Industrial design, engineering students’ collaboration leads to groundbreaking medical device

Students from Auburn’s Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design programs are solving real-life problems, and they recently witnessed the public unveiling of an innovative new surgical device they helped create. 

“When it came time to boot up the device at the convention and we saw it worked flawlessly, I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief,” said Haley Duncan about debuting their design at the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses’ (AORN) annual conference in Boston this spring.  

Students (left to right) Joseph Freeman, Haley Duncan, Sheridan Kromann, Savannah Anderson and Jake Garza collaborated with KYRA Medical, Inc. to create a groundbreaking new surgical device.

Over the course of the project, the students built half a dozen mockups and 3D printed more than 100 iterations of component parts before finally creating the final two prototypes displayed at AORN.

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Duncan and her classmates Savannah Anderson, Joseph Freeman and Jake Garza — all of whom graduated this past May — and Master of Industrial Design student Sheridan Kromann worked with KYRA Medical, Inc., a global manufacturer of medical equipment, to create a new surgical device aimed at eliminating the rush to change IV bags during arthroscopic procedures. 

When performing arthroscopic procedures, surgeons use a small camera to view and repair joints, including hips, knees and shoulders. While these are minimally invasive surgeries, they require a great deal of saline fluid pumped from IV bags to keep surgical sites clean.  

Currently, nurses must change the IV bags quickly every time an alarm goes off — a hectic event that can distract the surgeon and interrupt the surgery. But the Auburn team’s prototype eliminates that rush to change bags. 

“This device automatically switches over to a new bag as each one empties,” said Shea Tillman, a College of Architecture, Design and Construction faculty member. “It also provides an LED illumination that can be seen from anywhere in the operating room. It provides a non-disruptive means of managing and monitoring the fluid for surgical procedures.” 

The Auburn connection 

The collaboration, both between two Auburn programs and KYRA, came about when Steve Taylor, Auburn’s senior vice president for research and development, unexpectedly encountered Howard Miller, KYRA’s president, CEO and co-founder. Miller, an alumnus who has worked in the medical device industry for 30 years, proposed a partnership.  

An engineer himself, Miller knew he wanted mechanical engineering students involved, but he also told Taylor he’d like to incorporate industrial design. Miller, who always includes an industrial designer on product development teams, understands the importance of including user-centered design thinking when creating something new.   

“As an Auburn Engineering alumnus, it was incredibly rewarding to see the next generation of engineers bringing a real-world medical device all the way from concept to professional unveiling, and it was great to have industrial design included as well,” said Miller. “The students and faculty truly embodied the values of the Auburn Creed — hard work and integrity.” 

Freeman was grateful for the opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team on a real-world product. 

“Working alongside industrial designers from day one was a great learning experience, and I truly believe our success wouldn’t have been possible without that integrated approach,” he said. “They showed me that usability and ergonomics are just as critical as functionality for a device like this.” 

KYRA staff members held weekly video chats and visited campus several times to collaborate with the students and faculty.

Together, they all attended the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses’ annual conference in Boston this spring.

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In constant communication  

This past year, KYRA staff members held weekly video chats and visited campus several times to collaborate with the students and the faculty members, which included CADC's Tillman and Chad Rose and Michael Zabala from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. 

“KYRA is an established and well-respected medical startup, and the energy their tightly knit team brings to a project like this quickly transferred to our team at Auburn,” Tillman said. “They are a very hands-on ‘prototype-fast-and-early’ group that is excited about sharing what they know about product development with our students.” 

While Kromann’s work on the project served as his graduate research project, the mechanical engineering students completed theirs as part of a senior capstone class. Over the course of the project, the students built half a dozen mockups and 3D printed more than 100 iterations of component parts before finally creating the final two prototypes displayed at AORN.  

Unveiling the final product was the ultimate reward for Anderson. 

“When we finally set it up in the booth, all I felt was relief and pride,” she said. “When we saw how seamlessly it blended into the KYRA brand and the other devices around it, it was a ‘we made it’ moment.” 

The collaboration has been a win-win for everyone involved. And with the industry’s positive reaction to their design, KYRA’s team agreed. 

“We’re delighted to have had the opportunity to partner with Auburn,” said Jesse Drake, KYRA’s chief operating officer. “KYRA’s design DNA revolves around combining mechanical engineering and industrial design from the very beginning of a project to produce solutions that are innovative, intuitive and intentionally designed to be both ergonomically and aesthetically pleasing.”