written by Chris Levert
Regardless of your field of study, most of your time at the University is spent analyzing classical problems fraught with theory and derivations. Less time is spent looking at not only the practical application but specifically the realistic implimentation of the theories and equations that students spend so many sleepless nights memorizing and practicing. Keeping this in mind makes the opportunity that Otto Bock graciously gave us that much more special and impressive.
Having the opportunity to tour their actual production facilities and not just see the technical mechanics of how the advanced devices they design was an important part of our education. It was impressive to note how something that most engineers and other research oriented students would not consider important, the transfer of goods and information from different sectors of the company such as manufacturing, storage and logistics, was flawlessly executed using a highly sophisticated automated conveyor belt and software system.
Allowing us to see how even the smallest portions of running a company can not only become problematic but can be solved using the same problem solving skills that we are taught in our engineering classes was both instructional and a postive reinforcement of the skills that we are trying to develop. Along this note, when the research and design engineer that Otto Bock sent to guide us through the company walked us through the problem solving methods that Otto Bock used when designing the latest state of art prosthetic feet/ankle devices I could almost hear the silence as all the engineering students saw how the same troubleshooting techniques we learn about were applied in the real world design and implementation of a biomedical device. It was interesting to note the manner in which Otto Bock manufactured the parts that they were designing into their devices.
The metals, classical materials used in medical devices for years, could be manufactured efficiently using automated machines that could manufacture almost any part that Otto Bock desired. The carbon, a more advanced material that has only begun to be incorporated in medical devices in the last ten or twenty years, still requires the precision that only handmade materials can provide. For biomedical engineers, being able to see the different materials that we have studied used for different purposes, and the different challenges that each material presents to the company helped to solidify the reasoning behind study the wide variety of topics that we are required to study.
Then, seeing these materials applied to new and exciting products like the C-Leg was exciting for any material science inclined engineers. For those that appreciate the software side more, Otto Bock was kind enough to walk us through how the different tranducers on the foot, a rather simple device by itself, could be implemented in such way that it could profoundly help patients suffering from conditions such as dropfoot and improve their lives dramatically.
To see simple theoretical devices applied in such new and exciting ways helped to reinvigorate our drive to understand those concepts so that we too can design devices as well as giving many of us hope that we could design useful devices, not just after years of study, but with the knowledge that we have now.
This opportunity that Otto Bock gave us was at the same time both a fun and exciting way to see the latest and greatest bioengineering products as well as an excellent opportunity to see how classwork is applied in the real world.
