PROJECTS

Medical Assistive Device Design Project 

(2024) 

Focus: Limited transportation infrastructure and harsh winter conditions in northern Canadian communities, such as Nunavut, create significant accessibility challenges for elderly individuals. Standard walkers are prone to sinking into snow or slipping on ice, which increases fall risk, social isolation, and reduced independence. This project aimed to design a practical assistive device that could enhance mobility and safety for older adults in snowy and icy environments. 

What I did: 

Concept development & prototyping: Designed a semi-permanent “ski-walker” attachment compatible with standard walkers using the existing peg-release mechanism, ensuring ease of installation and removal.

3D printing & iteration: Created prototypes using additive manufacturing to rapidly test fit and durability.

Simulation & validation: Conducted SolidWorks simulations to analyze stress distribution, stability, and resistance to slipping; supplemented with material testing to evaluate strength and wear resistance under realistic loading conditions.

Design refinements: Optimized ski geometry to distribute weight evenly, prevent sinking in snow, and enhance glide while maintaining indoor functionality.

Impact: The final ski-walker design provided a low-cost, user-friendly solution that significantly improved walker stability on snow and ice while remaining functional indoors. By addressing a real-world barrier faced by elderly individuals in northern communities, the project demonstrated how engineering design can promote safety, independence, and accessibility in vulnerable populations. The project was awarded a grade of 99%, reflecting both technical rigor and practical impact. 

Biomedical Engineering Design Team – Dental Device for Kenya

 (2023–2024)

Focus: In many low-resource regions, oral healthcare is limited by a shortage of dental professionals, lack of access to diagnostic tools, and difficulties in promoting consistent preventive care. These barriers disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, including individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions who may struggle with oral hygiene, and rural communities where nurses often serve as the first point of care. Our project sought to design low-cost, practical devices to address these gaps and improve oral healthcare accessibility. 

What I did: Leadership & team growth: As team president, expanded the design team from a small core group to over 30 active members across engineering, health sciences, and design disciplines. Established subteams focused on device prototyping, clinical needs assessment, and usability testing.

• Device 1 – Accessible toothbrush system: Oversaw the prototyping of a smart toothbrush and docking charger designed to support individuals with neurodevelopmental or motor coordination challenges. The charger uses indicator lights to highlight areas of the mouth that were missed during brushing, offering real-time, user-friendly feedback to improve brushing effectiveness.
  
  

• Device 2 – Portable intraoral camera for nurses: Directed the design and early prototyping of a low-cost intraoral camera for use by nurses and community health workers. The device enables basic dental imaging in rural or underserved settings, allowing providers to identify potential oral health issues and connect patients with specialists when needed.
  
  

• Partnership development: Coordinated with collaborators at the University of Nairobi, Kenya to assess the need and feasibility of the solutions. This was to ensure that device development aligned with end-user needs and regional healthcare infrastructure.
  
  

Impact

This project advanced two innovative devices with real-world translational potential, demonstrating how biomedical engineering can address critical gaps in oral healthcare delivery. By improving at-home preventive care for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions and providing front-line providers in low-resource communities with diagnostic tools, the work highlights a scalable, low-cost approach to reducing global oral health inequities.

Mechatronic Systems Capstone Project

 (2023) 

Focus: Accurate motion tracking is essential for biomechanics research and rehabilitation, but many clinical environments lack affordable, portable systems that can capture movement outside of lab-based setups. This project aimed to design and prototype a wearable motion tracking device capable of reliably collecting real-time kinematic data in a form factor suitable for everyday clinical or patient use.

What I Did:

• Device design & integration: Developed a wireless, waterproof wearable containing a 9-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) for capturing 3D linear acceleration and angular velocity.
  
  

• Electronics & communication: Designed a custom Wi-Fi–enabled PCB to continuously stream motion data to a laptop or mobile device for immediate visualization and analysis. Developed an Android app for real-time data display and feedback.
  
  

• Form factor & usability: Encased electronics in a compact, waterproof housing designed for comfort and durability during lab, clinical, or rehabilitation use.
  
  

• Validation & Performance Testing:
  
  

  • Waterproofing: Preliminary IP67 testing (1 m depth, 30 min target) showed initial failures due to 3D printing tolerances. Gasket designs (3D printed and rubber cord) were evaluated; future improvements identified (e.g., injection molding).
    
    

  • Adhesion: Tested Alien tape for wrist attachment under vigorous shaking and water immersion; tape successfully retained the device and AirPods-sized weights, confirming suitability for exercise environments.
    
    

  • IMU data rate: Measured maximum data rate of 278.7 Hz (above the minimum 100 Hz required for capturing workout motion), confirming the LSM6DS0 IMU was sufficient for real-time motion capture.
    
    

  • Wireless transmission: Validated ESP32-WROOM-32 protocols (Wi-Fi & ESP-Now) with <50 m range, ensuring zero packet loss at 100 Hz data rate; average response times of 2–5 ms.
    
    

  • Power consumption: Measured 172.7 mA (receiver) and 103.2 mA (sender), slightly below theoretical max, providing a reliable baseline for battery selection.
    
    

  • Heart-rate sensor: Tested an infrared sensor on various body sites; found performance limited to thin skin areas (e.g., fingertip, earlobe). Integrated external I2C port for alternative sensors in the final design.
    
    

  • User input: Double-tap interrupt detection on IMU successfully toggled indicator LEDs, confirming responsive and reliable input control.
    
    

Impact:
The prototype demonstrated the feasibility of a low-cost, real-time motion tracking device suitable for clinical and rehabilitation environments. Validation tests confirmed the device’s durability, wireless reliability, power efficiency, and usability, supporting its potential for remote patient monitoring, quantitative rehab progress tracking, and personalized movement analysis.

Open-Source X-Ray Positioning Tool 

(2023) 

Focus: Improving imaging access in low-resource clinical settings.

What I did: Collaborated with the Fanshawe College Radiology Department to design a 3D-printed wrist positioning device compatible with X-ray imaging. Iterated prototypes to determine which 3D print settings decreased the product visibility in an x-ray image, durability, and cost-effectiveness. Met with various clinicians and technicians to receive feedback. The product is currently patent pending.

Impact: Produced a reproducible, open-source device that lowers barriers to consistent imaging in under-resourced healthcare environments.

Motion Capture & Normative Joint Angles 

(2022) 

Focus: Designed an experiment with 20 participants to measure upper-body joint angles during the FIT-HaNSA functional task series.

What I did: Used a marker-based motion capture system and analyzed movement patterns with Dartfish software. Supported ongoing research on wrist implant biomechanics by providing normative motion data.

Impact: Helped establish baseline joint kinematics that can be used to improve implant design and rehabilitation strategies.

Cadaveric Wrist Implant Testing 

(2022)

• Focus: Investigated the biomechanical performance of a new wrist implant design.
  
  

• What I did: Assisted a PhD student by preparing and testing cadaveric specimens with a Robotic Cadaver Manipulation System. Helped with surgical implantation procedures and collected kinematic data to evaluate implant stability and function.
  
  

• Impact: Provided essential data on implant strength and performance, contributing to the refinement of next-generation wrist implants for clinical use.

Mechatronic Second Year Design Project

(2020)

Focus: Developing mechanical, electrical, and software skills to create a robot that can navigate around an object and climb a rope.

What I did: In the virtual labs, learned hands on skills such as soldering, programming and systems design. Then collaborated in a team to add on attachments that would be able to complete the desired task.

Impact: Helped evaluate and identify safer imaging materials to advance breast cancer screening technology.

High School Research Assistant 

(2018)

Focus: Contributed to imaging research at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

What I did: Supported development of a new PEM prototype scanner by collecting medical imaging data, studying radiation side effects, and building a phantom testing device to measure scanner radiation levels.

Impact: Helped evaluate and identify safer imaging materials to advance breast cancer screening technology.