Progress Report 2 (3/2/04- 3/9/04)
Probing The Experience of Pain
Team Members
Stacey Hoebel (Communications)
Jeff Swift (BWIG)
Anna Karas (BSAC)
Client Information
Christopher Coe, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
email:
Problem Statement
This project would involve refining an apparatus that would be used for testing pain sensitivity in patients with chronic pain disorders. The ingenious aspect of this device is that it elicits the feeling of a painful stimulus without actually causing any real pain. The skin is tricked into experiencing the sensation of pain. Briefly, there is a sensory overlap between the perception of pain and the perception of temperature. In fact, the same nerves are used, and the message goes to similar parts of the brain. The way the device works is fairly simple. One builds a grid with alternating bars that are aligned warm, cool, warm, cool, warm, cool, etc. Neither the warm bar (which is around body temperature), nor the cool bar (which is refrigerator temperature), would normally evoke a painful reaction separately. Yet, when felt together, the feeling after putting one's hand on the grid is of a real pain stimulus. It is analogous to the feeling you get in your hand or foot when coming into a warm room after having been out in the cold. The challenging part is that each bar must be able to reach the right temperature very quickly and then shut off very quickly as well, so that it can be used as a test probe. For example, one would need to signal the temperature to come on rapidly at a certain time point, and then to rapidly shut off. Assuming the device worked, it would ultimately be used in a real study of patients with one of two chronic pain disorders: fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain.
Restatement of Team Goals
Our goals were to complete the mid-semester presentation and continue fine tuning our mid-semester report, as well as continuing to research our final design.
Summary of Accomplishments
This week, we completed and delivered our power point presentation. We also split up the parts of the mid-semester report and wrote most of it.
Difficulties
Just finding time to meet and finish the presentation and paper.
Team Goals
· Finish mid-semester paper
· Continue to research final design
· Do heat transfer calculations
Timeline
1/30/04 Meet with Client
2/06/04 Create rough draft of PDS
2/20/04 Decide on final Design
2/27/04 Rough Draft of Report
3/5/04 Oral Presentation
4/6/04 Order materials for prototype
4/16/04 Build prototype
4/23/04 Rough Draft of written report
4/30/04 Final Poster Presentation
Activities
Anna
1. Wrote portion of paper and powerpoint.
2. Edited paper.
Stacey
1. Wrote portion of paper and powerpoint.
2. Finished Solid Works animation of final design
Jeff
1. Wrote portion of paper and powerpoint.
2. Edited paper.