Engineering students draw inspiration from art to test COVID-19 biodevice

As a discipline, engineering often challenges students to fuse technical skills with creative design. During the fall semester, a Penn State College of Engineering senior capstone design group took this notion one step further through a collaboration with Bonnie Collura, professor of art and sculpture in the Penn State School of Visual Arts.

The students explained that, with Collura’s guidance, their final project was able to successfully assist their sponsor, the Penn State Center for Biodevices, in its COVID-19-focused research.

According to Mary Frecker, professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering and the director of the Center for Biodevices, surgeons are in need of extra protection when performing endoscopic skull surgery. When surgeons are performing these operations to treat brain tumors and other conditions, aerosols are generated in the patient’s nose, which presents new challenges for surgeons during the pandemic.

“During these surgeries, clinicians may be exposed to aerosol droplets from the mouth and nose of patients that have COVID-19 or other infectious respiratory conditions,” Frecker said. “Since patients aren’t able to wear face masks during surgery, we are exploring the design of protective nasal coverings with unique geometries to seal a patient’s nose.”