It’s the final week here at SEED and (even though its super cliche) it all flew by so quickly!

In the beginning of the week, we finished up durability, ease of use, and comfort tests for our device. We identified the mesh seat of our swim support device as the most likely point of failure, so we loaded it up with weights until it ripped. The good news is that it can hold up to 495 lbs on dry land. The bad news is that my eardrums still haven’t recovered from the gigantic booming sound that resulted when the mesh finally gave out and 495 pounds came crashing to the floor. For comfort and ease of use we engaged both our fellow interns and strangers at the pool, asking them to test the device and how much they agreed with the statement “This device is comfortable enough for 30 minutes of continuous use.” We also instructed them on how to load a plastic dummy into the device and timed how long it took them to load/unload. Our device passed all tests with flying colors and so, since the goal of this project is to design a flotation aid that allows a user with cerebral palsy and a tracheal tube to float independently and safely in the water, it was time to start testing with our actual user. I know I was incredibly nervous, yet excited. Last semester, our prototype testing with the user proved that the design could not meet the user’s needs and we had to scrap the design. It was frustrating, yet invigorating, fuelling this summer’s work to make a successful prototype and I badly wanted this site visit to end differently than the previous one.

The tests were incredibly successful and we got a lot of good data both from our own observations, the family, and the user himself (for privacy reasons, no pictures of our tests with the user will be posted). The design of the device successfully kept our user’s trach tube away from the water without additional support, was very comfortable, and easy to use with the family’s lift. The two major drawbacks were the design of the seat, which allowed the user to slide downwards, and the fidelity of the safety belt, which was very ill-fitting. However, overall, the family and design team were incredibly happy with the prototype. As our user’s mother put it, the design works, it just has a few “kinks” that need to be worked out. I look forward to designing and building the next prototype and then preparing for the extensive safety review necessary to pass off a final prototype to the family.

We gave our final presentation, started cleaning up and then, before I could blink, it was the end of SEED 2016 and I had to start packing my bags.

I’m not normally a sentimental person, but I think y’all are so amazing and deserve a few words. So here it goes.

Thank you, to all the SEED interns, there’s no other 14 people who I would have rather spent my days with, prototyping and freezing to death in the OEDK basement. To Mikaela and Helen, thanks for your invaluable input and technical assistance. To Drs. Loyo, Wettergreen, and all the “adults” of the OEDK, thanks for all the work you put in. And, most of all, thanks to Rice 360 for giving me this amazing opportunity to spend the summer doing the work I love the most with such a great group of people.

Thank you and goodbye!

Allie