Surgical appliance design through student co-creation at PAL-Week.

Abstract

PAL-Week has been developed out of the desire to transition 1st year UG Design Engineering student's learning responsibility and frame the expectation of their University experience through engagement in the first academic week of the year. A novel blend of Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) and Project Based Learning (PBL) techniques provides a rapid learning process with 1st year expectations formed directly through working with their 2nd year colleagues. For their brief, mixed groups of 1st and 2nd year students were asked to design a left radial arm support to assist Interventional Cardiologists from the Cardiac Intervention Unit (CIU) at Royal Bournemouth Hospital (RBH) when conducting Transradial Coronary Angioplasty. The surgical procedure is generally conducted from the right side of the operating table and where the catheter is inserted through the right arm this falls naturally for the procedure. Students researched, analysed and designed viable solutions for the radial arm support and presented solutions at key intervals to staff and peers. The final presentation was submitted as a narrated YouTube video and scaled prototype with all group members questioned. Success can be framed from four perspectives: Firstly, student expectation has been set at the outset of their academic careers. Second, students understand their responsibilities within the transition from taught lessons to student managed learning. Third, students have been introduced to new technology and appropriate methodologies. Forth, the practical outcomes, from the work they have done, are currently informing the development of a working prototype device in partnership with the CIU.