Harish Sridharan 10th Grade IB Personal Project Report Introduction Context The IB Personal Project is a way for me to express my individuality as a person and to turn myself to a topic of interest that I am very engaged in and can push myself to put in the time and requirements to complete the project. I am aiming to select a topic that can help foster my level of dependability and self-management to the next level because of how I get to choose whatever topic interests me. For my project I have taken the initiative to do a research project on epilepsy. Epilepsy is something that I have always wanted to do research as my cousin suffers from epilepsy. It hurts me to see her get a seizure and not be able to do anything about it. Therefore, I want to research epilepsy and see if there is a way in which I can help her. Goal/ Product My ultimate goal is to be able to make a digital 3D model of a portable device that can detect oncoming seizures. I feel that if I really put in the effort into this project and make it something that can be useful in the future it can help many people. My goal is highly challenging as it requires me to research epilepsy, apply my knowledge, and be able to make a 3D model with my knowledge. By making a 3D digital model of my device I will be achieving my goal and will be able to apply this knowledge to help me in the future with my future career choice which is biomedical engineering. My goal, if put to use and actually made by me one day in the future, can help many people suffering from epilepsy worldwide. It can warn them when they are doing something so that they can be safe. Global Context The fact of the matter is that my project is biomedical engineering project, so I chose a global context that will clearly represent my idea. The global context I chose was Scientific and Technological Innovation. This global context means “how humans use their understanding of scientific principles” which goes well with my project because I am using my understanding of the principles of epilepsy to create the digital model of the device. I also chose this context because of the literal meaning of the words. Scientific and Technological are both key parts to the field of biomedical engineering as bio means life, medical refers to helping people and animals, and engineering refers to the creation of ideas. Scientific refers to the biomedical and Technological refers to the engineering. Both go together to make the innovation part which purposely refers to what I am aiming for. These are also basic guidelines as to what my project is. Harish Sridharan 10th Grade IB Personal Project Report Criteria A: Investigating Prior Knowledge While visiting my cousin with epilepsy in Australia my dad and I, to learn more about epilepsy, attended a presentation on epilepsy at the Museum of Brisbane. I gained a lot of basic knowledge concerning epilepsy in this. This really introduced me to how big of a problem it was. I learnt about epilepsy being the fourth most common neurological, brain, disorder. I also learnt that epilepsy can be treated, and the condition may be reduced but there is no definitive cure yet. I can apply this basic knowledge to my device as it gives me a base understanding in which I can expand on. I also have experience in creating digital objects in a 3D application because of 8th grade Geometry. In 8th grade Geometry, I was assigned a project which needed to be a 3D digital model or an actual model. I chose to do a 3D model. With this, I got learning experience to work with 3D application programs and also gained a lot of insight into the detail and time needed to make something in a 3D application. Every line and shape used could make a huge difference in how the project looks. This taught me how to use 3D applications which will help me a huge part in making my digital 3D model of my device. Research Research was a huge part of my project because it allowed me to learn and apply the new knowledge that I would learn. For my primary research I interviewed a professor in the field of biomedical engineering and who is currently doing research on EEG, electroencephalogram, based epilepsy studies. An electroencephalogram monitors the electrical activity of the brain. The professor told me that he did not want his name mentioned in this project, but he said I could use the university he goes to which is the University of North Texas. This professor was very nice and told me that my idea is a good idea but will take a lot more advancements to make. For example, she said that a miniature epilepsy detection mechanism must be needed which means that a program could be made that could detect brain waves. So, in short, she told me that for my device to work there must be something put into the device that can monitor the electrical activity of the brain which is basically like a miniature electroencephalogram (UNT). This professor gave me some guidance towards just trying to analyze and see if there was any possible way that electroencephalograms could be miniaturized and made easily portable or I could come up with a completely different way. Even when I was in Australia, I asked the presenter if such a portable device could be possible and the presenter from the museum told me that scientists are currently doing research on it, but it is not that major of an idea because of how hard of a field that it is to get into. For my secondary research I found a thesis by Oscar Medina titled Analysis of Pre-Ictal and Non-Ictal EEG Activity which discussed more and more on electroencephalograms being converted into a type of seizure predicter (Medina 61). Medina talked about there being a correlation between pre-ictal and non-ictal EEG signals which made it easier to detect oncoming Harish Sridharan 10th Grade IB Personal Project Report patterns (Medina 2). I learnt about there being many theories using this including mathematical models and systems but none that have been used in practice (IEEE Journals & Magazine). These theories use computer algorithms reliably identify when seizures have high occurrence rate and use process of elimination to decide what happens when (IEEE Journals & Magazine). My plan is to incriminate an algorithm into a portable device to detect oncoming seizures and to make it more structured will include more outer inputs. I used the book Living Well with Epilepsy and Other Seizure Disorders by Carl W. Basil as a reference whenever I was doing research on epilepsy. It also helped me understand what drugs people took and how they had to live with epilepsy (Bazil 14). It recounted a lot of facts that helped me understand more properly what the people that had epilepsy went through (Bazil 19). Criteria B: Planning Product/ Outcome Specifications My result of the project will be the final model that I make. My final product will also be the outcome of the project. To make sure that I follow the methods I am asking people to take a survey based on the final outcome. I must understand how to make my project and it should show that it took a large consideration of effort. My main points are that it looks reliable to the human eye so that people can trust that it will help them. The next one is how good it looks because people want to wear something that won’t attract attention. Specifications • • • • • • Should be a working device according to the math Should have color Not attract attention so it does not distract other people Looks very well planned and organized 3D Digital Model Learn something from the project to keep with me forever Developing Criteria For The Product When my product is being made it should meet the specific criteria to become a good quality product. The product must receive good results in the survey to be seen as recognizable and good to the plan. For the product to deserve a good score in the criteria, 6-8, the product must get good results in the survey. Developing a Plan to Complete the Project Date Process Journal Report Product Harish Sridharan 10th Grade December 10, 2018 – December 16, 2018 December 17, 2018 – December 23, 2018 December 24, 2018 – December 30, 2018 December 31, 2018 – January 6, 2019 January 7, 2019 – January 13, 2019 January 14, 2019 – January 20, 2019 January 21, 2019 – January 27, 2019 January 28, 2019 – January 30, 2019 IB Personal Project Report Decide on topic, goal, global context, and product Make timeline Start Research Do Introduction Part Research Start Investigation Develop Plan/ Criteria/ Specifications Reflect on challenges Finish Investigation Making Product Process Reflect on process Last reflection TURN IN ON 31ST Start and Finish Planning Section Start Start Taking Action Section Start Reflecting Section Make final changes TURN IN ON 31ST Make product Reflect on product Finish final TURN IN ON 31ST Criteria C: Taking Action Creating My Product to Achieve My Goal I began to work on my product. Used the 3D application SketchUp to make my device. My plan was to make a watch like design so that it has enough space to be programmed and act as an EEG in itself. This is all in theory and is not a definitive working example because there are not any definitive working examples, but I believe this way will be the best. This way as a watch the device will attract less attention and be nice to wear for people that have epilepsy. The device will have a neutral like color on top of it as to not attract any attention using an LED light. But once it detects an oncoming seizure it will change the color to bright red and keep flashing it as to grab the attention of the wearer and since red usually symbolizes stop I thought it would be perfect in this situation as it is trying to make sure the wearer is safe. I really achieved my goal in this situation as it works perfectly in theory. The device will be made of a nice leather polymer that will be smooth as to not hurt the wearer of the device. It will also be very calm and soothing at times when seizures are not coming as to relax the wearer. Evidence of Project There are two modes of the device. The one where the color is just a light blue is the neutral mode which happens when there are no oncoming seizures. The one where the color is red is Harish Sridharan 10th Grade IB Personal Project Report called active mode. In this mode the device will keep on flashing the color red as a warning that a seizure is coming. Diagonal View Side View of Both Harish Sridharan 10th Grade IB Personal Project Report Top View of Both Modes Criteria D: Reflecting Evaluation of Product I am very proud of my product. To be completely honest, I had no idea that I would be capable of something like this. I thought my final product would be very bad, but my thoughts were way off. This product is a product of intense research and it may not look like much it means so much to me. First, it shows that I completed the goal that I presented to myself. Second, it shows that I went and completed a highly challenging goal such as this. I am pretty sure that if it does ever get the right materials and gets manufactured it could help a lot of people in theory. In the end of my project, I am very happy that I achieved all of my self-made criteria. I organized myself for this project and organized my time wisely too. I went above and beyond to make sure that I stuck to the schedule. I even learnt a lot about epilepsy. Harish Sridharan 10th Grade IB Personal Project Report This graph shows from a survey that I gave people along with pictures of my model. This shows that most people would trust the device which meets one of the requirements. This graph shows that most people think the design is good. Not many people thought the design was amazing which means there is more room for improvement. Reflections on Knowledge and Understanding My personal project has given me better understanding of the global context, Scientific and Technological Innovation. I had to use the global context as a narrower or a funnel to focus more on the project and bring out the true values marked inside of the project. I learnt how to research Harish Sridharan 10th Grade IB Personal Project Report properly too. Before this project, my research skills were still developing, and I feel this project just accelerated my research skills. I have also become much more familiar with epilepsy. I have a wide variety of understanding of epilepsy because of this project. Some challenges I faced were trying to find a professor that would talk to me about the EEG epilepsy-based studies. I would email professors asking them questions and they would often ignore me. Then one day I took a trip to UNT on a college tour and took advantage of the opportunity. I used the time to try and find a biomedical engineering professor and when I found one the hardest thing for me to do was to muster up the courage and go and talk to that person. But when I finally did I was pretty proud of myself. I was a little disappointed when they told me that I include what they said but not their name. Reflections on Skills as an IB Learner In IB there are many core values but the ones that developed and were accelerated during this project were principled, communicator, inquirer, and reflective. I developed in a principled way as I stuck with my plan to finish the project. This shows how I was principled about managing my time wisely for this project. I developed as a communicator because I was able to communicate just about my whole project in this report. I developed as a inquirer because of the fact that I investigated if there was a way to make a portable device that can detect oncoming seizures. I also developed in reflective because of the fact that I was able to reflective on this whole project in this report. A lot of things I developed in was especially during this report. Extra Notes I really enjoyed this project and would like to do something like this again. Bibliography "UNT COLLEGE OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING." UNT. UNT, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2019. Medina, Oscar Ferney. ANALYSIS OF PRE-ICTAL AND NON-ICTAL EEG ACTIVITY. Thesis. University of North Texas, 2016. Denton: UNT, 2016. Print. Harish Sridharan 10th Grade IB Personal Project Report "Classification of Pre-ictal and Interictal Periods Based on EEG Frequency Features in Epilepsy." An Introduction to Biometric Recognition - IEEE Journals & Magazine. WileyIEEE Press, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2019. Bazil, Carl W. Living Well with Epilepsy and Other Seizure Disorders: An Expert Explains What You Really Need to Know. New York, NY: HarperResource, 2004. Print. "Epilepsy Center: Symptoms, Seizures, Treatments, Causes, and Tests." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2018.
