“LaryHacks” Design Challenge

Introduction

This design challenge was organized by the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE) with the mission to improve the quality of life for laryngectomy patients. Participants were separated into cross-disciplinary teams of medical professionals, product designers, business consultants, engineers, and other specialists.  I acted as the engineering lead on a team whose focus was to improve sense of taste and smell. Our team came in 1st place, as determined by a panel of judges.

Background

During a laryngectomy, the esophagus and trachea are fully disconnected. This results in the lungs being disconnected from the nasal passages, therefore the patient is no longer able breathe air in through their nose. This airflow is needed for scents to reach the olfactory organs within the nose, so laryngectomy patients essentially lose the ability to smell.

Additionally, the scent of food is essential to initiate the first stages of digestion. This includes salivation, and production of digestive enzymes. Laryngectomy patients, in turn, suffer from extreme dry mouth and other digestive issues. The overall enjoyment of food is also lost, since taste is closely tied to smell.

Project

We met with patients and their family members to gain more knowledge regarding their needs and wants regarding this topic. Then, as a team, we worked to brainstorm patient-focused design ideas. The solution we proposed was to create a small and discrete, yet powerful fan that would force air, and scents, into the nose of a laryngectomy patient. As the engineering lead, I designed and constructed our prototype.

The fan was designed to be mounted or powered by the user’s cell phone. Users could then use this fan to direct scents from food to enhance the eating experience, or from essential oils in a therapeutic setting.