It has been a while since I last blogged about the progress of the project here at West Point. Throughout the past seven weeks, I have worked to learn the ins and outs of the different tests and techniques that make biomedical engineering possible. Now, I have begun to see some of the work that we have done come to fruition as the final goal of the project moves within reach.
As a refresher, the lab that I am working in seeks to develop a device that can “smell” substances using the same biological pathways that allow living organisms to smell. As the project approaches completion, some of the focus within the lab has moved away from engineering the detection mechanism. The reason for this is that the development of a working prototype has become a priority, with the platform of choice being Arduino. Arduino, in sum, is a beginner-friendly microcontroller. It is a small computer chip on which data can be retrieved from sensors, basic data analysis can occur, and outputs can be issued. The microcontroller itself is very easy to use, requiring only a basic knowledge of programming (in a variant of C). On the hardware side of things, the only skill required is the ability to use a breadboard, which can be easily learned in an afternoon. Within the context of the eNOSE project, the Arduino’s job is to monitor the specially engineered cells for a response to their stimuli. Once it recognizes a response, it will record the data and perform some basic analysis in order to determine whether or not the cells have encountered a target compound. The Arduino will then broadcast the data (as well as the conclusions drawn from it) to a phone via Bluetooth. This week, I primarily worked on getting that Bluetooth connection to work. Unfortunately, I had little to no success. While we were able to get the Bluetooth transceiver online, there were issues with getting our phones to recognize the device. Even when we were able to connect our phones to the Arduino, data streaming became an issue of its own. It’s going to take some more tinkering in order to get the prototype online. By all accounts, I failed, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn anything. While working on the code, I practiced with a project that allows the Arduino to “hijack” a phone’s keyboard. I familiarized myself with how to interface a Bluetooth dongle with an Arduino, how Bluetooth actually works, and how much more frustrating wireless communication is compared to regular serial communication via a USB cable. I am hopeful that in the following weeks, the prototype will come together, and the research we have been working on will result in the creation of a truly impactful device. As a last note, it would be remiss of me to not mention my excitement for the opportunity I have been given by my BASIS advisors. I have been selected to give a special spotlight presentation on my experience here at West Point. As sad as I will be to leave New York, I can’t wait to share my story with my colleagues once I get back home.
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Out of all of the incredible things I have experienced during my time at West Point thus far, one procedure in the lab stands above all the rest. In every biology class that I had ever taken, I learned about genetic engineering. I was taught how a gene from jellyfish can produce Green Fluorescent Protein in lab rats and cause them to glow, I heard about how crops can become more resilient to pests with the introduction of foreign genetic material, but I never knew how the outside DNA made it into the organisms in the first place. The answers lie in transfection, a technique that I had never heard of until my first week in the lab.
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AuthorIsaac Dabkowski - 2017 BASIS Oro Valley senior Archives |