Empowering Undergraduates: Johns Hopkins BME Design Team Transforms Healthcare Solutions

Program Overview:
The Johns Hopkins BME Undergraduate Design Team program supports approximately 20 teams of undergraduates each year as they develop solutions to significant healthcare needs. The program has led to over 250 medical device projects, 40 provisional patents, and 16 start-up companies since its inception.

Curriculum and Timeline:
The program is an 18-month long process that includes clinical immersion, problem identification, concept development, prototyping, testing, and verification. Students work with clinical sponsors, faculty mentors, professional designers, engineers, and scientists to address clinical or research needs.

Design Studio:
The BME Design Studio provides resources for students to brainstorm, design, prototype, build, and test solutions to real-world clinical and global health challenges.

Application and Eligibility:
Johns Hopkins BME undergraduate students can apply to the program as early as the spring semester of their first year. The program emphasizes hard work, learning, and teamwork.

Mentorship and Collaboration:
The program welcomes mentorship from clinicians and industry partners, offering benefits such as project sponsorship, access to technology assessments, and business networking events.

Success Metrics:
Since 2015, Design Team students have generated $1M in funding, 6 start-up companies, 60 awards, 19 journal and conference papers, and 11 provisional patent applications.

Project Examples:
Projects like MonitOR and FlowMate demonstrate the program's focus on solving real-world healthcare challenges, such as preventing surgical items from being left inside patients and ensuring pediatric patients receive the correct dosage of asthma medication.