Abstract
There is no doubt that medicine is an everlasting, and constantly evolving, field. From the creation of new medicines/therapies to treat our ailments, to the development of new tools for our physicians, engineering has always played a role in shaping the foundation of our health care system. But with engineers to be present can only mean that there is still more work to be done on improving the tools and care provided within these current systems. As we begin to pioneer in the new age of Artificial Intelligence, there comes concern in regards to how we should integrate this new technology. At the same time, we are constantly battling challenges, such as patient biocompatibility, that have been around for decades with ongoing research and biomaterial innovations. One, poses the threat to disrupt an entire system and the relationships within it, and the other poses to revolutionize how treatments and drug therapies could be administered. For millennia, we, as humans, have always had one ally and that is our immune system. While it is hostile to outsiders, our immune system has always strived to keep up healthy throughout our lives, but with the advancements made with modern technology, it could also prevent us from having a better quality of life. For my capstone project, we worked on a device that can one day allow for patient specific treatments while minimizing our bodies immune response. The aim of the device is to allow for the growth of human vasculature from cells cultured in a lab. This was done by first, designing a device via AutoCAD and then testing the structural stability of the device by using a needle pump. Afterwards, we began to analyze how cells adhered to the device and if they survived within the device in an incubator for fixed amounts of time. Unfortunately, any data collected couldn’t be statistically analyzed due to a lack of experimental replicates. Still, given the initial results, we hope that this device will not only allow for the effectiveness of drug and therapy delivery, but it will also improve the effectiveness of our immune systems more than ever before. On the other hand, technology is beginning to rapidly advance with the recent boom of AI tools such as ‘ChatGPT’ and ‘Deep Seek’. With this recent advancement comes concern on how this technology will impact the healthcare industry. Will patients begin to rely on these tools instead of seeing their typical physician? How will physicians feel about their patients relying on information generated by an algorithm rather than them? Questions like these are why I researched how AI will impact the healthcare system and the relationships, such as the traditional patient-physician relationship, within it. To do this, I researched literature dating back to ~15 years ago on how such technology could have impacts on patient autonomy, empowerment, and decision making. I have also researched how physicians feel about their patient’s autonomy and the societal roles that they play in. After data gathering, I used two theories I learned from STS, implicit understanding and Actor Network Theory, to determine how AI could impact the healthcare system. Overall, I have determined that while AI is in its baby stages, it does pose the risk of disrupting the current system if taken seriously by patients. While the STS topic has met its resolution for the time being due to the unforeseen integration of AI, the technical topic still has work to be done. Currently, plans for the technical project are to hand it off to another capstone group next year in order to one day reach the goal of making a revolutionary device. I am disappointed that we weren’t able to achieve everything we hoped for in regards to our technical topic, but I have learned a lot of new things whilst working on the project. For future researchers on the capstone project, I recommend that you: begin cell culture earlier than anticipated, determine what materials to work with early on, and be proactive when possible. Overall, both projects have been fruitful in teaching me how to plan literature and laboratory research, which is something that will stick with me years beyond my graduation.
