Johns Hopkins CBID design team wins global health design competition

A biomedical design team from the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CBID) took 1st place at the 2015 National Undergraduate Global Health Technology Design Competition. Twenty-three teams from over fifteen universities and 3 countries competed in the annual design contest held at Rice University in Houston on March 27.

The Johns Hopkins team, SpiroSense, captured the top honor with a complete diagnostic system for obstructive lung disease. Team members included Rodolfo Finocchi (team leader), Rachel Yung, Chris Corbett, Manyu Sharma, Rohit Joshi, Rohith Bhethanabotla, Xindi Ai and Angelo Cruz.

SpiroSense is an easy-to-use, low-cost spirometer — an instrument used for evaluating pulmonary function. SpiroSense combines signal detection and processing with a simple mechanism to direct the flow of air from the patient exhaling into the device. The team will be integrating the device into existing kiosk systems to provide much-needed diagnostic testing in rural communities in India.

The award for best poster went to Team TocoTrack of Johns Hopkins University for its automated device to monitor uterine contractions during labor to allow for the timely detection and clinical treatment of obstructed labor.