First Full Work Day

Today we were able to have a full day of work figuring out what projects each team would be working on and getting started on our week of work here in Nepal. We have three teams here: the wheelchair team, prosthetics team, and the electrical team. The wheelchair team consists of Cade, Peter, Carlie, Harrison, and Dr. Van Dyke. The prosthetics team consists of Ryan, Bryson, and Matt. The electrical team is Dereck Plante and TJ Quintilian. This week we are breaking the post into sections for each group to write about what they worked on.

The Prosthetics Team

After some initial confusion as to what the prosthetics team would be doing today, we headed over to the prosthetics workshop. We spent the morning and half the afternoon observing the current fabrication processes that are employed for a number of different prosthetics and orthotics. There is a strong interest in using 3D printing in the manufacturing process, but lack of knowledge of its capability and applicability for their needs. Using what we gleaned from today’s experience and what we know about 3D printing, we are now putting together a presentation to compare their current process to what 3D printing has to offer. Sometime later in the week, we will present our findings to Dahn and other hospital higher ups to allow them to make an informed decision as to whether 3D printing can offer relevant capabilities. On a separate note, we were also informed that the occupational therapy department is in need of a better standing frame, so we will also be spending time seeing what can be done about that, but it is unclear exactly what will come of that.

-Matt

The Wheelchair Team

Today, the wheelchair team began by spending time looking at the wheelchairs that INF currently has at the hospital. We then had a productive meeting with our clients at the hospital which allowed us to gain further insight and consideration to help move forward in finalizing the wheelchair design. Coming to Pokhara, we had two preliminary designs, and we have decided on one design based on the information learned today from their current wheelchairs and the meeting. Modifications and improvements were made to our current 3D model to satisfy the considerations, and further design on other essential parts was completed. Our team is ending the day satisfied with the progress we’ve made and excited to get back to work tomorrow!

-Cade

The Electrical Team

Today the electrical team worked with Thomas Meier, the electrical engineer who set up the solar power systems at the hospital. We toured around the grounds looking at the different systems that were providing power for each part of the hospital and learning the basics that went along with them in both hardware and some software. Our main task will be diagnosing the different systems and making sure they are all working correctly and if not, to figure out what needs to be fixed and possibly fix it. We will start our real work on this tomorrow and depending on how far we get might be able to start a different project later in the week!

-TJ