• Question: What kind of people would help you,build your thing?

    Asked by Kitkat to Matthew on 8 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Matthew Oldfield

      Matthew Oldfield answered on 8 Mar 2016:

      I work in a project team. We all help to build different aspects of our steerable needle. I work with other engineers who look at the best shapes and materials for the needle to be made out of. There are also experts on making motors control the needle and understanding how medical images of the patient can be used to make the needle most effective during surgery.

      There are about eight of us working on the steerable needle project and we all are engineers. Each has a slightly different background and knows more about one particular subject than the others. That is why we are a good project team.

Comments

  • Photo: Dominic

    Dominic commented on :

    Great question. Cliché, but it is a truly diverse team approach in most cases. It starts with radiologists and radiographers who capture and interpret medical scan data to help diagnose a condition. They could be classed as engineers. The data is used by surgeons and other medical specialists who make the decision to use a custom implant/guides and replica anatomical models. They’ll then liaise with myself or one of my team who can design the parts. We’ll work with manufacturing engineers who can prove the design can be fabricated. They’ll work with process engineers who set the machines up and press ‘go’. Once complete, there are further people who, QC check, heat treat parts, polish them and clean them prior to dispatch. Then it’s sent for sterilising and ultimately the operating theatre. There are more people that you’d probably realise involved with the process of fabricating. all of them are important to achieve a good result.