Grace Varughese

Our medical product design class got the opportunity to go to visit the Wiser Institute, which is a center that simulates clinical techniques to teach residents and medical students before practicing on actual patients. At the Wiser Institute, we learned how to perform a bronchoscopy. To practice the technique, the center designed a prototype of the bronchoscope, which consists of a wooden block with a trachea tube attached to it, and a picture of a clock at the end. Residents can practice moving the scope  through the tube, so that they are able to see the different hands on the clock.  Our task is to build a improved prototype that makes the simulation even closer to how it would be like in reality.

 

The picture on the left shows how the bronchoscope goes down the throat, and through the trachea. It goes down deep enough just where the two lungs separate. 

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This picture on the left shows how the bronchoscope is guided by a camera, which shows the vocal chords. The tip of the bronchoscope can be maneuvered by moving the lever up and down with the thumb. Movement of the wrist is also imperative for clear guided imaging of the pathway.Often times when starting out, there is a lot of difficulty getting to where you want to go without hitting obstacles, so an improved model should definitely focus on this key issue.

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This video outlines the steps to perform a bronchoscopy.

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This video outlines how to put the bronchoscope through the nasal cavity, and what structures to look for visually. 

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