We have been trying to come up with the best and convenient design for the suction pump add-on. We came up with the idea that we should come up with a circuit that will contain sensors that will transmit and receive light thereby sensing the level of fluid in the bottle.

The recommended sensors are the Ultrasonic sensor and Infrared sensor. The ultrasonic sensor is used to measure distance by transmitting sound waves and then reading the reflected wave from any surface. The infrared Sensor has a transmitter on one side and a receiver on the other end. The receiver gets light from the infrared LED.

We brainstormed about the good housing which is going to be efficient as well as not bulky. We came up with three designs: belt design, stand design and plastic-cover hole design.

I. Belt design
• The belt design would have a transmitting sensor on one end and a receiving sensor on the other end.
• The belt would wrap the bottles that contain the fluids. It is required that the sensors should be aligned so that    the receiver should receive the light and reflect it (light travels in a straight line).

II. Stand design
• We came up with the stand design idea after considering that the bottles need to be cleaned. The stand would be  movable so the sensors will not be affected when cleaning the jars.
III. Bottle-cover hole design
• This design will have a sensor in it which will be put in a hole which will be cut on each bottle.
• The sensor will then sense the level of fluid.
• This is the simplest design but it is not practical because we asked the Biomedical Engineer at Physical Assets Management at QECH who did not recommend the idea.
When we came up with all the designs, I and Emily went to Chatinkha Nursery as well as Chatinkha Operating Theatre to ask the nurses and doctors of their preferred designs. We met one of the nurses who recommended that it is better that we implement the Belt design since it is simple to use as well as not requiring a lot of space. She said that the stand design is also a good one but because of space, it will not be efficient therefore the nurses will be reluctant to use it.

We are still doing the research about the suction pump machine. A suction pump pumps fluids from patients to a bottle that needs to be emptied once it is full. The problem that we found was that when the bottle is full, the nurse sometimes forgets to empty the bottle so the fluid tends to flow into the machine and damage the motor. We are trying to design a circuit that will help to alert the nurses or guardians that the bottle is about to be full so that they can empty it.

We thought of designing an alarm system that will be attached to the machine. The system will have a water level sensor that will sense the level of fluid and then activate the buzzer which will then produce a sound.

The past week has been a great one. Over the weekend Catherine, Emily, Sarah and I went out for chitenje (wrap) shopping. We went to different shops. I liked the tour so much because they were overwhelmed by the chitenje varieties that we found. This weekend we are going to a tailor so that he can make skirts, jackets, dresses and trousers for them. After the chitenje shopping we went to the wood market. They bought different items in the market and they told me that they will give them to their friends and families as gifts.

We also went to Jacaranda School for Orphans. It is 30 minutes away from the Polytechnic. We went there so that we can motivate the secondary school students. I took the lead in the motivation talk. I felt so proud of myself because I was able to encourage my Malawian ladies that they can make it to the university and contribute to the development of our country. As you know the literacy rate for ladies in Malawi is low, and it is my desire that the few students that I have motivated should become responsible citizens of Malawi. I had a little chat with the girls after the gathering and I inspired them through my life story. I told them that they should work hard at school and make good friends. They asked me a lot of questions about university life and how I made it. I told them different courses that they can pursue when they pass their secondary school certificate examinations. I really look forward to seeing Malawian girls succeed in their education so that they do not have to rely on someone for their sustainability

 

The past two weeks we were designing and developing the dosing meter. We went to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Gogo Chatinkha Ward to check how the blue lights are used. We then proceeded with the design and its almost done now. We tried to design the meter at low cost as possible so that it should be affordable to purchase by different hospitals. 

Oh. I forgot. We went to Kabula lodge to have dinner. I taught Catherine, Emily and Sarah how to cook Malawian dishes. We cooked nsima, dry fish and some vegetables. I also learnt how to prepare banana pancakes. They were so delicious.

the food that we prepared.

We went to Physical Assets Management( PAM) in QECH so that we can have an enlightenment on other projects that we can work on. We came with many ideas. One of them was about the Suction Pump. It sucks body fluids from the patient into a bottle. When the bottle is full, the fluid goes into the machine which then gets broken. we came up with an idea of having something like a buzzer which will alert the nurse that the bottle is full so that they can empty it.

My name is Christina Samuel. I am a fourth year student studying Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering. I am so excited that I have the opportunity to be part of the Beyond Tradition Borders summer internship program. I haven’t written a blog before, so bear with me..hahaha. I have made friends with Emily, Catherine and Sarah. They are so cool.

The first week was all about getting to know each other and brainstorming about the projects that we want to design and develop. The first project that we all agreed to do was a Phototherapy Dosing Meter. Some students at Rice University designed and developed an analog dosing meter but it was not working. Final year students from the Polytechnic also designed and developed a digital dosing meter but it had no filter and it was not sensitive to light. We brainstormed about how we could come up with a working dosing meter. We all agreed that it should be a digital one which is well calibrated and more sensitive to light.