Athena ChienI enjoy the interdisciplinary and creative sides of device design, energized by the possibility of coming up with ingenious but simple and revolutionary designs. I have also gained skills (and enjoy) working in teams - and can clearly communicate the problem context and solution to broad audiences from both engineering and business backgrounds. And, I have developed what I call "general engineering" and prototying skills (working with Arduinos, DAQs, 3D-printers, milling machines, laser cutters etc.).
Year-long, 6-person team project developing an aerosolized drug delivery system with automated inspiratory detection targeting Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS). RDS is the leading cause of death for preterm infants, with an untreated mortality rate close to 100%. Luckily, aerosolized surfactants treatments can greatly reduce mortality rate by depositing deeply into the lungs while remaining non-invasive. However, available aerosol delivery systems suffer from extremely low drug efficiency rates (around 1%). By automatically administering a reliable dose of aerosolized pulmonary surfactant during inhalation, our BDAD device shows promise of efficient and effective surfactant delivery solution for infants with RDS. Sponsored by Zewski Corporation. My focus was in the biosignal processing, detecting inhalation from ECG signals.
3rd Place at Design of Medical Devices Conference 2021, won Best Interdisciplinary Engineering Design Award (School of Engineering), Outstanding Bioengineering Design Team
Team Members: Hope Fa-Kaji (Mech. Engr), Franklin Briones, Samantha McClendon, Rithika Proddutoor, Pujita Munnangi (Bioengr). 2021.
A new bandage to help apply pressure on wounds without interrupting daily life.
Seniors over the age of 65 often have thin skin, and those on blood thinners currently must interrupt their daily lives upon simple injuries such as a paper cut, forced to apply pressure for up to 30 minutes to allow the blood to clot or otherwise apply an adhesive bandage with risks of skin tearing or other lasting damage. The goal of the Bandeasy is to provide a painless, simple bandage for elderly people on blood thinners that enables them to continue with their daily life.
Winning team of the UT San Antonio Biomedical Engineering Society Design-a-thon on Hemorrhaging
Team Members: Eric Torres, Carrigan Hudgins, Anshuman Agrawal, Sophie Rowlett. Jan 2020.
Fall 2022 (Class Project)
Electromyogram Surface Electrode Array Cuff for Detection of Bicep and Triceps Activation. Uses an array of 15 custom designed PCB electrodes (8 bicep, 7 tricep) measuring simultaneously to an arduino to determine ideal electrode placement for upper arm prosthetics.
Team: Athena Chien, Dean Plaskon, Lauren Zhou, Nishalini Shanmugan, Yoon Jae Lee
Enabling simple check-ins with loved ones.
Kin is a household device that allows families to share an emotional connection with loved ones they cannot visit during COVID-19 through three simple buttons. This device creates the opportunity for convenient, supplemental communication at any time.
The device has 2 parts, an application for a relative to check in, and this cute beacon device, to be placed on the tabletop of the loved one for easy access.
Rice Biomedical Engineering Society COVID-19 Design-a-thon, Summer 2020
Team CHALK: Cory Pan (Bioengr), Hanna Gratch (Sociology), Leilani Arvizu (Material Sci.), and Karthik Velayutham (Computer Science). 2020.
I am comparing of different signal types to measure impedance for measurements on epithelial tissue, evaluating tradeoffs with speed and measurement quality.
Collaboration: Dr. David Anderson (EE). Current (2024).
A magnetic button to retrofit your favorite button-ups for easier dressing.
One of the everyday struggles of people with arthritis, parkinsons, and cerebral palsy is doing tasks that require fine motor control, such as buttoning a shirt. The MagnetSnap is an attachable magnetic button set that helps anyone with limited upper body mobility to adapt any shirt with buttons. Once attached to the shirt, a simple shrug is all that is needed to close the shirt’s front. With this low-cost assistive device, people will no longer feel limited in their style choices and can buy shirts at any store for any occasion.
Winning team of the Rice Biomedical Engineering Society Design-a-thon for People with Disabilities
Here I learned from experts in engineering design and disability representation Dr. Yvette Pearson, Dr. Marcia O'Malley, and Dr. Lex Frieden, where I learned how meeting ADA requirements and user needs should not be a checklist; it must be a constant conversation with the user about the tradeoffs and optimal design for usability and accessibility (otherwise risking products that are not adopted, or worse, cause damage in unanticipated ways).
Team Members: Justin Cheung (EE), Cooper Lueck (Bioengr), Thomas Zhang (Bioengr). 2019.
Designed a 3-part immune system activity to be used at the Fernbank Natural Science Museum: (1) laminated immune cell illustrations/characters for kids to identify with and remember, (2) 3D printed antibody and antigen parts to teach how antibodies are made to bind specifically to different antigens, (3) a maze to understand how vaccines can prevent the accumulation of viruses in the body.
Team Members: Sean Healy, Ben Magondu, Sophia Sakers, Maya Levitan, Sophia Kioulaphides. 2024.
Fall 2019 (Class Project)
Measures patellar reflex time.
Fall 2019 (Class Project)
Measures nanoparticle concentration.
Spring 2019 (Class Project)
Reads oxygen from finger using noninvasive light emitting and light sensing photodiode set to read oxygen level from a finger.
Fall 2018 (Class Project)
Conceptually design of a renal monitor to regulate dialysis via continuously monitoring filtration of creatinine levels.
email: ajc13 "at" rice "dot" edu
linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/athena-chien
Copyright Athena Chien 2021, template