Date Approved

12-2020

Graduate Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Engineering (M.S.E.)

Degree Program

School of Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Samhita Rhodes

Second Advisor

Dr. Paul Fishback

Third Advisor

Dr. David Zeitler

Academic Year

2020/2021

Abstract

The need for collaborating and sharing data and research between doctors, researchers, universities and patients has never been more necessary. We are seeing firsthand how a deadly virus can completely devastate the world in a matter of months and being able to react quickly is the top priority. Open source tools are making it possible to share research and learnings about viruses like COVID-19 across countries, industries, and universities and these tools and philosophies extend across all areas of medical research.

The amount of data that is being collected within the medical industry is increasing at an exponential rate and there aren’t enough analysts and researchers to work through it all. Partnering with universities to leverage the capabilities of the students starts to address this issue. Not only can the institution glean more insights from their data, the students receive much needed experience and exposure to real world scenarios. The problem then becomes how to effectively develop the university research, so the clinicians can apply the learnings to their current work – how do we go from bench to bedside?

By partnering with the Spectrum Health Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) doctors, and leveraging previous research from Grand Valley State University Biomedical students, we introduced a framework for using open source development tools to build out and test novel algorithms in a way that makes it easier for clinicians to provide feedback for rapid development. By embracing a collaborative culture, we will be able to build and test custom tools in a clinical setting to better assist the clinician in helping their patients.

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