HP was developing a photo inkjet product for retail photo labs. A team of 8 engineers worked on all the different subsystems and I was personally responsible for the super-structure, ID integration, and system interconnects/integration

HP Printer

This novel alterative to bariatric surgery developed by Obalon consisted of a balloon packed into an orally administered pill. Once in the stomach, a timed chemical reaction creates gas to inflate the balloon to make the user feel “full”. After 30 days in the stomach a PLA plug dissolves, the balloon deflates and is then passed by the user. I developed the balloon manufacturing process and delivery system for animal trials and supported the company in developing a QMS and 510k submission

Obalon

Medtronic was running into challenges during late-stage development of a compact subcutaneous insulin pump based on a micro motor and gearbox. I carried out a system tolerance analysis to root cause observed behavior, and redesigned the micro gear box. Additionally, I developed a versatile skin surrogate using cast silicone and built a voice-coil-based test fixture to simulate impact events on the device to simulate system dosing behavior during such events.

medtronic

Kinetic Surgical (purchased by Cardinal Health) was developing an hydraulic laparoscopic surgical robotic to compete with electro-mechanical approaches such as those used by intuitive surgical. The mechanism had to fit within a 10mm canula and required 3 different degrees of freedom (twist, rotate, grab). The baseline design had challenges with coupling between the different actions so moving one would slightly move another which created challenges when applying clamping pressure and during precise movements. I built an analytical kinematic model and developed a series of equation-driven candidate 4-bar linkages without coupling and then integrated these into a manufacturable mechanism. Built a 5:1 proof of concept prototype and mapped out a manufacturing approach heavily reliant on laser welding.

Kinetic

ADTI was developing technology for the LED billboard market to compete with fixed installations. The product was a grid of RGB LED nodes (pixels) at a 2” pitch attached to a custom structural mesh that was deployed in 3ft strips and delivered on spools for fast deployment. The team developed all of the mechanical elements and partnered with an EE/FW firm to develop the electronics and a unique signal propagation strategy. In addition to doing system thermal modeling and characterization, I was responsible for the engineering of power supply units, developed calibration equipment utilizing low-cost spectrophotometers, and sourced/integrated a mixed-meter-dispense system for potting the module electronics. I built a relationship with a local UL508 panel shop that I have continued to work with on other power distribution projects. The work resulted in a granted patent.

ADTI