How pill dispensers and electrical stimulation help patients

In the winter semester 2022/23, a new course has taken place in the Bachelor Biomedical Engineering. In the three majors of the program (Medical Data Engineering, Rehabilitation Engineering, and Medical and Hospital Engineering), students took on a common patient in the subject Workflow Integration.

The aim of the project-based course is to promote interdisciplinary cooperation with the intention of helping a person to deal with his or her own illness. This year, the patient Mag Max Musterpatient, with his own social security number and as a multimorbid patient, was unfortunately not an isolated case in medical reality. In addition to drop foot syndrome, he has a pacemaker implanted, suffers from hypertension and is diabetic. But how can such a patient be supported in a targeted way?

Students worked in groups and across different specializations to find possible solutions and prototype them. The solutions developed have considered different aspects of the patient’s life situation. Automated pill dispensers, a calendar app to keep track of remaining medications, and electrical stimulation solutions and orthotics to support drop foot syndrome were developed.

At the end of the course, the groups presented the results to a panel of faculty and students in attendance as well as via video streaming and reflected on the lessons learned once again.

Among other things, the Bachelor Biomedical Engineering offers students the opportunity to use their practical training in a realistic environment and to experience learning successes in interdisciplinary teams.