Starting with an eight-week fellowship in Kampala, Uganda, I am continuing to work on developing ThermoFlo, a low-cost in-line intravenous (IV) fluid warmer designed to combat the high rates of perioperative hypothermia by ensuring that IV fluids are optimally warmed before administration to patients. I work with an exceptional team comprising fellow Duke student Jennifer An and Makerere University students Byamugisha Joan and Mulonde Nickson.
Thermoflo features a user-friendly keypad and an intuitive LCD interface, allowing healthcare providers to effortlessly set the desired temperature for IV fluids. The device efficiently warms the fluid in the IV tubing to the specified temperature, ensuring patient comfort and safety. Rigorous testing confirmed that Thermoflo precisely delivers fluid temperatures within ±1°C of set points between 35°C and 41°C.
In this project, I played a key role in electronic development, testing, and data analysis. I transitioned the heating control from digital to PWM for improved accuracy, designed PCB schematics, and miniaturized the circuit for a more compact form factor. Additionally, I upgraded the casing from laser-cut materials to a standardized plastic electronic enclosure, ensuring better durability and reproducibility. I also wrote software to integrate these changes seamlessly and conducted extensive testing to correlate device output, heating pad temperature, and water temperature, ultimately validating the updated design.
Skills: Embedded systems, circuit design and miniaturization, pulse-width modulation (PWM) control, battery management systems, prototyping and testing, human-centered design (HCD), thermal systems engineering, CAD for enclosure design, sensor integration, low-cost manufacturing, power electronics, graphical data analysis, project management, team collaboration, PCB design, technical documentation.