Projects
Drexel engineering students at the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems found that they could not form an accurate picture of the needs that exist in clinical practice because they had limited familiarity with the clinical patient environment. DrExcel Health provides an opportunity for engineering students to identify projects that would benefit from collaboration between clinical faculty, College of Medicine alumni and senior medical students.
DrExcel Health project labs establish connections throughout the University that bring together students and faculty from multiple disciplines in an independent, extracurricular manner that encourages long-term efforts and commitment to original projects.
DrExcel Health provides a model for encouraging students to pursue their interests and thrive under a supportive environment so that they have the potential to take their projects from conception to startups, venture funding, or late-stage prototyping and beyond.
Team 1: UVA & UVB Index Detector
Skin cancer is the #1 most common cancer in the United States.More research is needed to differentiate UVA and UVB which each carry different risks.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Anita Bargaje, Edson De Guzman, Jaclyn Lo, Sukethram Sivakumar, Patrick Vespa
- BME: Ahmed Azhar, Thien Doan, Barrett Genovese, Lara Heinlein
- Advisors: Erum Ilyas, MD, and Christopher Rodell, PhD
Team 2: NeuroPulse: A Device to Preserve Neurological Function During Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Cardiac arrest is a life-threatening event where the heart stops
beating, leading to reduced oxygen circulation, unconsciousness,
neurological damage, and potential death. Out-of-hospital cardiac
arrest accounts for 350,000 annual incidents with only a
10% survival rate. Remote ischemic conditioning is a noninvasive
technique that involves applying brief, controlled cycles of
blood flow restriction and reperfusion to an extremity, triggering
protective physiological responses that help preserve cardiac and
neurological function.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Gokul Karthikeyan, Mohammed Khan, Spencer Moavenzadeh, Bill Telfer, Stephanie Widjaja
- BME: Basil Damra, Jacob Donchez, Skye Goldman, Meghan Willner
- Advisors: Kenneth Barbee, PhD, and Adam Sigal, MD
Team 3: Particle Detector for Pediatric Patients With Allergy-Induced Asthma
The goal is to develop a low-latency particle detection device to support parents of children with allergen-induced asthma by alerting users
when indoor particle counts are high.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Victor Chai, Zhuorui Li, Noor Qureshi, Samantha Efobi, Sarah Vizzeswarapu
- BME: Catie Connolly, Puja Das, Kera Jones, Priya Hans
- Advisors: Joseph Sarver, PhD, and Pramath Nath, MD
Team 4: The Philly Y: Using Y-Adaptors to Redefine Post-surgical Care
Simplifying post-surgical drain care is crucial to reducing complications and minimizing costly health outcomes during recovery. The Philly Y is engineered to replace traditional three-way stopcocks in surgical drain systems, enhancing safety, efficiency and patient comfort. The product optimizes drainage performance while facilitating ease of use.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Shayla Murray, Rudra Amin, Trevor Tran, Margot Bellon, Katherine Jerakis,
- BME: Nuha Mirza, James Virtucio, Joie Chen, Natty Lapinsky, Terry Coley
- Advisor: Timothy Niesen, MD
Team 5: TapAlign: A Novel Device for Improving Neonatal Lumbar Puncture Success Rates
Lumbar punctures are the gold standard for
diagnosing bacterial meningitis, which is a
life-threatening infection of the brain and
spinal cord. The goal of this project was to design an adjustable horizontal
stabilization device for infants (0–6 months)
that maintains spinal curvature, ensures
airway safety, and keeps the infant securely
immobilized during lumbar punctures.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Louis Fanien, Lauren Holt, Keyur Patel, Anthony Russo, Michelle Wang
- BME: Hriti Chauhan, Rose Emily Garzon, Anusha Shinde, Griffin Stein
- Advisor: Pramath Nath, MD
Team 6: SacraFlow Probe: A Revolutionary Way to Treat Deep Tissue Injury
3 million adults develop tissue pressure injuries each year, with incidence rates of 38% in hospitals, 23.9% in nursing homes. Our goal was to use diffuse correlation spectroscopy to me asure blood flow to detect and diagnose DTI upon admission before it reaches an advanced state. A probe will be placed on a patient's sacral region to detect any signs of ischemia.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Rajit Agarwal, Julia Danon, Abigail McKenna, Allbert Tong, Liying Wei
- BME: Sabrina Frattarelli, Meet Patel, Gavin Welsh, Melissa Vuong, Randolph Sinahon
- Advisor: Kurtulus Izzetoglu, PhD, and Michael Weingarten, MD, MBA
Team 1: Portable Pollen Counter Device
A portable, relatively inexpensive, easy-to-use pollen counter that allows families of pediatric patients to collect samples from indoor and outdoor environments.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Julia Danon, Lauren Holt, Ashini Patel, Ben Boyarko, Ananya Suram
- BME: Jacob Farda, Andrew Runyon, Andrew Bokarev, Alexander Dyba
- Advisor: Pramath Nath, MD
Team 2: The Dragon Clamp – Fracture Reduction Forceps for Medial Malleolus Repair
A fracture reduction forceps that can properly reduce fractures for medial malleolus repairs before fixation that provides compression, stability, and a locking mechanism that aims to minimize surgical time and improve patient outcomes.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Brianne Giuffrida, William Sutton, William Telfer, Nathan Thomas, Lucy Zhou
- BME: Nathaniel Pentecost, Katelyn Huong, Dao Lin, Henry Nguyen
- Advisors: Thomas Sherman, MD; Sriram Balasubramanian, PhD
Team 3: Mobility Device for Pediatric Patients with Lower Limb Injuries (2nd Generation)
A redesigned (2nd generation) thigh walker that improves comfort, adjustability, and mobility for pediatric patients with lower limb injuries.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Christine Deng, Jake Fanizza, Talmadge Gaither, Lorenzo Guani, Jaclyn Lo
- BME: Brandon Alleborn, Luke Berish, Benjamin Dellmyer, Gavin Kane
- Advisors: Pramath Nath, MD; Adrian Shieh, PhD
Team 4: Parkinson's LSVT BIG Therapy Wearable Device
A wearable device for patients with Parkinson’s Disease that allows for independent Lee Silverman Voice Treatment – BIG (LSVT BIG) therapy with real-time feedback and therapist communication.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Brianna Cattelino, Faith Kean, Priya Kaneria, Victor Chai, Vineetha Yadlapalli
- BME: Anix Binu, Sam Kim, Timothy Luu
- Advisors: Anh-Thu Vu, MD; Robert C. Hand, PT, DPT, NCS
Team 5: Improving Localization of Chemo Ports
Utilization of a modified ultrasound transducer to provide a low-cost, portable, and more effective alternative to conventional chemo port location modalities to better serve the needs of diverse patient populations.
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- Student Team:
- MD: Margot Bellon, Emma Boyajieff, Audrey Mills, Mathew Mitchell, Celter Odango
- BME: Hannah Brown, Laura Hollander, Gabriel Murray, Hailey Romaire
- Advisors: Timothy Niesen, MD; Mark Schafer, PhD
Team 3: Thigh Walker: Assistive Mobility Device for Pediatric Patients with Lower Limb Injuries
A novel height adjustable, portable and lightweight device that allows children with lower limb injuries to ambulate on their own.
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- Student Team:
- Med: Mina Ebrahimi, Laura Maule, Ben Boyarko, Kishan Patel, Keerthana Srinivasan, Lauren Wells
- BME: Madison White, Nicholas Fioravanti, Lillian Cardonne, Kianna Ly
- Advisors: Pramath Nath, MD; Adrian Shieh, PhD
Team 5: Dynamic Assistive Walking Device for Non-Weight-Bearing Injuries
An affordable assistive walking device that allows for non-weight bearing and controlled mobility in patients with lower limb morbidities.
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- Student Team:
- Med: Gregory Connors, Romina Garanki, Faith Kean, Tan Tran, Amged Eidelsafy, Ellie Wood
- BME: Caitlyn Christopher, Sarah Cooney, Rory Klingensmith, Garrett White
- Advisors: Kelly Heath, MD; Adrian Shieh, PhD
Team 9: Research Device to Measure Suture Force During Syndesmotic Injury Repairs
A research instrument that measures tension in TightRope® implants which can be used to improve understanding of forces applied during these procedures.
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- Student Team:
- Med: Javier Chavez, Brendan Mackey, Mason Selig, Michele Davis, Prachi Gaddam, Sara Prischak
- BME: Briana Heintzelman, Milan Ghodasara, Ankit Patel, Dimitri Dogias, Mathew Czaja
- Advisors: Thomas Sherman, MD; Sorin Siegler, PhD
Team 13: Assistive Walking Device for Parkinson's Patients Experiencing Retropulsion
Enhanced walker to help protect against falls due to retropulsion (tendency to fall backwards) for patients with Parkinson's Disease.
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- Student Team:
- Med: Talmadge Gaither, Anastasia Kapitonava, Jasmine Lu, Paige Pammer, Margish Ramani, Sameep Vakharia
- BME: Renaldo Facey, Mohammed Monkasir Saber, Linford Smith, Ragon Wong
- Advisors: Anh-Thu Vu, MD; Jaime Dougherty, PhD
Team 15: Talonav Tether Screw
Triple screw implant to improve talonavicular joint compression and patient outcomes from talonavicular joint fusion.
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- Student Team:
- Med: Alexander Becsey, Emma Boyajieff, Ryan Cha, Mei-Le Keck, William Sutton, Julian Takagi-Stewart
- BME: Joseph Ardin, Heidi Dailey, Christopher Dionne, Bryce Furek, Jessica Niebuhr
- Advisors: Thomas Sherman, MD; Siram Balasubramanian, PhD
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Team 2 - Post-Operative Pain Tracking Software
Easy-to-use application enabling rapid communication about post-operative pain severity, sensation and location to the patient’s physician.
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- Student Team:
- MED: Robin Kumaratunga, Nicholas Piarulli, James Cross, Soham Bharne, Simone Udeh, Zane Sejdiu
- BME: Maria Renee Ordonez, Ahsan Sarwar, Keyan Cusick
- Advisors: Aysha Hasan, MD; Marek Swoboda, PhD
Team 4 - Assistive Walking Device for Parkinson’s
Enhanced walker that can decrease the likelihood of retropulsive falls in patients with Parkinson Disease.
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- Student Team:
- MED: Karl Kamanousa, Shane Tripp, Samir Jambhekar, Andrew Maza, Willow Pastard, Samantha Nishimura
- BME: Morgan Jerin, Anusha Kureekattil, Manisha Mathew, Dakshith Ragupathi
- Advisors: Anh-Thu Vu, MD; Jaimie Dougherty, PhD; Joseph Sarver, PhD
Team 5 - Supplemental Zimmer Total Ankle Replacement (TAR) Cutting Guide
Guide that helps surgeons improve cut trajectory during total ankle replacement and reduces the need for later surgical revision.
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- Student Team:
- MED: Gregory Connors, Samik Patel, Esther Tsyngauz, Nicole Villa, Justin Camancho, Mayank Patel
- BME: Mia Obradovic, Sidney Ortiz, Melisa Uraz
- Advisors: Thomas Sherman, MD; Joseph Sarver, PhD
Team 9 - Achilles Repair Bio-Tape Applicator
Improving function and healing of the Achilles tendon after surgery with a wrappable bio-adhesive.
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- Student Team:
- MED: Alexander Becsey, Sulabh Singhal, Ghita Benjelloun, Emily Demmert, Javier Chavez, Caroline Quindlen
- BME: Rachel Bernard, Emily Hoddeson, Emily Shekhtman, Riley Caffrey
- Advisors: Thomas Sherman, MD; Joseph Sarver, PhD; Jaimie Dougherty, PhD; Ben Freedman, PhD
Team 19 - Pediatric Nasotracheal Intubation Assist Device
Nasal trumpet critical for guiding challenging nasotracheal intubations in pediatric patients.
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- Student Team:
- MED: Jaret Nishikawa, Kishan Patel, and Michael Moradi, Cenk Atillasoy
- BME: Casey Fuoco, Sophia Macchia, Hanna Mikkelsen, Dominic Razo-Castaneda, Sarthak Sharma
- Advisors: Aysha Hasan, MD; Marek Swoboda, PhD
Team 20 - Liver Transplant Viability Probe
Using a probe to assess the viability of the liver to improve transplantation efficiency and outcomes.
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- Student Team:
- MED: Kishan Ghodasara, Rohan Joshi, Benjamin Chu, Joseph Loftus, Rabia Baig, Carrie Forman
- BME: Thomas Donnelly, Zachariah Noble, Ashley Ranere, Kyle Smith
- Advisors: David Reich, MD; Meera Harhay, MD; Kambiz Pourrezaei, PhD
Team 21 - WheezeSense Algorithm - Home Monitoring Device for Pediatric Asthma
Program that detects and monitors episodes of asthma and guides treatment decisions.
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- Student Team:
- MED: Aura Cristina Agudelo Rivera, Jasmine Lu, Kiertana Kannan, Maria Kazantsev, Serin Varughese
- BME: Kiana Colbert, Gina Liberto, Abigail Turley
- Advisors: Pramath Nath, MD; Kenneth Barbee, PhD
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Augmented Achilles Tendon Rupture Repair for Mechanical Stability and Promotion of Healing
Ghita Benjelloun1, Ishaan Bhatt1, Lauren Chung1, Tyler Damasiewicz2, Rohan Joshi1, Amber Klimecke2, Alex Lee1, Jake Lieberstein2, Bailey Parker2, Jamie Vizelman1, Maddy Werts2, Thomas Sherman, MD
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Active Compression Abdominal Binder for Treating Orthostatic Hypotension
Mohammed Almakrami2, Pierson Davis2, Thomas McGovern2, Krishna Patel2, Lyuba Sas2, Gregory Boyek1, Andrew Maza1, Samantha Nishimura1, Benjamin Rahmani1, Mary-Katharine McMullen1
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EOG Based Alert System for Aphonic ALS Patients
Awinita Barpujari1, Mayank Patel1, Carrie Forman1, Kwesi Daniel1, Divya Viswanathan1, Joe Ham2, Josh Hanneman2, Arthur Speros2, Molly Walsh2, Tyler Yang2, Jaimie Dougherty, PhD2
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Arthrex Tightrope Tension Device: a quantitative research tool for determining optimal tension for ankle syndesmosis reduction
Sam Glaisher1, David Marulanda1, Samir Jambhekar1, Akash Bhat1, Joseph Sarver, PhD2, Nico Cormier2, Jacob Csuy2, Jason DePhillips2, Jeremy Otten2, Olivia Schuler2, Thomas Sherman, MD
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At-home Physical Therapy Device for Hemiplegic Patients
Neha Kamireddi2, Sonam Saxena2, Vanessa Tep2, Erica Wessner2, Johnny Allsop1, Chad Fanti1, Emma Lou1, Natasha Reddy1, Gayathri Vijayakumar1
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1 College of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
2 School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.
- Utilizing Millimeter Waves to Non-Invasively Measure Cranial Temperature in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) – Download Poster [PDF]
- Oculert - Assisting ALS Patients with Locked-in Syndrome – Download Poster [PDF]
- Viability Assessment Probe for Kidney Transplants – Download Poster [PDF]
- Push Lever Propulsion Wheelchair – Download Poster [PDF]
- Measuring Changes in Passive Muscle Stiffness Following Activity – Download Poster [PDF]
- V. I. S. O. R. - Video Input into Sound for Object Recognition – Download Poster [PDF]
- Deep Tissue Injury Detection Device
- Oxygen Tubing Organization
- Weight Monitoring for Incapacitated Patients
- Syncope Detection
- Balance Feedback for Stroke Recovery
Project Timeline

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