BME seniors show off design projects at 2025 Engineering Expo

Many people milled about the UIC Credit Union 1 Arena as they “ooh’d” and “ahh’d” at each engineering senior design project they passed. Various groups of College of Engineering seniors proudly displayed the projects they’ve been working on all year.

Here are some of this year’s projects from the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering:

Addressing uterine atony to reduce postpartum hemorrhage

Uterine atony occurs in about 2% of childbirths in the U.S. and is the leading cause of postpartum hemorrhage. It occurs when the uterus doesn’t tighten properly during or after childbirth, causing excess bleeding, otherwise known as postpartum hemorrhage.

A group of seniors from the biomedical engineering department created a non-invasive way to address uterine atony. The Senior design group, consisting of Itzy Hernandez, Rixzie Jimenez, Lina Kiswani, Osayenmwen Omozusi, Lorena Ortiz, and Alexandria Sterenberg, has created a device that utilizes three plates to mechanically compress the uterus once it is pulled outside of the body during a Caesarean section (C-section).

Existing methods to treat uterine atony are invasive and labor-intensive. They include massaging the uterus internally, applying manual pressure to the uterine walls, medications, and surgical treatments, including the b-lynch suture, which is used during C-section and sews the anterior and posterior sides of the uterus together. Applying manual pressure to the uterine walls requires the person to do so continuously and consistently. If none of these procedures are effective, uterine atony can result in a hysterectomy, or the removal of the uterus.

This device uses three plates surrounding the uterus and presses against it, compressing it without affecting other organs, and stopping the hemorrhaging. They also used an intrauterine pressure catheter, which measures the strength of contractions and gives the amount of pressure applied to the uterine model.

“We chose this design so that it would fit on either side of the cervix because obviously you can’t block the cervical opening,” said Sterenberg. “The placement is important as we made sure to have this space in between the plates for the uterine artery and the fallopian tubes. We can adjust the plates to varying uterine anatomies because not every uterus is going to be the same. It also adjusts for the specific curvature of a uterus.”

A top rod right provides stabilization to make sure the top plate isn’t going to swing back and forth and possibly damage the organs.

The UIC seniors also researched previous inventions for inspiration, including a senior project by students at California Polytechnic State University. Known as the “gold standard” for postpartum hemorrhaging, the Cal Poly students created a Jada device that uses a thin silicone tube placed in the uterus to create a gentle vacuum to induce the postpartum contraction that normally occurs after childbirth. When the Cal Poly students created their device, a uterine balloon tamponade, which inflates within the uterus, was the most common treatment for postpartum hemorrhaging.

The group received the Best in Show award for Engineering Expo 2025.

System to enable position-independent pulmonary artery pressure monitoring

Pulmonary artery pressure monitoring measures and tracks pulmonary artery pressure, the major blood vessel carrying blood from the heart to the lungs, using a small, implantable sensor, which is placed during a right heart catheterization procedure. By monitoring these pressures, healthcare providers can identify early signs of worsening heart failure, allowing for timely interventions to prevent or mitigate complications.

However, pulmonary artery pressure monitoring is currently limited to the seated or supine, lying down positions, as it can affect the readings by increasing the pressure in the body, and alter the readings, leading to inaccurate results. The ideal position for pulmonary artery pressure monitoring is a supine position with the legs horizontal, as it leads to a relaxed state.

Anna Gerasimenko, Alex Grosvenor, Hamza Hamad, Lance Hamilton, Ruhail Shamsi, and Sophie Nguyen aimed to change that through their design of a system that allows for real-time pulmonary artery pressure recording and data collection. Their system enabled position-independent, continuous monitoring, which would remove the restrictions patients currently face.

Prototype to prevent ileostomy skin irritation

An ileostomy is an opening doctors create in the abdominal wall to allow a small portion of the ileum or small intestine to be brought to the surface of the skin. The opening allows stool to pass directly out of the body. The procedure is usually needed because a problem is causing the ileum not to work correctly, or a disease is affecting that part of the colon, which needs to be removed. About 15% of all common ileostomy complications are skin excoriation, or damage to or removal of part of the skin’s surface.

In addition, some of the complications of using an ileostomy pouch include effluent blockage, skin irritation, dehydration, bowel obstruction, prolapse, retraction, and inflammation of the pouch.

In partnership with Hollister Incorporated, seniors Siwar Hamdi, Jaden Turner, Mayra Andreu, Jacqueline Flores, Erik Dzikowski, and Nga Ho worked to create a prototype that prevents leakage, skin irritation, and other complications that can come with an ileostomy pouch. Their prototype consists of a plug with an absorbent foam core, a clip, and a silicone cover cap.

The prototype aims to alleviate and/or prevent skin irritation that can happen due to the adhesive that attaches the ileostomy pouch to the skin. The plug can be worn for up to two hours and weighs less than a typical ostomy pouch.

Hamdi shared that they met with a Hollister Incorporated executive who said that their product could be a “game changer.”

Green light glasses prototype for migraine treatment

Research released by the National Institutes of Health has shown that green light therapy has been shown to be a promising non-pharmacological solution for migraines, with studies showing that exposure to a narrow band of green light can reduce extreme sensitivity to light, alleviate headache pain, and decrease migraine frequency and severity.

Migraines affect nearly 39 million people in the U.S. and can last from a few hours to days.

BME seniors Stephan Cevallos, Tanay Saxena, Clay Weaver, Nevaeh Espinoza, Fernando Garcia, and Indira Kondapally designed a wearable green light therapy device to deliver light directly to the users’ retina, enhancing effectiveness and ease of use in daily life.

The team’s green light glasses deliver controlled light exposure to the retinas for a specific amount of time. Green light can reduce migraine pain by as much as 20%, and red and blue lights can hurt migraine patients with light sensitivity.

Current migraine treatments include medications, injections, and lifestyle modifications. Previous research has also shown that similarly to medications, not enough green light exposure won’t be effective for treatment, and too much exposure can be harmful.

The group received the Best in Show award for Engineering Expo 2025.