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Rapid Prototyping of a Skeletal Muscle ‐ An Engineering Application in an Anatomy and Physiology Course
Author(s) -
Stecher Nadine,
Chomyszak Stephen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.541.3
Subject(s) - presentation (obstetrics) , curriculum , computer science , experiential learning , rapid prototyping , set (abstract data type) , engineering management , engineering , medicine , mathematics education , psychology , mechanical engineering , pedagogy , surgery , programming language
The Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) is an undergraduate institution with a focus on teaching technical design and engineering. Biomedical Engineering students are required to complete the Anatomy & Physiology course sequence. Recently, the teaching effort at WIT is moving towards an externally‐collaborative, project‐based, interdisciplinary curriculum for learning – experiential learning with the goal of career success. As part of the Anatomy & Physiology I course, we developed an interdisciplinary project that concentrates on rapid prototyping, the fabrication of a 3D scale model of an object with the help of computer software. This technique has become increasingly popular in the biomedical engineering industry. Students were given the opportunity to become familiar with the rapid prototyping method and apply it to a biological concept. Students designed and printed a 3D representation of a skeletal muscle. The project was accomplished in groups of 3‐4 students and was co‐taught by instructors of the Departments of Sciences and Mechanical Engineering & Technology. The summative assessment included an oral and written presentation of the project outcome. The perception of learning gains was measured with an anonymous post‐project student survey. The act of integrating tactile muscular facsimiles onto a scaled skeleton provided the students with a better understanding of the reasons why muscles are shaped the way they are and how they work together to manipulate the human skeleton. In addition, the students were able to implement the concepts of the human musculoskeletal system in one of the state‐of‐the‐art design and manufacturing methods in Engineering.