Undergraduate Program

Undergraduate Design Teams

The focal point of CBID’s undergraduate program is the Design Team course, offered through the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Over the course of a year, teams of students design novel medical devices to solve problems identified by practicing clinicians and members of industry. Over the past five years, these design teams have completed 58 medical device projects, received eight provisional patents (with three patent applications pending), two licensing agreements, and have formed two start-up companies.

On Design Day, held every spring, Design Teams deliver both oral and poster presentations of their products, detailing design ideas resulting from their research and coursework.

Among the many successful devices invented by BME undergraduates are a less intrusive and potentially safer chest closure system for use after heart surgery, a pullout-resistant pedicle screw for the treatment of vertebral fractures in osteoporotic patients, and a cervical probe that helps detect premature labor.

The successes of these projects have unleashed a previous dormant entrepreneurial spirit among our undergraduates, who have won a score of sponsored grants, national design, and business plan competitions. Winning these competitions has in turn translated into widespread publicity for our undergraduates and their future success in biomedical engineering. A full description of the undergraduate program is given on the BME Undergraduate Program website.