Site and Clinical visit from summer 2015
The BIE program is comprised of a two-pronged immersion approach: (1) Clinical Visits where teams interact with clinicians and (2) Site Visits made where they observe and interview lead and expert users. Clinical Visit sites were chosen to span a wide range of specialties and environments. Before each visit, program members completed background research relevant to each site. In the Clinical Visits the teams observed clinical management of particular disease states, from logistical concerns to therapeutic strategies.
As with previous BIE summer programs, the teams observed and documented latent needs, issues, comments, and general unmet needs in a database of over 300 user need statements from their findings, which are used in the 2015 Capstone course.
Clinical Visits
San Francisco General Hospital Ward 86 HIV clinic
This visit included several presentations by clinicians regarding the mechanisms of HIV, models of patient care, global treatment campaigns, and research on cures. After these talks, Dr. Susan Coffey gave a tour of the HIV ward, exam rooms, and offices.
San Francisco General Hospital Toxicology Laboratory
Teams went on Toxicology Grand Rounds at the Poison Center with Dr. Alan Wu, listening to several interesting cases. They then toured the Radiology Department, Emergency Department, Cardiac Catheter Lab, Research Lab, Dialysis Center, the Hematology, Toxicology, and Chemistry labs, including the Blood Bank. At each department Dr. Wu pointed out typical medical devices and allowed BIE members to interview the staff. At the Central Laboratory where clinical samples are processed, Dr. Wu and an MD/PhD resident talked about Point-of-Care devices, discussing why some products succeeded on the market and others failed to meet any real clinical need.
UCSF Neuro Interventional Radiology
The teams witnessed angiograms and other neuro interventional radiology procedures by Dr. Steven Hetts and his colleagues. In addition, he detailed various technological challenges that come with diagnosing and treating stroke, especially with regard to the time-sensitivity in which the condition progresses.
UCSF Liver Transplant Clinic
Dr. Danielle Brandman led a comprehensive tour of the program, including an introductory presentation about liver disease and the transplant program. Groups then visited the clinic to meet nurses who coordinate patient visits, went on rounds with the transplant team. During a visit to the endoscopy unit a group was able to observe a colonoscopy.
Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI)
At CHORI, a center for thalassemia and sickle cell disease, the BIE group met with Dr. Marcela Weyhmiller and Dr. Ellen Fung. They learned about the unique bone density and iron overload diagnostic tools. Many of the BIE members were able to experience the DXA bone density scan. The group also toured the state-of-th-art SQUID liver content scan.
UC Davis Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Ambulatory Care Clinic)
At the Ambulatory Care Clinic, a BIE team observed nerve conduction studies and the electromyography procedures on two patients. Another team observed an EMG study with a patient and some BIE members experienced an EMG study on themselves.
San Francisco VA Medical Center’s Epilepsy Center
BIE teams met with Dr. John Hixson who provided them with a comprehensive lecture on epilepsy diagnostics and treatments followed by a tour of the clinic. They learned about the nuances of the epileptic technologies market and product space.
Site Visits
UC Davis Small Animal Surgery Center
The BIE group met with Dr. Michele Steffey and observed two surgeries – a patent ductus arteriosus and a gastropexy/spay. They also had an opportunity to interview a senior DVM candidate about her experiences in the operating room.
Medical Device Large Industry: Intuitive Surgical
The group met with the Senior Director of Medical Research, Jonathan Sorger, who gave them the opportunity to use the daVinci Xi surgical system. They also toured the manufacturing plant and saw each of the stages necessary to put the final product together.
Mobile Medicine: Stanford Life Flight
During the tour of the Stanford Life Flight Helicopter, the BIE group met with an RN, a flight pilot, and the on-call engineer.
Medical Device Startup: Zephyrus Biosciences
At Zephyrus, Dr. Kelly Gardner gave the teams a tour of the workspace within the shared QB3 East Bay Innovation Center. Afterwards, she described what a startup was like, how to obtain funding, and how to take a product from conception to the “end goal” of expanding the product line or becoming acquired by a larger company.
Scandic Springs, Inc.
The group toured the manufacturing plant and learned about the important considerations during the design process to facilitate a smooth transition into manufacturing.
Think2Build
The BIE group met with Mike Strasser and toured the premises. They learned about the design process and were walked through the milestones in a variety of projects in the Think2Build portfolio – from a perfect grilled cheese storage container to an improved FedEx box.