Two senior engineering students, Ricardo Huancaya and Stefan von Henner, are designing a prototype using similar technology as the VeinViewer® (see video) for their senior project. This new prototype will facilitate further research by Dr. Lovhoiden.
The goal of this project is different than the VeinViewer®, which was to make drawing blood and doing IVs easier. Instead of projecting the picture back onto the skin, this new project’s goal is to gather data by taking pictures of patients' veins, arteries and other vessels. If it works as expected, this new technology will help in the treatment or monitoring of diabetes, vein or artery diseases, and many other applications not yet known at this time. The main goal of this research project is to explore new applications for Dr. Lovhoiden’s research.
Ricardo mentioned that, “Doing this hands-on research gave me more confidence in my engineering skills.In turn, this hands-on work has helped to enhance my abilities and affirm my knowledge.”
According to Stefan, “It is good to have a class where you go through the entire design process, from ideas conception all the way to testing your design. When I graduate, I can go to potential employers and say that I've actually had the chance to go through the whole process of design to finished product.”
Both Ricardo and Stefan agree that Dr. Lovhoiden has been an excellent mentor through their senior design project. “When you go to him with questions, you end up leaving with a whole list of things to look up and, in turn, possible answers. He is a good motivator.”
