"C'mon Vamanos, Everybody Let's Go..."

Everyone put on your backpack. We're going on an adventure. 

Today we spent the day exploring the sites (and food) of Guatemala city. After getting a late start to the day, we set off on our first food experience. To say it was amazing would be an understatement. From crepes to nutella frappucinos, Saul was definitely a restaurant for the books. 

Enjoying a meal at Saul! It's always good day for crepes.

After our first real meal in Guatemala, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and scenery to walk off the delicious treats. We found ourselves in the midst of a religious parade which included a float with a large Jesus and a band. We wandered over to the central Plaza Mayor, home of the Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace. There were also multiple food and clothing stands. The central plaza truly emulated the amazing beauty of the Guatemalan people and their culture. 

The Guatemala team in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

We returned to our hotel for a couple hours. Some of us enjoyed a relaxing book while other chose to embark on the conquest of Catan (the most wonderful board game... I'm biased). We finished out the night with our first taste of real Guatemalan food. Needless to say, we definitely made the dishwasher's job easier. 

Niki's delicious Guatemalan meal. Does this even need a caption?

We are all "Dora'd" out and ready to begin the real work tomorrow fixing our first medical devices. Don't forget to come back tomorrow for more updates!!

Bienvenidos a Guatemala!

Hola! After a day of planes, trains, and automobiles we have all landed safe and sound in Guatemala City. Our day began outside of Towers East with everyone arriving exactly on schedule, to the delight of Dr. P. Unfortunately, Dr. Nick Adams is feeling under the weather and was not able to accompany us on today's journey, but should be joining us later this weekend! After a quick attendance count off, Ari, our official "people wrangler", directed us to our shuttle. We arrived early enough at BNA for everyone to grab a quick brunch, then the group was whisked away to Dallas. We enjoyed this airport for all of 40 minutes before boarding our next plane. Niki has proven to be our dedicated social butterfly, striking up a quick friendship with fellow passenger and Guatemalan native Cindy. A mere 3 hours later, Niki was forced to bid farewell to her new pal as we breezed through customs and boarded our shuttle to Casa del Angel. We were greeted by the wonderful proprietor Janet and Vanderbilt alum Ben Kessler who, to our overwhelming delight, surprised us with a pizza feast! Ben is serving as our in-country consultant, having moved to Guatemala City shortly after graduating last May. Tomorrow he has promised us a day full of exploration in and around Guatemala City's Plaza de la Constitución! Spirits are high, but the busy day of travel has left most of us ready for a good night's rest; we leave you tonight with some terrific trip snapshots provided by photographers Sophie and Niki. Buenas noches!

Who is ready for Guatemala? Me!

Hello Everyone! The service learning Guatemala team is back and ready to get on the road (actually the plane) to Guatemala. We have spent the first half of the semester gathering supplies and practicing our medical equipment repair skills. Today was our last class before we depart Saturday morning. We packed up all of our equipment (and friends) to get ready for our departure. Once in country, we will be traveling to 3 different hospitals to service and repair all manner of medical equipment and devices. At each of these stops we will be joined by engineering students from Guatemala's Universidad del Valle who will be providing extra expertise and insight to our projects.

Tori decides she wants a special view of the cargo hold. Anyone want her seat?

We will be keeping in touch and updating everyone on our trip progress and fun adventures. Stay tuned!!!

Thank You SO MUCH!

This trip was remarkable and we have so many people to thank for it!
Thank you to all! We could not have done it without you!



Cecilia Peña, Pedro Merida -- La Fundación de Shalom
Dr. Ligia Figueroa, Angeles Muralles -- The Moore Pediatric Surgery Center
Henri Santizo of Agromedica
Dr. Luis Zepeda, Carlos Ruiz, Gerson Cabrerra, Maricarmen Anguiano, and Marcela Figueroa -- Hospital Infantil Juan Pablo II
Lazaro Vasquez, Carmen Grajera -- Hospital Maternidad de Palin
Odra Flores, Anabela Morales, Dr. Nelson Mayen -- Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro
Prof. Carlos Esquit Hernandez and his students -- Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
Henry Lima -- Our driver in Guatemala
Clara Chacon -- Antigua community volunteer (and Dr. P.’s awesome Spanish teacher)
Lindsey Moore and Karen Bice -- Project C.U.R.E.
Wilson Adams -- our Teaching Assistant
Dr. Nick Adams -- our professorial co-leader
John Dunbar -- engineer extraordinaire
Prof. Todd Giorgio, Tina Shaw, Amanda King -- VU Department of Biomedical Engineering
Prof. Chris Rowe, Brenda Ellis, Heidi Hall -- VUSE Engineering Communications
Michele Cedzich -- VU School of Engineering
Dean Burgess Mitchell -- VUSE Dean's Office Academic Services
Adam McKeever-Burgett -- VUSE Dean's Office Academic Services
Katherine Cuthbert -- Office of Wellness Programs and Alcohol Education
Michele Cedzich -- VUSE Dean's Office
Eric Sneeden -- Vanderbilt Student Centers
Scott Kominkiewicz -- Office of Admissions
John Lasiter -- Barnes and Noble at Vanderbilt
Jamie Adams -- VU Informtion technology
Phil Vermeulen, Drew Casey -- VU Information Technology
Prof. Ted Fischer, Avery Dickins de Girón --VU Center for Latin American Studies
Dr. Shari Green and Penny Meek -- VU Zerfoss Student Health Center
Dr. Stuart McGrane -- VU Department of Anesthesiology
Jordan Halasz, Dr. Arna Banerjee -- VU Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment
Kathryn Hofeldt -- VU Global Support Services
Sabrina H. Kronk -- VU Finance & Travel

Lastly, We would also like to take a minute and appreciate our dream team, BME Service Learning in Guatemala, Spring 2016:

Dr. Cynthia Paschal
Dr. Nick Adams
Alison Williams
Cassandra Wessely
Claire Lafferty
Fuyao Chen
Jasmine Greer
Joe Hodge
Linus Lee
Lydia McKeithan
Meredith Huszagh
Quinn Weinberg
Ryan Spears
Sami Kopinsky

Thank you so much for such a fruitful and meaningful experience! 

Zip It Up Guatemala

Who says work and fun don't go together? We spent Saturday, our very last day in this beautiful country at the Filadelfia Coffee Resort & Tours and at the Artisian Market. 

At Filadelfia we took a coffee tour, zipped lined, bought souvenirs, and had lunch.

                         

     

After finishing the coffee tour, we drove up the moutain and prepared to zip line!

The first time for some, the fifth time for others, either way, the excitement was high!

Step 1: suit up

Step 2: get hooked to the cable appropriately

Step 3: Jump and zip the line!

Sami, Dr. P., Ryan, Meredith, and Alison are geared up and ready to go

Professor Adams, Linus, and Joe lean back

Lydia waves to camera, Quinn takes a selfie

Dr. P. zips the line

Sami with open arms

Everybody say Zheese!

We had loads of fun!
Next stop, the Artisian market!

Joanna searches for the perfect gift

 Off to the airport back to Nashville!

Team Vandy Del Valle

Last day of work, we will make it count!
Let's hear from the team about what they did on their final day with the Del Valle students at Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro!!!

Alison and Cristian check continuity

Hey, it's Alison! Today I worked on a Welch Allyn universal charger. After determining that the power cord and fuses were functioning properly, I worked with Cristian and Alex to troubleshoot the circuit inside the device. We isolated the problem as a non-functioning transformer. Then Alex and I called the company that manufactures the transformer as well as Welch Allyn but both told us that they couldn't give us any info about it so we couldn't do anything. The charger will either have to be sent in and repaired or a new one bought. I learned a lot from Alex because he was really familiar with circuit components and good at troubleshooting the circuit.
- Alison

I worked with Matías on blood pressure machines. We took apart 3 machines to test their batteries and found that two were broken. We conducted a series of charging tests and subsequent usage to determine whether the batteries could charge and whether they could hold a charge during use. We replaced the batteries in the two broken units.
-Meredith

Today I spent the day entirely building a bilirubin light for the Palin Maternity Hospital. Alex and Kevin helped me yesterday prepare the LEDs and resistors on the perf board, and today Yucely helped me solder all the components together, after which Kevin and Alex rejoined us to integrate all the components and celebrate in our working phototherapy light. With the time-intensive nature of the project, it would have been so incredibly difficult to complete.
- Ryan

Ryan and three Del Valle students: Ycely, Alex, and Kevin

Ryan is showcasing the bilirubin light!
Way to go Ryan!

Today we worked on an OR table that was having problems with leaky hydraulic fluid. We located the source of the leaks, which was in the controller, but ran into trouble because the controller had square holed screws of which we did not have screwdrivers for. So we traveled all around Antigua with Cecilia looking for this unique screwdriver piece. The hardware store worker finally found one in their scratch pieces, and it just so happened to fit perfectly in the screws the controller had. Once we were able to inspect the inside of the controller, the Del Valle students, Jose Roberto, Luise Jose, and Cristian, and Professor Adams and I were able to come up with a solution. We left the suggestion for fixing the leak with their hospital technician, who was excited to get to fix the problem. In the meantime, we'll look for replacement tubing to fully fix the leak. It was awesome getting to collaborate with the Del Valle students. We had a really fun time working and telling stories, and just having an overall good time.
-Lydia

Lydia, Professor Adams, and Jose work on OR table

Today I worked with Linus, Erick, and Julio on fixing a light source as well as finding a cable for an insufflator. I had a great time getting to know and learn from the Del Valle students and am so glad I had the chance to collaborate with them!
-Claire

Cassie and Quinn brainstorm about solutions!

Today Quinn and I worked on vital signs monitor with Matias Velasquez and it was great. Unfortunately, we spent a lot of time on the phone with technical support, only to finally be told that it needed a new battery. Before that though, we spent time working through errors that would come up on the screen when we used the screen. It would die every time we inflated 170 mmHg (which was the fault of the weak battery).
-Cassie and Quinn



Sami, Kevin and I worked on two endoscopy light sources. The first one had some mechanical issue in the brightness adjustment switch, but because the model is old and manuals were no longer available, we could not take apart the switch to check throughly. The light source is still functional but only at it's maximum light output. The lamp in the second light source detached from its bracket and caused reduction in light output, with Kevin's help we were able to glue the lamp back into its position and the light source was fully functional. It was such a great experience to work with Kevin and other Del Valle students. They are incredibly knowledgeable and easygoing. I would love to keep in touch with them!
-Joanna

Joe and Monica work on surgical irrigation system

Today I worked on a surgical irrigation system with Mόnica Castellano. We ended up going through the entire machine and isolated a malfunctioning capacitor. We hope to order a replacement and have it working as soon as possible.
-Joe

I worked with Claire, Erick, and Julio today to try to fix a fiber optic light source and an insufflator. We weren't really able to fix the light source because we didn't have an oscilloscope to look at the voltage but we were able to find the gas connection for the insufflator that we would potentially want to buy, depending on the price. Otherwise, I spent a lot of the day talking with Erick and Julio and learning Guatemalan slang words, which was incredibly fun. Saying goodbye to them later tonight will be really sad because we've gotten to know them well over the course of this week while working together and hanging out together.
-Linus


Today I worked on two light sources! One light source is fully functional, however, the other light source was a bit more challenging. Upon inspection, this light source had an old fuse and needed a replacement. Unfortunately, I did not have the required fuse, so Celicia, Lydia, Professor Adams, and I walked around town to several electronic/ hardware stores in search of a fuse and various other supplies the team needed. We were fortunate enough to find a small shop that had only one 5 Amp fuse left! Returning back to the hospital, I excitedly replaced the fuse in hopes of restoring functionality. To my dismay, the fuse blew immediately, according to the manual this indicates that the PCBA auxiliary board needs to be replaced. There was nothing more that I could do to fix the light source, however, I was able to find PCBA auxiliary board purchasing information and share it with the hospital administrative staff!

-Jasmine

Jasmine checks functionality of light source

My work today was to organize, cheerlead, teach, and counsel, trying to keep 12 Vandy students and about that many students from Universidad del Valle busy. I also got to learn a bit more about circuits from the students and from my colleague Carlos Esquit, professor and head of mechatronics at UVG.
- Dr. P.

 Vandy and Del Valle made such a good team; it is so hard to say goodbye. We look forward to staying in touch with our friends and continuing to build a friendship with Del Valle.  

Palin and Agua

First stop, Hospital Nacional de Palin.

Here at the maternity hospital Ryan and two Del Valle students, Alex and Kevin, assembled a light source for babies with Jaudice, while Joe, Linus, Quinn, and Cassie worked on an unstable light stand. 

Ryan and Alex position the LED on the circuit board

Here goes the light... and some fixation

Pumping it up!

Also, Quinn worked on fixing blood pressure cuffs. 

Speaking of which, our special guest blogger, Quinn, will share her experience today.

“My assigned piece of equipment at the Palín Maternity Hospital was a broken blood pressure cuff. I brought a new cuff with a bulb and valve that Project C.U.R.E. in Nashville generously donated to us. The broken cuff at the hospital could fill without a problem but there was a tiny leak that made the pressure drop steadily. Working with Dr. P., I found that the problem was not in the cuff nor the tubing but rather in the bulb. It had been heavily used, and as a result, air was leaking out through the connection to the valve. We quickly fixed the cuff by replacing the old bulb and valve with the new ones from Project C.U.R.E. I checked the functionality of the cuff by taking Dr. P's blood pressure.”

After a long day at the Hospital Nacional de Palin and a bumpy ride back to Antigua, we had lunch at San Martini. Delicioso!

Professor Adams, what a meal!

In the afternoon, we decided to spend the energy gain from lunch on some hiking or running on Cerro La Cruz mountain. Dr. Adams, Lydia, Cassie, and Meredith, our fitness enthusiasts reached the top first, while Dr. P., Alison, Quinn, Sami, and Joanna took a refreshing walk up the hill. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking! The beauty of Antigua city is surrounded by the solemnity of the Agua volcano. The volcano looked so peaceful yet contained so much power, just like our team of Biomedical Engineers!

What a view!

Team Fitness

Some calorie intake seems preferable after exercising up and down the hill. For dinner we went to the Miso Korean restaurant spotted by Linus earlier in the day. We had our first Korean menu lesson from “Professor Linus”, and spent the rest of the time practicing using chopsticks; surprisingly, we all got pretty good at it!

With full bellies, we are ready for work tomorrow at Obras Sociales del Hermano.
Our Del Valle friends will also join us, so we all look forward to a great day!

Professor Linus

Miso!