INNOVATION DAY 2023 | biomedical engineering

Capstone instructor

Yantao Shen
Yantao Shen

The 2023 Senior Capstone course in biomedical engineering was taught by Yantao Shen. To learn more about the biomedical engineering projects, please email Yantao Shen.

About the department

From electromagnetics to biosensors to smart grids, we're on the cutting-edge of electrical and biomedical engineering research and training our students to be successful leaders in the field. Visit the Department of Electrical & Biomedical Engineering

Explore the projects

  • BME-1 Haptic “Seeing” Cane for Visually Impaired

    Students: Marcus Cortez, Joseph Davis, Alexia Dreher, Jarrod Perez


    The project is a “seeing eye” cane with technological advancements to enhance a user’s ability to perceive their surroundings. This is accomplished through LiDAR technology as well as haptic feedback for the user to “feel” where objects are placed in their surroundings.

  • BME-2 Water Filtration System for Contaminated Sources

    Students: Dylan Mendoza, Nicholas Moulos, Hunter Robinson

    Our project is designed to alleviate issues with water contamination in countries such as India. The design will consist of a 5-gallon jug that will be separated into two sections, one specific to the contaminated water and the other for the treated and filtered water. This will be achieved through the use of UV LED lights powered by a solar panel which will clean the water of any bacterium such as cholera and giardia. This treated water then will pass through a mesh filter to get rid of any larger contaminants. Our team expects to set up a 15-second delay before the water is allowed to pass through the filter, making sure that it has been properly treated first. Once the water has passed through the filter, it then will be ready to collect for safe consumption.

  • BME-3 Upper Appendage Rehabilitation Machine (U-ARM)

    Students: Jose Moreno Duran, Monte Howell, Kirsche Stanton, Matthew Wallace

    The Upper Appendage Rehabilitation Machine (U-ARM) is intended to help individuals who have suffered from stroke or some sort of ailment. U-ARM will be used to help an individual during rehabilitation, specifically when it comes to flexing the arm. This medical device utilizes EMG sensors to recognize muscle flexion, strain as well as growth. The U-ARM will have the ability to assist flexion and also to resist, which will aid in the recovery of the patient.

  • BME-4 At-Home Knee Rehabilitation Sleeve

    Students: Jake Detamore, Jose Guzman, John Liles III, Sam Smith


    The problem we face as biomedical engineers in 2023 is that there is no way to track the muscle rehabilitation of one’s knee at home without seeing a doctor or physical therapist. Patients are completely in the blind as far as their daily health progresses until and unless they see a licensed physician. Even then, the physician may not give a full picture to the patient, depending on the person. The importance of the introduction of our product is that it bridges the gap between the doctor’s office and home. This product provides the ability for a patient to track their own rehabilitation post-injury for the best possible healing process. It gives a cheap and easy way to track rehabilitation of your muscles.

  • BME-5 Myosensor Heating and Vibration Pad

    Students: Gloria MacNevin, Peyton Thomas, Krystianne Vega, Kenna Williams

    Our product is a Myosensor heating and vibration pad aimed at easing pain for women in labor. The pad will have electrodes attached that will be placed on the woman’s belly near their uterus. The electrodes will detect the woman’s contractions and automatically switch on the heating and vibration components. Additionally, there will be multiple switches and a user interface to override the hot, cold and vibration components so that the user can take advantage of them whether the contractions are detected or not.

  • BME-6 Wearable UVB and blue light supplement for miners

    Students: Johnny Lee, Dylan Sherrillo, Spencer Thomas, Walker Thon

    Our project involves the incorporation of UVB and blue light into mining headlamps to mitigate the effects of seasonal affective disorder and hypovitaminosis. Individuals who work in the mining industry rarely get enough natural sunlight exposure when working underground and during the night shift. Symptoms from a lack of sunlight include weakening of the bone due to the underproduction of vitamin D and depressive conditions such as sleepiness caused by an overproduction of melatonin.

    Our UVB and blue light supplement is designed to mimic the conditions of natural sunlight to mitigate the previously mentioned symptoms. The device would be used to add short wavelength light alongside the miner’s pre-existing headlamp. It is a battery-powered device with user control of the supplemental light and designed to be worn on the hardhat.

  • BME-7 Slope-Activated Wheelchair Power Assist Device

    Students: Skylar Bogardus, Eylon Borenstein, Franky Guardado, Karl Gudino, Jordan Humes

    The goal of the project is to make a completely passive device that is easily attachable to most wheelchair models. The device will provide power to the wheelchair wheels when it detects that it is going up or down a hill. The device will provide enough power to the wheelchair wheels to accommodate for the increase in force on the wheelchair from the slope. The power assist from the device will be adjustable depending on the weight inputted by the user and the degree of the slope. This allows the device to be able to provide only enough power to make up for the increase from the slope, making it so it is just as easy to push the wheelchair on a slope as it is along flat ground. This will allow those who are capable of pushing their own wheelchair to avoid the additional stressed presented by slopes without investing in major power assist or motorized wheelchair options.