New Project-based, Self-learning Module at Sophomore

Level to Jump-start Computer Aided Design (CAD) Skill

Development in Biomedical Engineering Education
Rucha Joshi*, Asem Aboelzahab*, Melanie Venderley*, Divya Tankasala*, Matthew Thompson*, Shuo Han*, and Andrew Brightman*
*Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
Author Contact: joshi26@purdue.edu

Introduction Methods (contd.) Assessment of student knowledge and skills in CAD

MOTIVATION FOR INTRODUCING NEW CAD MODULE :
Applying CAD in BME is challenging
• Knowing to apply computer aided design (CAD) to create and
test three dimensional designs is becoming increasingly
important in biomedical engineering industry, specifically with
respect to product and medical implant design 1,2.
Feedback from senior students
• Feedback from senior-level students indicated that early
exposure to CAD would greatly enhance marketability for
industry internships
Adjust for variability in prior experience, and expose early
• To adjust for variability of prior experience (from none to a
small amount) and to bring biomedical engineering students
closer to par with other disciplines in their ability to apply CAD
to product design and development, there is a high need to
develop and implement a new CAD learning module
GAP IN CURRENT CURRICULUM:
There is currently no customized CAD component in the curriculum that teaches students
to apply CAD component in their specific biomedical engineering design projects.
Thus, the curriculum is missing:
A) Space for skill • The early stages of BME curriculum have very limited
introduction space for additional skill development.
B) Application to • Full courses related to CAD often focus on features of the
specific field software rather than its application to a specific field3.
SOLUTION:
• Pre and post-CAD module survey were analyzed for students’ understanding
• The CAD module was implemented in a timeline as given in Fig. 2 and ability to recall CAD basics (Graph 5).
• Learning was evaluated using student-submitted documents consisting of CAD • Students’ CAD skills were also assessed based on their CAD deliverables
drawings, prototype tests, and a technical report and their technical reports. Top student team performances are reported in
• Surveys were analyzed to evaluate student knowledge of CAD basics, levels of Table 2. Rubrics were given to students at the launch of CAD module.
motivation and confidence to apply CAD to future projects and careers in BME
• A two-sample Student’s T-Test with a confidence interval of 95% was used to
compare pre and post –CAD module survey data
Insights from Students for Module Improvement
• Survey-based results indicate that the students liked the process of design,
the freedom to create their own design, and to choose the project.
• Students offered significant suggestions such as: i) to introduce the module
Fig. 2: Timeline of CAD module in comparison with BME 206 Lab timeline
at the start of the semester and make it due Mid-semester, and ii) to
introduce design competition within the class projects.
Results
Future Work
Table 1: Student choices for • Improved timescale will be implemented for successful implementation of the
CAD project themes CAD module in future:
Project Themes No. of
students
Intramedullary 18
Nail
DNA 3
Hearing Aid 8
Atherosclerotic 5
Artery

To address the above gaps, here, we developed a course module that is: Fig. 2: Example of student’s CAD drawings (A); Examples of prototyped Hearing Aid (B); Intramedullary nail
• CAD component will be made mandatory in BME 206 lab course through two
 Partially outside the curriculum and involves self-learning as well as project-based skills (C), DNA (D); A Student tests intramedullary nail for mechanical properties using Test Resources machine
(E), as depicted in zoomed in version (G); An intramedullary nail subjected to 3 point bending test (F). options available to students:
development in CAD relevant to BME
1) Students will select and design a biomedical material / implant/ device
 Project-based in CAD, because of previously established successful records of lab- and
Motivation and Confidence to Apply CAD in BME using CAD, and evaluate it using the techniques learnt through BME 206
project-based approaches in teaching core engineering principles
course. The four CAD themes offered this year will also be provided as a
The four objectives of the module were designed for the students to be able to:
Student Interest Level in Chosen CAD Project Student Perceived Interest in Applying CAD choice to students in future.
i) understand and recall the basics of CAD 40 Skills to Designing Biomedical Devices
2) For students not wanting to do a project heavily based on CAD,
ii) design a 3-D model of a biomedical device 40
Pre and Post levels
significantly different selection and evaluation of any readily available biomedical material, implant or
iii) evaluate the rapid prototyped product for the relevant functional properties 30
30
device would be possible using techniques learnt in BME 206 course, however,
Student %

iv) communicate the design process and outcome in a form of written report
Student %

20
Pre 20 the students will have to report how they would use CAD in their project to
Pre
Post make their project better.
Methods 10 10
Post

The new CAD learning module was developed and tested in Spring 2017 as an extra-credit 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0
None Low Medium High Very High Acknowledgements
assignment (worth ten percent of students’ final grade) in the sophomore-level laboratory Interest Level Skill Level

course on biomechanics and biomaterials (BME 206). To increase interest and relevance to This project was supported through sophomore laboratory funding available for
different career paths, four different design projects were offered, as shown in Fig. 1. BME 206 course from the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue
Student Interest in Learning More About CAD Student Responses on Importance of CAD
50 Project on their Future BME Careers University.
60
40
50
References
Student %

Student %

30 40
30
20 20 1. Peng X et al. Assigning students teacher’s role: A student-centered approach in computer-
Pre
Pre
10 Post 10 aided design education. ASME International Mechanical Congress and Exposition, 2016 Vol
Post
0
0 5,:V005T006A008
None A little A A lot A great 2. Schaar RY et al. Jump-starting biomedical design education in the sophomore year: A
moderate deal
Amount human-centered approach. VentureWell. Proceedings of Open, the Annual Conference.
Interest Level Importance Level
Fig. 1: CAD Themes offered to students 2015:1