By Elianna Novitch
New technology will soon be available to students in the University of Iowa Department of Biomedical Engineering, which will provide opportunities that it didn’t have before.
The Carver Charitable Trust recently awarded the UI College of Engineering with a grant of roughly $820,000 for a new medical-device-design lab. The grant was matched by the Biomedical Engineering Department.
“Students will now have the ability to make things like muscular skeletal implants or something that would be placed in the cardiovascular system in a way that is in line with how these devices are being made in industry,” said biomedical engineering Associate Professor Sarah Vigmostad. “They are going to work with the same technology they would be seeing when they go to industry.
“They will not only be well-prepared, they will be able to test their designs in ways that most places in the country can’t do right now with some of this new cutting-edge technology.”
The new lab will be located in the Seamans Center. Officials expect the addition of the lab to be beneficial for students and faculty.
“This lab helps to complement some of the other capabilities that we have been fortunate enough to develop over the course of the last few years with other Carver Family trust funds,” Vigmostad said. “Some of the capabilities that our students did not have before, we will now have with this new lab.”
Vigomostad was one of the faculty members involved with developing the grant for the lab. She was also one of three faculty members who accepted the grant from Carver Charitable Trust.
Along with funding the purchase of new machines for the lab, the grant also helped with the creation of Colleen McHenry’s new position as manager of the lab.
She said 30 percent of her new position is managing the lab and the other 70 percent is teaching.
“I’ll be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the lab. Right now that includes setting up all the new equipment as it comes in,” she said. “Hopefully, we can get it up and running soon so that it can be integrated into the biomedical-engineering curriculum.”
Along with faculty, students anticipate the opening of the new lab and all that could come from it.
“I think this is a really good asset for the biomedical engineering department,” UI senior Claire Castaneda said. “I think it is going to be a really cool, new space for people to explore. So much of engineering and our education is not just designing but also getting a chance to freely operate.”
The new Carver Medical Device Design Lab will be the third biomedical engineering lab funded by the Carver Charitable Trust.
“This lab will fulfill a huge void in the department,” McHenry said. “It will offer equipment, space, facilities, support, and training that students might not otherwise have had the opportunity to have. It will really enhance the educational experience.
“Students in the program are already working on projects that have real-world applications, and in order to create a prototype, a product, or hopefully a new invention, they need access to a state-of-the art facility that will help them get there like this one.”
