Fischell Institute Attends College Park Academy’s First Annual Middle School College and Career Night

Fischell Institute Communications Specialist Ambi Narula and MPower Entrepreneurship Fellows Sam Meyr and Arsalan Siddiqui represented the Fischell Institute at the College Park Academy’s first annual Middle School College and Career Night on April 11, 2024.

Narula, Meyr, and Siddiqui participated in the event to help inspire young minds interested in engineering and biomedical devices.

“I wanted kids to feel excited about how biomedical devices can change lives and the mission of the Fischell Institute,” said Narula.

Narula was impressed with the number of students interested in biomedical engineering and was excited to showcase two medical device prototypes developed by Fischell Foundry engineers: the KeyScope and Otophoto.

The KeyScope device is a low-cost, durable, reusable laparoscopic system that can be manufactured and used in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is the result of a collaborative project between Affiliate Fellow and BIOE Assistant Professor Jenna Mueller and Associate Professor of Surgery and Global Health at Duke University Tamara Fitzgerald. Fischell Foundry Chief Engineer John Rzasa and Senior Engineer Kevin Aroom also contributed to the device’s design.

The Otophoto is a portable, intelligent digital otoscope that produces high-quality images and video in a simple, easy-to-use format. It was designed by Rzasa and Johns Hopkins University Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery James Clark. A special camera at the tip of the device offers a wide field of view and a high frame rate, giving the user a quality image of the ear canal and eardrum, even if not aimed precisely. It is wifi-enabled with an onboard Linux processor that allows it to interact with electronic medical records. This ability makes the Otophoto useful for telemedicine use cases.

College Park Academy counselor Desiree Moore created the event so that the academy’s middle school students could be exposed to a variety of colleges and careers, giving them the opportunity to discover what schools and occupations they may want to pursue in the future.

“The College and Career Night was a phenomenal event. It is essential for the students at College Park Academy to properly plan for post-secondary endeavors,” said Moore.

The event took place inside the school’s multipurpose room, where 20 different college program and career option tables were set up gallery-style. Students and their parents were invited to walk around and interact with the representatives present to gauge their interest in the various offerings.

“I could tell the students were shy talking to us,” said Meyr. “I think the students we spoke to seemed like they had genuine interest in engineering and the University of Maryland.”

“It’s always an honor to represent the Fischell Institute and showcase the exciting and innovative work that our engineers do,” added Siddiqui. “It was inspiring to see the students’ interest in engineering, especially at such a young age.”

Narula, Meyr, and Siddiqui look forward to attending future College Park Academy events and continuing to inspire the next generation of biomedical engineers.

Published April 19, 2024