Adios Guatemala City, Hola Antigua!

Amazing Antigua

Engineers are known for math and science but how about poetry? Creativity is not only limited to the liberal arts, but is also applicable to engineering (I am sure that my fellow commodores in Senior Design would agree). Nonetheless, at breakfast we shared our creative side with the reading of our poems.  The topic was how “Pass the Pigs” (a roll-the-dice type game) is a metaphor for BME service.

Busy hands, tools, brains

Hard work but no engagement

Oinkers we collide

-          Dr. P

 It is your turn now.

The cool crisp air caress my hand

The uncertainty floats in the fog

Will I get a razorback? Will I make a difference?

Roll the pig…roll your dice.

-          Jasmine

On our final day at the Moore Center we continued to work on our instructable videos.

Let’s hear some words from our team leaders Meredith, Ryan and Lydia about how their video production went!

Last day at the Moore Center

Meredith updates us, “Today at the Moore Center, the video team working with the non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) machines finished capturing video footage for their instructional video. Videographer Sami recorded video while Alison, Claire, and I described and demonstrated how to check for leaky tubing and calibrate NIBP machines. After completing this phase of the video development, I started placing and editing clips into a coherent story timeline while Claire and Alison began preliminary work on writing the script for the voice-overs to accompany the team's video clips. The group's next immediate steps will focus on detailing out the script and integrating the video clips into a cohesive video.”

Farewell Anesthesia Machine! 

Ryan, Joanna, Cassie and Joe, were working on Anesthesia Gas Mixing and Delivery videos. Ryan shared, “Today, our main objective was to progress far enough in the video editing and scriptwriting processes to identify any gaps in our story. We only needed to collect a few additional videos and replace a couple, and by the end of our time at the Moore Center, we had collected all the clips we could there, had the clips ordered, and had an outline for the script.”

Hey! Look at my oxygen saturation!

Lydia, Linus, Jasmine and Quinn were working on Anesthesia Ventilation videos. Lydia said, "Today, Luise Jose and Eminio (very unsure of these spellings) were so gracious to travel back to the Moore Center to help our team finish our video on Anesthesia Ventilation and Monitoring Systems. After going over our first round of clips and experiencing some trial and error, our team was able to learn a lot about best film shooting practices, and Jasmine and I (Lydia) were able to catch some great clips of the Del Valle students demonstrating the function and repair of the Anesthesia systems. We’re looking forward to putting the video together these next few weeks. With Linus’s great script writing skills and Quinn’s awesome editing skills, after translating and recording everything in Spanish, I think we’ll have a great product, which hopefully will be very useful for our friends in Guatemala whenever they run into trouble with Anesthesia Ventilation further on down the road.

After wrapping up everything, we loaded up the truck and got comfortable. Last day in Guatemala City, Last day at the Moore Center; we had a great time but Adios, Guatemala City and Hola, Antigua.  

Hola Antigua!

Work hard, play hard!
After arriving to Antigua we went to Chocomuseo and made chocolate together!
Pictures can speak louder than words...

   

Fingerlicken good!

YUMMY!

   

       

Making chocolate requires several steps but we all needed to stir!

At least you didn't spill all of it

Skills!

                 

Anything is Possible At Juan Pablo

Who says chivalry is dead?

Early birds catch the worm! Today we beat the traffic and arrived to the Hospital Infantil de Juan Pablo II earlier than expected, ready for action! We were soon joined by more students from La Universidad Del Valle: Darwin, Monica, Andrea, Julio, Ennio, Alex, Christian, Yucely, Matias and Erick!

In the surgical room, Linus partnered with Christian, and Joanna paired with Darwin to work on the vacuum machines; Both groups managed to put the vacuums back into work.

Meredith and Lydia focused the day to get the lab microscope into focus! Unfortunately, they were not able to restore the automatic focusing feature after switching the objectives. Nonetheless, they figured out that alternating between oil and water-immersion objectives might cause this trouble, so hopefully it will be solved very soon.

Matias gets his blood pressure read

Bright smiles with blood pressure monitor

Cassie and Quinn formed a power group with Christian, Andrea, and Matias to calibrate the blood pressure monitor. Matias, who is healthy as a horse, constantly got a lower reading on his systolic pressure. The hospital technician, Señor Carlos, saved the team by bringing them essential calibration components. Matias finally got his healthy blood pressure reading!

VU in the gasket with Del Valle

Joe 'operating' on the gasket

Another instrument that was worked on today was one of the hospital's autoclaves. Dr. P had identified a worn gasket on her prior trip, so we came prepared with a replacement gasket and epoxy. The manufacturer of this autoclave discontinued this model, so Claire, Joe, and Linus worked alongside Erick and Julio to fit another brand's replacement gasket. This was accomplished by trimming it to the correct length and dimensions. Now we will just wait to see if the seal will hold in 24 hours, after the epoxy sets!

Team troubleshooting on the autoclave with Dr. P. 

Similarly, Alison and Ennio focused on fixing a different autoclave! With assistance from Dr. P and after several hours of investigating they were able to determine the problem with the temperature gauge. Unfortunately, the necessary part to completely fix the gauge was not readily available, further research needs to be carried out to solidify a diagnosis.
Ryan, Monica and Professor Adams worked on fixing a malfunctional microscope. The stage of the microscope was loose and had only unidirectional movement, as opposed to bidirectional movement. With meticulously hard work he was able to restore the proper function of the microscope.

In addition to working on her instructional anesthesia ventilation video, Lydia teamed with Alex to change light bulbs and filters on a laminar flow hood. Maintenance is essential to a healthy instrument!
Jasmine was assigned to fix two cracked EEG recorder pens that were held together only by tape. Unfortunately replacing the recorder pens was not an option, however, with a hot glue gun, a soldering iron and help from Darwin, they managed to seamlessly restore the recorder pens!
Upon asking Darwin about his volunteering experience, he shared, “All of you are very friendly. Good experience because my career does not have a lot of work in the hospital. The work you do here is different from what I do in my career.”

Sami, Yucely, Andrea, Erick and Julio rebuild the broken break!

Today’s Special Guest Blogger is Sami:

“Today I was assigned to fix a Zeiss S21 microscope stand with a broken foot brake. While it was fun and exciting to work together on the machine, we definitely had quite a few hurdles along the road. First we had to carefully maneuver the stand with microscope attached out of the OR by wrapping the microscope in blankets and scotch tape for protection. Next, we attempted to fix the broken foot brake by taking the stand apart, only to realize we could fix it by simply realigning one of the metal pieces without having to remove anything at all. Now, with our heightened confidence, we decided to try and mend the second foot brake, which was not broken, but was not functioning perfectly either. In the process of trying to improve the functionality, we actually broke it! We thought it may be as easy to fix as the first brake, but instead this created the real challenge of the day, and we spent hours brainstorming different ideas for how to fix it. In the end, we consulted a very knowledgeable mechanic who works at the hospital and helped us bend the metal brake in a strategic manner, ultimately allowing us to restore and improve the functionality of both foot brakes on the microscope stand.”




Special thank you to the staff of Hospital Infantil de Juan Pablo II:

Señorita Maricarmon Anguiano, Administrator

Señorita Mareela Figueroa, Assistant Administrator

Doctor Luis Arnoldo Zepeda, Hospital Director

Señor Carlos Ruiz, Hospital Technician

Señor Gersor Cabrerra , Hospital Technician

Doctor Lopez, Chief of Surgery

 

The pizza is as long as our table!

Film Production by Vandy and Del Valle

 We are ready to start a new day at the Moore Center!

7 am bright and early we had breakfast at the hotel! Delicioso! Professor Adams shared with us his dream and from there everyone shared their philosophy on where dreams come from.

With a full belly, we went to the Moore Center to work on our videos. In addition to our individual equipment assignment, we were also divided into three groups to make instructional videos about the blood pressure monitor, anesthesia ventilation, and anesthesia gas mixing and delivery. In each group, four students were assigned a role: videographer, audio, editor, and writer. Today we recorded footage and were joined by five students attending Universidad del Valle: Darwin, Ennio, Luis, Manuel and Christian. To say the least, everyone was super productive; we managed to record and even partially edit our videos! It was so great working and conversing with the Del Valle students. Jokingly Cassie told Luis (the Del Valle student) that Linus needed brain surgery, Luis replied with a smile “Sorry I am a dentist, but if you trust me I can do.”

Fun time with students from Unversidad del Valle! We are all getting so good at 'Passing the Pigs'!

After a few hours of work we took a lunch break and celebrated Professor Adam’s birthday. Shout out to Professor Adams, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We then returned to working on our videos.

Meredith, Claire, Sami and Alison focused on explaining how to select the correct size of the blood pressure cuff, align blood vessels and take blood pressure measurements. Sami, the videographer made sure to capture the moment. Darwin, Alison, and team leader Meredith were the actors in the video and Claire, the writer, helped throughout the production.

Darwin volunteered for a blood pressure test with 'Dr. Meredith'

In the room across the hall the anesthesia ventilation team was working hard on their video. Lydia, Jasmine, Quinn, and Linus were also joined by Luis and Ennio. Their video focused on how to use a pulse oximeter, how to troubleshoot a ventilation hose and how to set up an anesthesia instrument. Team leader Lydia, made a plan, Luis and Ennio were our actors and Jasmine recorded the footage! When the footage was complete Quinn started to edit the video clips. Although Linus is the writer, today he helped throughout the whole process and was a valued team member.

Team checking Linus's oxygen saturation with the anesthesia machine

In the meanwhile, Cassie, Joe and Joanna, led by team leader Ryan, dedicated themselves to their new film making careers! Please look forward to their new production: Anesthesia II: Gas mixing and delivery. Coming soon. They successfully collected all the clips with the anesthesia machine with great help and feedback from Christian and Manuel. Their video focused on the mixing and delivery of gas on the anesthesia machine, and they worked closely together to go through the schematic views of the vaporizer, mixing board, and anesthesia delivering circuit. Cassie volunteered bravely to take the role as the actress in the video, and did a great job on leading us through the machine functions. Plus, she looked fabulous in the medical robe! Joe, our videographer, dominated the whole shooting with the camera in his hands. Ryan, our rising Oscar director, consulted meticulously with Christian and Manuel to make sure that the anesthesia system video footage was loud and clear. In fact, they worked together, along with the technician from Moore Center, and were able to rearrange the manual ventilation and patient delivery system into the proper place. 

Look at all the beautiful colors! Go Team Rainbow!

Highlights of the day:

- Happy Birthday to Professor Adams!

- We ran into Vanderbilt Project Pyramid at the Moore Center! How exciting to meet our fellow commodores in Guatemala!

- Passing the Pigs with the del Valle students! Playing games is always a good way to create bonds!

- Along with other new students from the Universidad del Valle, we will be working with Darwin, Christian, and Ennio again tomorrow at Hospital Infantil de Juan Pablo II!

- Team Rainbow at the Moore Center!

-  Dinner at La Estancia Steak House! Woohoo!

First Day First!

 Sweet and satisfied smiles after enjoying pineapple pies, muffins, and rolls for appetizer. Thank you to Dr.P. who brought desserts and the San Martin orange muffins! 

   What is the best way to start our first day in Guatemala? Sleep in? Brunch? Yes! On our way to brunch, we witnessed our first Guatemalan animal rights parade. Marching bands filled the air with their colorful music! After waiting patiently for a few minutes at the restaurant, San Martin, we were able to sit down and get overwhelmed by the variety of food options. Everyone enjoyed their breakfast and conversations with each other.
   Later after brunch, we had the pleasure to enjoy a relaxing walk along with some dog lovers and runners along the city road. The Guatemala City is decorated with natural greenness and historical beauty. The central square, east of the Cathedral of Guatemala City and west of the Royal Palace,  surprised us with its rich culture content, from traditional Guatemalan clothing to folk art performances.

Dr. P. , Lydia, Quinn, and many others cheer with colorful smoothies!

Brunch at San Martins! We all needed the energy for some real work at the Moore Center this afternoon. 

  After a tour of Guatemala city, we went to the Moore Center! All the skills we acquired this semester were ready for action!

  Earlier in the semester we were assigned biomedical equipment that needed to be fixed at the Moore Center, Hospital Infantil de Juan Pablo II, Hospital Nacional de Palin and Obras Sociales del Hermano. Given a few notes and pictures of the equipment, we tackled the task of identifying the issues and resolving them. Meredith was successfully able to make an otherwise incomplete ventilator, complete.  The ventilator was finally functional with her diligence to find the appropriate oxygen saturation cable.

 

Meredith troubleshoots cable replacement

  Similarly, Jasmine was assigned to fix an otoscope, one of the handles on the otoscope did not produce light. After much research she concluded that it should be replaced. With a donation from Project C.U.R.E., Jasmine was able to deliver a completely functional otoscope to Señor Henry, the medical engineer at the Moore Center. Later this week Jasmine also plans to assess the partially functional otoscope in the hope of fixing it!

Jasmine checks the functionality of the otoscope before giving it to Senor Henry

While on site Señor Henry asked if we could take a look at a partially functioning blood pressure monitor and an anesthesia instrument. The blood pressure cuff could inflate appropriately but could not acquire the correct measurements, the monitor would report "air leakage." Claire, Alison, Joe, Dr. P., and Professor Adams raised to the challenge and determined that only the "adult" settings, as opposed to the "infant" and "children" settings, were not working properly. After further troubleshooting, they concluded that the blood pressure unit was the issue. The unit was disassembled, and it was identified that a quick epoxy fix could resolve the issue. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see if it works!
Also, Professor Adams and Linus investigated the malfunctioning alarm feature on an anesthesia instrument. 

Claire, Alison, Lydia and Dr. P look to see the issue with the blood pressure unit.

Linus and Professor Adams troubleshoot an anesthesia instrument 

Please allow us to brag a little about our team members:

-To Linus who nailed his first day of people wrangling.

-To Sami and Cassie for the beautiful photos in the blog.

-To Claire who set up all the cell phones for communication. 

-To Quinn who successfully delivered heartwarming gifts to Cecilia. 

-To Alison who organized all the tools we needed for equipment fixing.

-To Joe who provided safety and health to everyone (distributed hand sanitizers)

-To Joanna and Jasmine who continues to update the blog. 

-To Dr. P. and Dr. Adams who took care of all the ordering and menu translation at the restaurants.

Way to go everybody!!:)

Arrival and Bravo!

First group photo in Guatemala. Tried from the long journey but glad for the safe arrival!
Special thanks to our photographer Sami!

   After a brief layover at the Washington Dulles airport, stretching our legs, getting drinks and food, and maybe digging into a few new books, we took off at promptly 7 pm to our final destination, Guatemala. Napping, reading and watching the funny airplane commercials definitely helped the five hours to fly by. After arriving at the La Aurora International Airport, picking up our checked luggage (We don't want to leave our equipment, do we?), and a smooth trip through customs, we were warmly greeted by our coordinator, Señorita Cecilia, and driver, Señor Henry, at the airport exit.
 We then took a nice car ride to our hotel at Casa de Nazarenos in Guatemala. After unloading our luggage, we regathered for a quick group debrief. Tired but really excited for the upcoming week, we manage to show our BME spririt with huge smiles in our first Guatemala group shot. Looking forward to brunch, the city tour, and some equipment fixing at the Moore Center tomorrow!
   A couple of shout-outs:
   - to our fellow Vandy Commodores whom we encountered at the airport! Good luck and Anchor Down in Guatemala!
   - to Dr. P., Ryan, Joe, and Linus for carrying extra bags of tools and equipment!

Here we go again!

Our team is ready to roll!

      Horray! In only a few hours, our brave team, led by Dr. P. and Dr. Adams, will lay our feet on the beautiful land of Guatemala! A first time for most of us. How exciting! We couldn't wait to immerse ourselves into the world of medical equipment. For the past two months we have been enthusiastically researching and preparing ourselves for tasks we will be facing. Therefore, we are more than ready to start our journey. More updates coming after landing! See you soon Guatemala!

Before Lift Off!

Only hours until we leave, the excitement continues to escalate as we pack, double check, and triple check all of our equipment and luggage.

Before we leave I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who have helped us along the way!

Special thanks to Lindsey Moore and Karen Bice from Project C.U.R.E for supplying us with key supplies and medical equipment that we've used for developing our skills. Speaking on behalf of the team, it is really rewarding to give back to Project C.U.R.E some now functional equipment. After couple hours,  Joe Hodge, Jasmine Greer, Cassie Wessely,  Linus Lee, Claire Lafferty, Sami Kopinsky and Wilson Adams were able to fix two surgical light sources and identify a key problem with a steam sterilizer. Great work!