Democratizing Scalp Cooling Technology

During the fall 2023 semester, Aroun Awasthi, Seamus Mellican, Nikita Pawar, George Penn and Nick Winkler focused on addressing a prevalent oncology need: mitigating the hair loss experienced by many cancer patients during chemotherapy.

The delivery of chemotherapy agents to hair follicles commonly results in hair loss—which can in fact be mitigated or even prevented through the use of scalp cooling methods. The process limits the delivery of chemotherapy agents to the follicles through vasoconstriction, a method that has existed for decades and was FDA-approved in 2017, with efficacy rates as high as 84 percent. However, only around 10 percent of eligible patients use scalp cooling devices due to their expense, bulk and nebulous design.

The problem hit home for MechSE’s Grayce Wicall Gauthier Professor Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler. “I became involved in the project after being diagnosed with breast cancer and starting chemotherapy.” She consulted with her Carle Cancer Center oncologist, also involved with CI MED, regarding scalp cooling treatments that relatives had mentioned. Unfortunately, the center did not have these systems available.

Current scalp cooling caps, which may be worn by the patient before, during and after a chemotherapy session (where one session can last anywhere from 4 to 8 hours), fall into one of two categories: manual cooling, in which the standalone cap contains intricately arranged ice packs and is replaced repeatedly as the packs thaw; and automatic cooling, in which the patient wears a silicone cap connected to a computer-controlled refrigeration machine that 'pumps coolant continuously.

“The two leading fluid-cooling systems are large and heavy and remain in the clinic, requiring the patient to stay for an additional one to two hours after completion of the chemotherapy while the chemicals are still at their peak,” Hsiao-Wecksler said of the automatic cooling process. “Cold cap ice pack systems allow the patient to go home sooner but require a large cooler to store multiple caps that must be replaced every 30 to 60 minutes.”

Both methods can be costly and many insurance companies don’t cover cooling services or rental. Thus, the CAPSLocks™ project seeks to develop a scalp cooling approach that could lead to reduced expense and improved portability. The fall 2023 team developed a preliminary prototype of an ultra-compact, affordable chiller system that circulated a saltwater mix. The system could also convert between AC and DC power to allow for continuous treatment both indoors and in transit.

“CAPSLocks™ could be a game changer by addressing problems with current systems and helping a lot of cancer patients who are receiving chemotherapy to retain their hair,” Hsiao-Wecksler said.

Having tested the device on a human volunteer to measure scalp temperature and calculate efficiency, the team’s final CAD deliverable presented an optimized model that was less than half the size, weight and price of their closest market competitor’s product.

“We are all excited to see where this goes,” Goel said of the project’s progress.

Creating Custom Mobility

Henry Beuving, Ryan Klein, Austin Kody, Eric Lambke and Ohiomokhai Musa designed and developed a customized bicycle for Logan, an eight-year-old boy in the Chicago suburbs diagnosed with achondroplasia.

Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder credited as the most common cause of dwarfism. The condition has impacted Logan’s physical build, causing his legs to be comparatively short for his body. As a result, commercially available bicycles do not suit his needs.

“The bicycle fit was a problem for Logan because, for example, the handlebars would be the right height, but then the pedals would be too long. Or the pedals would be just right, but then the whole bike would be too tiny,” Beuving explained. “We needed to design a new frame from scratch.”

The team’s other main design consideration was torque generation, as Logan’s family explained that he struggles with pedaling from a standstill. The team calculated gear ratios and sourced a hub that would offset Logan’s efforts to build momentum.

Beuving’s focus during the project was to design a correctly proportioned frame on paper and model it in CAD. The team then met with Logan’s family to receive feedback.

“They gave us a lot of creative freedom to get it working,” Beuving said of collaborating with Logan’s family to design the bike. “They also gave us feedback that helped to improve our design.”

Once the team had arrived at a viable model, they built a full-scale prototype with PVC. For their final deliverable, the team sought help from Silver Machine Shop in Champaign to fabricate a custom steel frame. They farmed wheels, brakes and other universal bicycle components off an existing bike of compatible size.

“I’ve had internships before where I’ve had to design parts for people,” Beuving said. “This was probably the first time where a client told me directly what they needed. [The project] was a really good exercise in getting feedback from everyone involved.”

Beuving and fellow team members Klein and Kody were able to deliver the finished bike to Logan in Chicago late last year, and the occasion was featured on Chicago’s WGN news.

Improving a Surgical Device for Patient Comfort

Other senior design projects focused on specialized medical devices. Saad Alblwi, Evan Drew, Kevin Lui and Tim Sheehan on the Spinal Vision team worked to develop a tool to improve lumbar punctures, a process in which a needle is inserted into the spine between the L4 and L5 vertebrae to extract fluid for testing.

During a lumbar puncture procedure, the doctor typically determines the puncture site by feeling for anatomical landmarks by hand. However, for patients whose landmarks may not be prominent, such as those experiencing obesity or scoliosis, it can be much harder to detect where to insert the needle.

Unsuccessful lumbar punctures, called traumatic taps, account for nearly 10 percent of approximately 363,000 procedures performed annually in the U.S.  To improve the experience for both patient and doctor, the team focused on developing a proof-of-concept prototype for a handheld device that holds both the needle and an ultrasound probe. The device would also employ a rotary potentiometer and gear system to assist the doctor in precisely angling the needle.

“The end goal for the device would be that when a doctor angles the needle toward the puncture site, the ultrasound would help him see exactly where to insert it,” Alblwi said.

The team collaborated with students from CI MED as well as a senior design team from the Department of Bioengineering whose primary focus was to develop an anatomical model for future testing.

“We had three or four prototypes, and each had a problem that we couldn’t avoid,” Alblwi said of the iteration process. “We had to keep changing the design until we arrived at our current deliverable, which was a challenge.”

The device will continue to be developed by future Senior Capstone Design teams.

Refining Surgical Efficacy

Yigit Atas, Dan Andreyev, Darren Biskup and Jonas Sodini on the MOPASS team also focused on evolving a medical procedure that impacts both doctors and patients. The team worked to develop a conceptual prototype for improving hydrocephalus surgeries.

Hydrocephalus is a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid accumulates inside the brain, causing it to expand and put pressure on the skull. The disease is common in infants and older adults, with estimates ranging from 88 per 100,000 children to 400 per 100,000 adults over age 80. Cerebrospinal fluid ordinarily flows through the brain’s ventricles to coat brain matter and the spinal column. However, issues such as poor absorption, flow blockage or overproduction of fluid can lead to a buildup within the ventricles. The pressure is often relieved by surgically inserting a shunt that allows fluid to drain from the skull to a different area of the body, such as the abdomen, where it can be safely reabsorbed.

The shunt is typically a long plastic tube that the surgeon must force between the skin and adipose tissue using a rigid metal shunt passer. Doing so is physically demanding for the surgeon and can cause damage to both layers of tissue, resulting in a longer, more complicated recovery for the patient.

“I watched a VP (ventriculoperitoneal) shunt surgery at Carle Hospital and witnessed the surgeons tunnelling beneath the skin,” said Biskup. “It helped me understand how intensive the process is.”

To mitigate these issues, the team investigated affixing a surgical balloon, or inflatable latex catheter, to the tip of a modified shunt passer so that inflating the balloon would separate skin from subcutaneous tissue and ease the passage of the device through the body in a non-invasive way. For this system, the team also designed a pump controller to operate inflation.

“We went through an ideation phase where we drew ideas for the modified passer,” Biskup described. “It needed to retain a form similar to what surgeons are already familiar with.”

The team was able to test their 3D-printed prototype on a hog cadaver provided by the Department of Animal Sciences. They also experimented with using air versus water to inflate the catheter. Using air would allow for an open deflation system that would exhaust air through a valve. In contrast, a water system would require purging trapped air bubbles, an extra step for the surgeon team. However, water’s incompressibility would likely achieve greater lift with less pumping effort as compared to compressible air. The team explored both pneumatic and hydraulic systems and ended the semester with a conceptual prototype that can continue to be developed in future Senior Capstone Design projects.

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