Designing tools intelligently is key(hole) to success

Keyhole surgery is becoming increasingly popular as the use of minimally-invasive surgical instruments offering patients various benefits including less bleeding, less chance of infections and post-operative complications, smaller scars, shorter recovery time and thus a shorter hospital stay.

Alexia Grech, 23, a University of Malta engineering student, is currently conducting postgraduate research to develop an intelligent prototype design tool that will proactively guide designers of micro biomedical devices so that such instruments may be made more cheaply, be easier to assemble and disassemble, interchange and recycle, and safer and more comfortable for surgeons to use.

Ms Grech noticed that although general guidance on designing medical devices exists, and guidance on designing micro products is also available, there seems to be a missing gap that combines the two together. This meant that there is lack of design support in designers of instruments for micro biomedical sector. The research project's objective is to design, develop, implement and evaluate a means by which designers working in this domain can be proactively supported.

The design of minimally invasive surgical instruments is being taken as a case-study. Once the knowledge from various stakeholders working in the different product life phases is obtained, the challenge is to convert the knowledge into a format that is clear, concise, easily understood by all designers, is easy to use during design, gives recommendations to the designer and alarms the designer of any consequences that may arise.

Jonathan C. Borg, who heads the University's Department of Design and Manufacturing Engineering and is the Ph.D. project supervisor, told The Sunday Times that "the knowledge arising from this project will contribute not only to the development of intelligent design tools but also for actually developing small biomedical devices. The results that will thus spin-off from this research project can contribute towards helping Malta's manufacturing industry shift towards one of higher-added value."

"This project, currently in its early stages, builds upon several years of research work carried out by the department in developing tools that proactively support designers, " he added.

Ms Grech's research is one of several research projects currently being sponsored under the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme (MGSS).

"Thanks to the research grant I managed to attend two relevant conferences, one in the United States and the other in France, which helped me to establish international contacts which otherwise I would have had to do on a self-funded basis," she commented.

She offered the following advice to other university students considering furthering their studies: "Although research at postgraduate level is not easy and involves endurance and determination, the knowledge gained, the exposure of meeting people working in a similar field both locally and internationally, as well as the feeling of knowing that one is contributing to science, is worth the struggle. It is an opportunity not be missed and I encourage all those interested in furthering their studies to take the plunge."