- CALIBRATION
For the past week we have been calibrating our phototherapy dosing meter. To do this we used a commercial dosing meter called Olympus bilimeter as the standard.
The procedure
We measured the irradiance using the Olympus bilimeter and our dosing meter, then we compared the readings from both meters. The exact placement of the Olympus bilimeter and our dosing meter were controlled and maintained at the center of the light, and both meters were placed at a distance of 22 cm from the light source, which is the standard distance used when calibrating phototherapy dosing meters.
We took 20 irradiance measurements with both meters, at various levels of light intensity. This process was done four times. Then the readings were entered into MATLAB where the best polynomial for the data was determined.
- HAPPY KIDS, HAPPY INTERNS…
The students also had something that really caught our attention, they are doing a great recycling project, in which they are making chairs out of used plastic bottles. They are also making solar lamps. The most interesting part about the lamps is that, they are made from locally found materials of which most of them are milk tins and plastic containers.
We were also treated to a wonderful a Capella singing by the boys’ and girls’ jacapella groups. These are singing groups composed of the Jacaranda students.The students were really excited by our visit, so was every one of us.
- A PUMP THAT SHOULD NOT PUMP ALL OF THE TIME…
In the week, we went to PAM, (a department at the Queen Elizabeth central hospital responsible for the maintenance of hospital devices for Q.E.C.H and surrounding government hospitals), to find out the problems they face. One of the devices that breaks frequently is the suction pump. It is used to pump out body fluids. The problem we found after enquiring from the PAM personnel is that the bottles that, are used to store the fluids tend to overflow, and when this happens, the fluids flood the motor area and damages the motor. Most of the times, this happens because the machine is usually left unattended.
The team then decided to find the solution to this problem so that the bottles never overflow.
Objectives:
Our main objective is to design a system that will switch of the pump when the bottles are full. The system also has to warn the person using it when the bottle is 75% full, by the means of a sound.
Progress:
We are still in the researching phase.