alex walsh

A retrospective review of the etiologies and management outcomes of uroenteric fistulas in Maricopa Medical Center's hospital patients was conducted and presented to the hospital's urologists. MMC's Chartmaxx and Epic electronic medical records were reviewed to acquire information such as patient history, symptoms, diagnosis method, treatment, outcome, etc. Presently, a manuscript is being written for publication in a peer reviewed journal.

I was responsible for developing a research project that a high school student could work on and learn more about the field of biomedical engineering. The goal of the project was to create an artificial hand with bones and muscle tissue and utilize electronics to replace sensation lost in patients with nerve damage. I taught engineering concepts such as circuits, programming (Arduino & MATLAB), sensors, mold-making, casting, etc. to a student with no prior experience. With my help, she successfully constructed a biofidelic hand that could detect the temperature, applied force, sensation location, and degree of flexion on a finger.

The aim of this project is to evaluate the biofidelity of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training manikins in terms of their physical response during chest compressions and develop an improved design that better mimics a human body response. The properties of several types of foam and thermoplastic elastomers, including force deflection and compression set, are being tested to determine which material effectively characterizes a human torso. A scale-down (infant) model was built by molding and casting SEBS with a rib cage to demonstrate that a more human-like manikin can be made at a low cost. In past work, a CPR performance-measuring device was developed to record compression depth and rate. The device utilized an accelerometer to measure acceleration during compressions and Arduino powered and recorded the information. The data was analyzed in MATLAB to display displacement vs. time.

I assist emergency physicians with patient charts at various Banner Health medical centers in the Phoenix area. My responsibilities include documentation of the initial patient assessment, physical examination, reassessments, procedures, and physician consults. I also import patient history, background information, lab tests, and imaging reports into patient charts.

Thesis: The evaluation of different foams and thermoplastics to develop a biofidelic CPR manikin