1,000 as opposed to the $10,000-$20,000 cost of clinically accepted myoelectric prosthetic upper limbs. The 3D printed prosthetic arm prototype incorporates electromyography (EMG) electrodes, a motor and tendon system, an open-source prosthetic hand design, a custom printed circuit board (PCB), and lithium-ion battery power. The opening and closing of the prosthetic hand is controlled by the myoelectric signals from the user’s forearm contractions which can be tested by the team using our adaptive prosthetic attachment. All these components result in an affordable prosthetic that has the potential for customization and adaptation to different sized limbs.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Fluency Assistance Device (FAD): Masker Upgrades

  Timothy Fair, Elijah Wood, Jake T. Finkbeiner, Chad M. Long, Jon R. Sweeton, and Harold R. Underwood

  There are around seventy million people internationally who have a stutter, a form of fluency disorder. Some fluency assistance devices are available to the public, but most are highly expensive or unreliable. The Fluency Assistive Device (FAD) team seeks to assist a niche community of these individuals for whom therapy has not worked, and who currently rely on a device known as the Edinburgh Masker. To best reach this community, FAD is partnering with Dave Germeyer, who has invaluable experience repairing these masker devices for his clientele. FAD is redesigning the masker to increase its portability, functionality, and cost-effectiveness by developing an improved analog and new digital version. The Analog Masker v1.3 focuses on updated components and consolidated circuitry to eliminate troublesome wiring of the original. The Digital Masker v1.0 employs a Bluetooth-enabled microcontroller to achieve masker functionality, offering the flexibility of alternative fluency assistance algorithms to assist a broader group of users. An updated prototype of the Analog Masker v1.3 was fabricated and tested for power consumption and overall functional output characteristics versus the original Edinburgh version. The Analog Masker v1.3 has also been fully packaged and enclosed to produce a client testable unit. Bluetooth audio output for the Digital Masker has almost been completed, and two of the alternative algorithms have been coded for the masking output. One of these algorithms, Delayed Altered Feedback (DAF), now produces the expected output in response to an audio test input. Clarity and integrity of the DAF signal output have also been improved. The Masking Altered Feedback (MAF) algorithm that emulates the behavior of the Edinburgh original on the Digital Masker v1.0 is under development.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Force Characterization and Manufacturing of a Dynamic Unilateral Clubfoot Brace

  Brittney D. Fouse, Sam J. Rasinske, Stevie R. Snodgrass, Jacob R. Cornwell, Michelle Lo, Clint M. Meekins Jr, Leigha R. Southall, and Tim Howell

  Clubfoot is a musculoskeletal birth defect characterized by an inward twisting of an infant’s feet. Currently, a series of casts are used to correct clubfoot and the Steenbeek brace is used to maintain the correction. However, this method has issues with compliance, comfort, and social stigma. Mr. Jerald Cunningham, CPO, designed and is utilizing a unilateral clubfoot maintenance brace called the Cunningham Clubfoot Brace. He expects his brace to reduce treatment time, lessen social stigma, and increase child mobility. Hope Walks, in Kijabe, Kenya, is interested in implementing this new maintenance brace at their clinics. However, there is not enough published research on its biomechanics and patient success rates to confirm Mr. Cunningham’s findings.

  The Cunningham Clubfoot Brace Collaboratory project seeks to validate the effectiveness of this design through biomedical testing and increase brace accessibility through sustainable manufacturing. The team is measuring the biomechanical forces applied by the brace with multiple force sensors on the Cunningham and Steenbeek braces. Mr. Cunningham plans to use injection molding to increase brace production. The team is completing Finite Element Analysis to determine how the brace’s properties change with injection molding. The team is also completing fatigue analysis with the Cunningham Brace to quantify its reusability. Furthermore, the clinical study in Kenya and Dr. Emily Farrar’s retrospective research paper will contribute to the published research on the Cunningham Brace. The collaborative efforts of the team will increase further understanding of the Cunningham Brace and its acceptance as an alternative clubfoot maintenance brace.

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  Village Water Ozonation System

  Ruth C. Galyen, Caleb L. Bruner, Olivia R. Allbee, Nate Binko, Benjamin R. Gates, Seth M. Kline, Sam B. Stone, Ray Knepper, and Michelle L. Lockwood

  The Village Water Ozonation System (VWOS) team’s core mission is to provide economically sustainable and culturally sensitive drinking water solutions for communities, to empower them with the ability to properly maintain their drinking water supply, and to transform people’s lives by decreasing the occurrences of waterborne diseases. Currently, the VWOS team is partnering with Friends in Action to implement two drinking water treatment systems this summer for the community living on Rama Cay, an island in Nicaragua. The wells on the island have a high salt content and are contaminated with bacteria which makes the water unsafe to drink; therefore, these two systems consist of a Reverse Osmosis unit, a UV light and other filters to ensure clean water. VWOS is also partnering with Forward Edge International to serve Mama Beth's Children's Home in Kijabe, Kenya. Mama Beth's serves approximately 250 children every day but their water source is heavily contaminated with bacteria. VWOS is designing a chlorination system that will provide safe water for the students with plans to implement it in the summer of 2023.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Sustainable Agriculture

  Cassie P. Gehenio, Miggy Matanguihan, Josh R. Rosengrant, Jacob Wong, Jacob T. Dean, Madalyn A. Heckman, Gabriel J. Tiday, Aleesa Wu, and Michelle L. Lockwood

  The Sustainable Agriculture team is addressing malnutrition through aquaponics. Aquaponics is a soil-free farming method that reduces growing periods and water consumption by 90% compared to traditional methods. The Sustainable Agriculture team works alongside its clients, Youth with a Mission and Trans World Radio, to develop and implement universal and scalable aquaponics prototypes. This year, the team designed and constructed nine working prototypes for a sensitivity analysis. The team also constructed two unique airlift pumps to create alternatives for their clients. They also produced a digital system monitor for tracking temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen in the aquaponics prototypes for our clients at Youth with a Mission.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  EMMS: Increasing Hope and Transforming Lives Through Improved Access to Electrical Power

  Zach L. Gillen, Samuel N. Goertzen, Bennett A. Andrews, Adam Dressler, Kyle Green, Caitlin Ross, Seth Wilcox, and Tom Austin

  Developing countries often face a challenge involving energy conservation. Energy Monitoring and Management Systems (EMMS) was tasked to make an energy meter in order to provide a practical way of controlling energy consumption and create a tool for teaching energy conservation. This meter should be able to measure energy usage over a period of time and prevent further energy usage after a specified amount has been consumed. In this poster, the team will explain what they have been doing in recent semesters to work towards their goal of testing and preparing this meter for implementation in Zimbabwe this summer, as well as how they have been improving the user experience through website implementation.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Designing a Solar PV System for Tree 4 Hope

  Josh Ginck, Michael Stefanchik V, Riley Harro, Jonas E. Kolb, Christian Pilawski, Noah A. Rood, Garrison Shields-Seelig, and Harold R. Underwood

  The Solar Photovoltaics (PV) team designs and installs solar electricity systems in developing countries where power is less reliable or non-existent. Starting in 2020, the Solar PV team began collaborating with Tree 4 Hope—a nonprofit organization that partners with an orphanage near Guatemala City, Guatemala. Over the past year, the team has designed a solar system to be installed at the orphanage which will provide them with a cleaner and cheaper source of electricity. Thus far, the overall 5 kW solar panel system design including lead-acid batteries has been completed. Key components of the system consisting of the system controller, two charge controllers and the inverter have been programmed and tested, by plugging them into existing elements of the solar lab system, in preparation for installation in Guatemala. This poster details the progress accomplished this year in the design, testing, and programming of the Solar PV system including wiring considerations and communication with in-country suppliers for installation at the orphanage during May of this year.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Improving Access to Clean Water Through Autonomous Monitoring of Hand Pump Operation

  Jared M. Groff, Matt J. Caldwell, Josiah J. McCarthy, Lydia Reber, and Randall K. Fish

  Millions of people in developing countries rely on hand pumps for access to clean water. Proper maintenance of these pumps is impossible without timely reporting on the pump’s operation and state of repair. The Intelligent Water System, which improves access to clean water by autonomously monitoring and reporting on the health of hand pumps, has been under development for several years. The next stage for the IWP team is to prepare for field testing in Zimbabwe. Because of this, the team has been working on improving the accuracy of the calculations made by the Intelligent Water System as well as simplifying the installation procedures to allow installation by in-country pump technicians. This poster shows the progress made by the IWP team during this stage of development including the improvements in the volume calculation algorithm as well as the installation jig and procedures.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Kenbrook Bridge Project

  Logan J. Horst, Noah W. Thrush, Jordan T. Barner, and Luke T. Fetterman

  The Kenbrook Bridge Team seeks to address Kenbrook Bible Camp’s need for maintenance and emergency access across a small stream on the property that separates their main office location from cabins on the northwestern portion of the campus. Kenbrook Bible Camp's mission is to facilitate a closer connection to God, self, others, and nature for all guests. The bridge site was selected by the Kenbrook staff based on the greatest need for accessibility. An existing footbridge in this location cannot support passage of heavy equipment used for camp maintenance nor the ATV used for emergency response. The bridge team proposes a 16-foot-long by 8-foot-wide concrete culvert for the site. The culvert has been designed in compliance with AASHTO structural requirements and all elements of the structure are detailed in a complete drawings sheet set, serving as a reference for on-site construction in May.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Rapid Orthotics for CURE Kenya - Mechanical Design and Official Testing of 3D Printed Sockets

  Rachel Huang, Lauren N. Seubert, Joey D. Andrews, Rachel E. Bruns, Ryan G. Class, and Jamie R. Williams Ph.D.

  Rapid Orthotics for Cure Kenya (ROCK) collaborates with CURE, a non-profit orthopedic workshop in Kjabe, Kenya, to implement a 3D printing system for manufacturing custom prosthetics and orthotics. The goal is to reduce the production time and cost for the current transtibial sockets being manufactured in the orthotic workshop to give the patients a way to integrate into society and reduce stigma from their communities. The team designed a system for manufacturing transtibial sockets by converting a scan of the residual limb to a digital file customized by the orthopedic technicians and converted to a file to be 3D printed. The team designed a procedure to ensure the safety of the sockets within the constraints and offsets of the ISO 10328 Standard. The standard requires twelve official tests specifying the type and conditions to be conducted for the Ultimate Strength and Static Proof tests. The team has designed a testing rig that interfaces with the Materials Testing System machine at Messiah University to apply the necessary forces according to the complex geometry outlined in the standard. Additionally, research has determined the optimized 3D printing settings to increase the quality and consistency of the sockets. To smoothly institute the system developed in the orthopedic workshop, the team has developed a Training Manual outlining the step-by-step procedure for the system. Using this system, the team completed all twelve tests with a passing socket result which will contribute to determining the steps for next semester and for the summer site team trip.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research and by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Better Pumps: Promoting Reliable Water Infrastructure for Everyone

  Andrea Hunsberger, Benjamin J. Brandt, Josh Card, Reese N. Johnston, Joshua L. Maxson, Jonathan G. Wyrick, Tony Beers, Matthew Schwiebert, and David T. Vader

  Approximately 90 million people in Africa lack access to safe drinking water, despite having water infrastructure installed in their community. The India Mark II and the Afridev handpumps are among the most widely used handpumps in the world. Sadly, studies show that approximately 30% of these handpumps are non-operational due to failures of the bearings, seals, head flange, and other common components. The Better Pumps team of the Collaboratory provides engineering support for partners who are working to improve handpump sustainability. We have partnered with Tony Beers and AlignedWorks to validate a bearing test methodology for the India Mark II handpump. By modifying the loading conditions in our handpump test machine, we were able to replicate failures observed by AlignedWorks in a field trial of their bearing design. However, these modifications caused our test machine tabletop to noticeably deflect, so we made modifications to stiffen the tabletop. We partnered with Matt Schwiebert and Living Water International to test new seal designs for the India Mark II and Afridev handpumps. Seal performance data collected by the team was used to validate a new design in advance of field trials by Living Water International. We developed and performed clear cylinder testing on the seals to visualize the leak paths. A new Afridev testing apparatus is being designed to test the longevity of the Afridev bearings and seals. Test methodologies and results are reported.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  High Quality, Low Cost Egg Incubator for BIC Church in Choma, Zambia

  Joshua R. Mah Mr., Josiah T. Zehr, Aaron Bashore, Matt D. Eells, Shekinah Ellis, Brandon Koehnke, Lane Magness, Claudia M. Tolley, Cooper Willoughby, Cadee A. Wood, Dan Elliott, and Philip M. Tan Ph.D.

  The Egg Incubator team is partnering with the Brethren in Christ Church located in Choma, Zambia to design a high-quality, low-cost chicken egg incubator to supply the pastors and church members with a means of food and income. The design will need to take into account the accessibility and cost of the tools and materials. The current prototype features separate heating and humidity systems, a control system to maintain a set temperature and humidity, and tilting egg racks. The heating system consists of two stovetop coils to produce heat and a fan to transfer it to the air. The humidifier utilizes an atomizer in a pan of water to create a mist that mixes with the hot air to create humidity. The control system uses a proportional integral derivative controller (PID) to keep the temperature at 37 ± 1 °C and the humidity at 60–70%. The egg racks are tilted by a motor that runs every 6 hours to prevent the embryos from sticking to the shell. With a fully functioning prototype, the team has begun to incubate 60 real fertilized eggs. During the 21-day incubation process, a final prototype iteration is being designed and will be built on-site in Zambia in May 2022.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Wear Testing of a Mechanized Percussion Well Drilling System for Water Access in West Africa

  Matthew D. Merlo, Matthew J. Siegrist, Jacob S. Wildasin, Robert H. Donley, Matthew R. Higgs, and J Scott Heisey

  The Mechanized Percussion Well Drilling (MPWD) Collaboratory project is assisting in the development of a mechanized well drilling system for drilling shallow water wells in West Africa. Our client, Mr. Joseph Longenecker with Open Door Development (ODD), desires to make water wells accessible to all in this region, but has experienced difficulty drilling through hard soil layers. To overcome this problem, the MPWD team has worked closely with Mr. Joseph Longenecker to develop a mechanized percussion well drilling rig using a rubber friction wheel drive system that is capable of drilling through these harder layers.

  Currently, the MPWD team is working to provide recommendations to improve the useful service life of our client’s new, mechanized rig design. The MPWD team’s most recent work includes the design and fabrication of a testing rig to simulate the operation of our client’s full-size rig. The testing rig will allow our team to conduct fatigue testing on a model of the driveline system to analyze the wear patterns on the rubber friction wheel and to estimate its expected service life. The team has also performed a series of finite element analyses on the mast design of our client's rig to evaluate working stresses under static loading and buckling, along with fatigue analysis, to confirm safe operation of the rig and to identify any elements that might require upgrades.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Adjustable Prone Trolley Design for People Suffering from Spinal Cords Injuries in Nepal

  Abby Miller, Lukas Sonon, Katie Anthony, Blake N. Clemmer, Ryan J. Friend, Jared T. Pavlovich, Connor Welch, and Timothy J. Van Dyke

  For people who suffer from spinal cord injuries in Nepal, rehabilitation and care are often difficult to receive, especially for those for whom fewer resources are available. Thankfully, International Nepal Fellowship (INF), a non-profit serving Nepal for nearly 70 years, aids patients with spinal cord injuries at Green Pastures Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre in Pokhara, Nepal. A crucial part of any rehabilitation is adequate exercise to improve circulation and prevent sores and muscular atrophy. Yet, due to the nature of the injury, using a traditional wheelchair is not an option to fulfill this need for those with spinal cord injuries. Therefore, Green Pastures uses prone trolleys so that these patients can exercise. A prone trolley is a horizontal cushioned board where the patient lies flat on their stomach and is able to move themselves using the wheels attached to the cushioned board. Despite the importance of the prone trolley, the trolleys at Green Pastures Hospital have a few critical issues. The major issue is that the prone trolleys are internationally imported, which not only means that delivery can take months, but also that the trolleys are also difficult to repair when damaged. Both these factors severely hamper Green Pastures Hospital’s ability to provide spinal cord injured patients with the care they need. The Nepal Prone Trolley team, a part of Messiah University Collaboratory, seeks to develop and design a fundamentally better prone trolley for INF. The goal of our project is to design a prone trolley that can be fabricated by the INF staff with locally sourced materials. The advantage of this new design is that it will be easier to obtain and can easily be repaired when needed. After creating a design that satisfies our goal and fulfills the criteria of a functional prone trolley as defined by INF, we were able to fabricate a prototype of the prone trolley using resources and techniques available in Pokhara. Moving forward, we will conduct testing and redesign the trolley so that our finalized prone trolley design will be able to transform how Green Pastures Hospital aids their spinal cord injury patients.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  SkinSafe: Comparing Staphylococcus aureus Growth Across Liner Types in Kenya

  Hailey C. Miller, Keera L. Dupler, Michelle Zheng, and Philip M. Tan

  The interface between an amputee’s residual limb and prosthetic liner is at risk for high levels of bacterial growth which can lead to infection. Silicone liners have the advantage of patient comfort, but they may have a sealing effect that could exacerbate bacterial growth, which is particularly a concern in places lacking clean water such as Kijabe, Kenya. To investigate this concern, the SkinSafe team has conducted a prosthetic liner study using a bacterial skin model which suspends a liner and a layer of agar above a self-regulating heat and water source to capture the dynamic behavior of the skin–liner interface. Staphylococcus aureus was grown on this model using three different liners: the Ossur Iceross silicone liner, the Namaste silicone liner, and the sock–EVA liner. Final growth concentrations will be compared between the three liner types to determine whether silicone liners require additional hygiene protocols for use in Kenya.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Prosthetic Knee for CURE Kenya: Design and Manufacturing

  Josiah D. Moyer, Josh D. Mundis, Isaiah D. Bryner, Nathan E. Jaloszynski, Sarah N. Kelchner, Carter D. Urich, and Jamie R. Williams Ph.D.

  The Prosthetic Knee team is partnered with the CURE International Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya. In the region surrounding our client’s facility, there is a large number of lower-extremity amputations due to various infections and diseases. Often, these patients choose to undergo a more invasive transfemoral amputation to enable them to use a less expensive above-knee prosthesis. The goal of the project is to present the orthopedic workshop at CURE with a manufacturable prosthetic knee design in May of 2023 that provides through-knee amputee patients with a more affordable, aesthetically pleasing, and lightweight prosthetic option, thereby removing the need to undergo an additional amputation above the knee. The poster presents the overarching elements of the prosthetic design in addition to the recently integrated locking and damping components, which aid in the functionality of the knee.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  A Low Cost, Portable Fluorescence Correlation Spectrometer for Disease Diagnosis

  Brittany Shirk, Michael A. Geyer, Jon Sison, Al W. Mokris, Jessica E. Paulus, and Randall K. Fish

  People being treated for HIV need to periodically test to determine if their antiviral medication is effectively keeping their viral loads at a safe level. Individuals living in rural areas of developing countries would be more likely to get these viral load tests if an instrument existed which reduced costs and was small and rugged enough to be brought to the client rather than require the client to travel for hours to a clinic. The Diagnostics for Viral Disease team is developing such a device in cooperation with Dr. Edgar Simulundu and the Macha Research Trust in Zambia. Our design is based on advanced fluorescence spectroscopy utilizing a fluorescence protein probe, confocal optics, and low-cost, low-power electronics.

  This poster reviews work done in three subsystems of the overall instrument. First, we have optimized the program used during burst analysis spectroscopy for identification of individual viruses in dilute samples. Second, we have confirmed the operation of the amplifying and discriminating sections of the photon processing circuitry which converts light pulses into a digital signal ready to be processed in the signal analysis subsystem. Finally, we have completed the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Raspberry Pi programming allowing successful transfer of the results of the signal processing in the FPGA to the Raspberry Pi for display to the end user. Going forward we will integrate these subsystems into a fully functional exploded prototype ready for the final stage of condensing the design into a portable prototype that can be tested and delivered to our client.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  A Sustainable Mobility Solution for Persons Living with Disability in Burkina Faso

  Joey Sinsel, Timothy M. Glavin Mr., Katie Bunch, Rachel Delate, Rachel Rashford, John Meyer, and David T. Vader

  The Sustainable Mobility project of the Collaboratory empowers people living with a disability in rural West Africa to pursue educational and work opportunities and more fully participate in family and community life. Our electric, 3-wheeled, off-road wheelchair has transformed the lives of clients through partnerships with the Center for the Advancement of the Handicapped in Mahadaga, Burkina Faso, and the Center of Hope in Fada, Burkina Faso. Now, to reach more people in new locations and with more partners, Sustainable Mobility is working to reduce manufacturing time and cost by authoring image-driven fabrication guides to enable local fabricators to build trikes. We seek to put local fabricators to work building tricycles wherever they are needed.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  Designing a Locally Manufacturable Wheelchair for Nepal

  Pauline Deutcheu Tchouako, Ethan M. Barnes, Levi D. Hauger, Joshua J. Holley Mr., Jacob Petrovich, and Timothy J. Van Dyke

  People with disabilities in developing countries often lack the basic equipment needed to assist them in their daily lives. International Nepal Fellowship (INF) is a Christian medical organization located in Nepal that provides medical care and assistance to people with disabilities and other conditions. Currently, INF imports expensive wheelchairs that undergo a prolonged border process before being received. INF has reached out to the Collaboratory to design a wheelchair that can withstand the challenges of Nepal’s terrain and can be manufactured from local materials. The Nepal Wheelchair team has set out to design a wheelchair that can fulfill their needs. In previous work, the team researched wheelchair designs and took a trip to Nepal. From this trip, more information was gained, an initial prototype was constructed, and locally available materials and parts from Nepal were brought back. This year, as a result of knowledge gained through constructing the second prototype, many design changes were tested and implemented. The team researched standards and created testing procedures to ensure the changes to the rear wheel mount, caster wheel mount, footrest, and seat design would uphold the strength and durability of the wheelchair. These design changes have enhanced patient safety and experience in the wheelchair while still keeping the design easily manufacturable. The team also researched options for adding push rims and through using a roller bender were able to construct them. Moving forward, the team will continue to finalize manufacturing documentation and take a second trip to Nepal this May.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.

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  A Low-Cost Microprocessor-Controlled Stance-Control Knee Orthosis for Pediatric Mobility Impairments

  Jordan M. Witt, Levi M. Fertig, Jacob M. Barton, Ethan R. Cornwell, and Ryan J. Farris

  Knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs) are commonly prescribed for individuals with knee instability or quadriceps weakness resulting from a variety of conditions such as spinal cord injury, stroke, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy. A locking KAFO fixes the leg fully straight and is the most prescribed orthotic intervention for these conditions. However, the functional benefits of lower extremity orthoses are maximally realized in stance-controlled knee-ankle-foot orthoses (SC-KAFOs) which allow free knee motion during swing but lock during stance. Existing SC-KAFO options are generally unreliable or expensive, and thus an unmet need exists for a reliable, versatile orthosis which can be manufactured at relatively low cost. The SC-KO team is working to meet this need by developing an intelligent stance-controlled knee orthotic with an any-angle locking mechanism controlled by a microprocessor based on information received from onboard inertial gait-phase sensing. The resulting device will allow for reliable knee locking for support during the stance phase, easy unlocking even under load for the free swing phase, and predictable, safe behavior on stairs and uneven terrain. The system is being developed as a knee-only orthosis but can be adapted for a full knee-ankle-foot orthosis, with ankle support being prescribed as needed. The first system developed will be configured for pediatric use to address mobility impairments arising from cerebral palsy and spina bifida with CURE Ethiopia serving as the clinical partner for the development and testing.

  Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.