WEEK 3

9/26-10/2

This week, we consolidated information from our previous meetings with Dr. Felder into a well-defined needs statement and project scope. We are going to focus on finding a way to perform primary closure of abdominal incisions quickly and effectively for patients receiving laparotomies to reduce re-operation and complication rates. We also created the initial design specifications. We met with Dr. Klaesner to discuss possible roadblocks for our project and discussed resources for learning more about biomaterials and gaining more perspectives from surgeons.

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We also conducted background research to better understand the problem. This research confirmed the urgency of the problem, since the rate of post-incision herniation is high, especially for patients with underlying conditions. Additionally, we researched existing products currently available on the market that might address a similar problem to ours. We also conducted a patent search to find inventions designed to address laparotomy closures as well as wound closure in general. These searches gave us a good sense of what current solutions look like and prompted us to think about how ours might differ. 

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Our next steps are to work on our Gantt Chart and website, as well as identify key stakeholders and prepare our preliminary report. We also want to start doing some research into potential biomaterials and gain a better understanding of the surgeon's role in the laparotomy.