Summer SAVY, Session 2 Day 3, Biomedical Engineering (1st-2nd)
Happy Wednesday!
We began our day as biomedical engineers seeking to answer this guiding question: How does a healthy human knee move, and how can materials with different properties help us design a knee brace?
We started the morning with learning about goniometers, a tool used to measure Range of Motion (ROM). We measured the ROM of our healthy knees, discussed our data, and drew conclusions about healthy movement for healthy knees. This information should inform the design of our knee braces. Then, we sought to understand the extent of Matthias’ injured knee. Since Matthias isn’t real, we determined that we could use a model to represent Matthias’ injury.
To apply our knowledge, we labeled the bones and ligaments on our injured knee models and explored their range of motion using our modified goniometers. We compared our data to the data from healthy knees to determine which aspects of the injury needed to be supported by the brace we would design and create. Ask your learner which knee movements need to be supported by their brace design and which aspects of knee movement should be limited or restricted by the knee brace.
This afternoon, we enjoyed a virtual visit from Dr. Song, MD, a Sports Medicine Doctor with a focus on physical medicine and rehabilitation. He taught us about the knee as a hinge joint, common knee injuries, and treatments for the injuries.
We wrapped up our day by combining information we’ve learned from Dr. Song, Dr. Norwood, and in class to collaborate with our engineering partners and sketch our initial design ideas.
Some key understandings from today were: the human knee does not move freely- its motion is restricted to certain directions, and models can be used to test design ideas. On Friday, we’ll explore properties of materials we can use in our knee brace design, continue through the steps in the Engineering Design Process, and bring our knee brace designs to life!
Below are some dinner table questions to consider asking your child to help them solidify new knowledge and reflect on their learning:
- What is a joint?
- How do our healthy knees move?
- What are some common injuries of the knee, and what technologies have been engineered, or could be engineered, to fix them?
See you Friday!
Warmly,
Ms. Courtney & Ms. Sharon
