Projects
Product design is all about listening to the client, stakeholders, and users and then bringing the product to life. Below are some examples of how I did just that.
Germination Machine
Ever wonder which seeds will produce the most tomatoes, but don't want to wait 3 months to find out? At Cooper Perkins (CP), we had a client that wanted to know the answer. I led the team that developed this germination machine so they could do just that in a highly controlled environment.
Power Assisted Drug Delivery
While working for a large pharmaceutical company at CP, I worked on a team developing a drug delivery device designed to amplify the input force of the user. On this project, I designed some of the 17 parts that fit within the 32mm diameter, along with the 4 springs for mass manufacturing. I also oversaw the Alpha build and testing and wrote MATLAB code to quickly compile data and compare the results to the mathematical model.
Eddy Current Brake Design
I was part of a team developing a magnetic based resistance unit for a piece of sports equipment at CP. There were multiple parameters that affected the resistance range we could achieve and the size of the device. Through looking at mathematical models and building a prototype that could test these parameters, we were able to optimize for performance and size.
Home Monitor
At CP, a security company came to us with their idea for a home security device that also was aesthetically pleasing. As the lead ME on this project I was able to turn their vision and ID into a reality. This device is equipped with night vision, environmental monitoring, a siren, and a light pipe that illuminates the surface below, all of which fits in a sleek extruded aluminum housing sealed together with injection molded end caps.
MVS
At Medtronic, I was part of the R&D team developing the O-arm, a 16 DOF surgical 3-D X-ray imaging device. Here, I gained insight into how large assemblies come together and developed an appreciation for the importance of designing for manufacturability. I led the redesign effort of the mobile viewing station (MVS) to meet ISO-60601 requirements, improved manufacturability and serviceability, and updated the ID to match the Medtronic neurosurgical product lines.
Root Cause Analysis
For this project, the client had a new medical device in the field that wasn't performing as it had in the lab. My first step was to understand what "good" and "bad" meant in the clinicians' eyes and then understand why images were becoming obscured. I was then able brainstorm and test solutions to fix those problem. By the end of the project, the client was equipped with solutions to quickly improve their user experience.
Flare MVP
While moonlighting at Flare, I guided the team through the development process of creating their MVP. I developed the product requirements and then designed and built the startup’s first integrated prototype. This MVP enabled Flare to secure their next round of funding and ultimately land on the Time’s best 100 inventions of 2020.