Week 10: Medicine Is For Those Who Cannot See Themseles Doing Anything Else

Whew! I cannot believe that the 10 weeks of my senior project flew by so fast. It feels just like yesterday (or perhaps, March 6th), when I first started working on my models. I have a lot of concluding remarks, but let’s start with my final update for my project. 

Surgical Instrument 

I discovered a handy guide of instruments (located in the sources) commonly paired with the Lindholm laryngoscope while searching for one to model. Ultimately, I settled on modeling a simple probe. The main reason for this choice was that all other tools, such as the flanges or the scissors, required engineering the model. This I did not have time for, and as such the probe seemed the only fitting choice.

Figure 1: Lindhom Probe 

Although it may not look like it in the picture, this probe is a whopping 20cm long! That is actually bigger than what my 3D printer can print, so the probe had to be separated into two halves. I attached a simple knob on one part and an indent on the other, and they fit together reasonably well. At the very least, it doesn’t fall apart when you shake it a bit. Hopefully, in the future, I can find a larger printer so that I don’t need to deal with the two halves falling apart. 

Other than that, there isn’t much to say about the probe. Its primary use is for pushing and prodding your larynx to search for some pathologic development. 

Simplified Larynx 

Figure 2: Completed Larynx 

Finally! This week, I was able to print and successfully dissolve all the PVA in the larynx. By enlarging the grooves just by 10% (.3mm), the vocal cords were able to fit in all the way. This resulted in me being able to put both papilloma vocal folds into the larynx. While this larynx took me a lot longer than I would have hoped for, I am glad that the model was able to be completed before my final presentation. 

To accompany this larynx, I printed out a vocal fold with a more developed papilloma, shown below. 

Figure 3: Vocal fold with a larger papilloma 

Larynx V2: 

This week, my mentor provided me with models of the previous larynges his lab had been modeling. To one of these, namely a larynx with stenosis, I added a similar arrangement of papilloma onto the vocal folds. 

Figure 4: A somewhat recognizable (?) larynx 

I attached an image of the larynx model to my presentation, but for now, I will only be showing my attempt to print and cast the model. As you can see, the print did not go successfully, for a multitude of reasons, but the inside of the larynx is still somewhat visible. As a future project, I will be trying to perfect the casting of the larynx, hopefully by tinkering with the inverse mold so that it’s easier to cast around. 

Future Direction: 

While I am glad about what I have managed to create so far, there is still a lot of work to be done before these models can be used properly. First, I must figure out how to cast the larynx into a recognizable shape. Secondly, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, one way to verify the usability of the models is through a survey with experienced otolaryngologists. For example, I could have them test these models and rate the usability, accuracy, etc… on a scale of 1 to 10. There are still more models and more fine-tuning before I can truly call this a pediatric simulator. 

Final Gratifications: 

Firstly, I would like to thank my internal advisor, Dr. Allendoerfer, for supporting me throughout my project. She has provided valuable insight on ways to improve my project and presentation, including the addition of surgical tools. Of course, I extend my deepest gratitude to my external advisor, Dr. Tulio Valdez. Without his help in obtaining the software, files, and resources for this project, none of this would have been possible. Throughout my journey, I’ve learned so much about human anatomy and laryngology, and I’m more confident in my choice of pursuing medicine. As the title suggests. (I’ll give you a high-five if you know who said the quote). I would also like to thank Mr. Brady for all his hard work in organizing this senior project. The meetings helped to clarify a lot of the requirements and expectations for this project, and I am grateful for that. Lastly, I would like to thank all of you who read my blog, for your support of my project. Thank you to everyone who has helped me throughout this endeavor; I am eternally grateful. 

I hope to see you all on Saturday! 

Signing off, 

Derrick Liu   

Sources: 

https://www.karlstorz.com/cps/rde/xbcr/karlstorz_assets/assets/3553875.pdf