Biomedical Innovations

Biomedical Innovations: Year 4

In the final course of the PLTW Biomedical Science sequence, students build on the knowledge and skills gained from previous courses to design innovative solutions for the most pressing health challenges of the 21st century. Students address topics ranging from public health and biomedical engineering to clinical medicine and physiology. They have the opportunity to work on an independent project with a mentor or advisor from a university, medical facility, or research institution.

Independent Project

The year long independent project is an open-ended problem that allows students to explore an area of biomedical science that is of individual interest. A student may participate in an internship, a clinical experience, a mentored research experience at a university, complete an independent design for a medical intervention, do research within the classroom, or participate in any other learning experience that you and the student agree is appropriate. This project is designed to get out and make a positive impact on the local community as well as to present their findings to a panel of different share holders diagramming their results and conclusions from their study.

Unit 1 - Combating a Public Health Issue

In this unit, students will play the role of epidemiologists as they investigate a disease cluster. They will analyze evidence presented in illness complaint worksheets for five fictitious patients, as well as two detailed evidence reports. These reports contain documents such as imaging reports, clinical exam notes, case maps, and food logs. Each new piece of the puzzle should helps students refine their initial hypothesis and determine the cause of the illness cluster, as well as describe how each patient became infected.

Unit 2 - Exploring Human Physiology

In this mission, students will learn about the variety of research study designs available and how to set up and conduct valid and reliable studies. Students will investigate the various ways in which data can be manipulated, explore what to look for when evaluating data presented by others, critique science data presented in popular media, and compare such data with science data presented in scientific journals. Students will learn one process that scientists use to statistically analyze data and then use this process to analyze the results of a scientific investigation. Finally, students will use everything they have learned, to design, conduct, and analyze an experimental study relating to one or multiple body systems that they are interested in studying.

Unit 3 - Design a Medical Innovation

In this lesson students will work through the design process based on Standards for Technological Literacy. Students will investigate the evolution of various biomedical products, brainstorm ideas for a new biomedical product or for a way to improve an existing product, and evaluate solutions of the past and present. Students will explore possible design solutions, select the best approach, and develop a design proposal. Finally, students will showcase their designs with a model, prototype, or schematic and create a marketing plan to pitch their product to potential investors.

Unit 4 - Design an Effective Emergency Room

In this lesson students focus on biomedical problems related to clinical care. Hospitals and emergency care centers strive to provide quality care to all who enter, but time is of the essence. Timely patient care can make the difference between life and death. Students will use what they have learned about effective and timely care to design a state of the art emergency room.

Unit 5 - Investigating Public Health

In this lesson, students will investigate various aspects of environmental health. They will be presented with a fictional family, the Williams, who are all showing gastrointestinal symptoms caused by something in their environment. Through this case, students will identify environmental health concerns and toxins and identify potential exposures in their own daily lives. Students will test the Williams family well water and a local sample of water for the presence of coliforms and E. coli. Because the water tests positive for coliforms, students then isolate DNA from three different bacterial cultures and perform PCR to detect which bacterial strain present in the Williams’ water is making them sick. They then will test the Williams’ water and a local water sample of their choosing for the presence of various drinking water contaminants and investigate the effect of these chemicals on human health.

Unit 6 - Forensic Autopsy

In this lesson students will assume the role of a forensic pathologist to perform an autopsy on a fetal pig, an animal whose anatomy, both internal and external, is very similar to human anatomy. They will examine the fetal pig and note any abnormalities using the same protocol as a human autopsy, including examination of the tissues, organs, systems, and body fluids. Student will then create a fictitious death scenario and showcase the clues left behind in the body to tell the story of how the fictional person died through an autopsy report, medical history forms, and other documents of their choosing. Student groups will then exchange scenarios and be tasked with solving each other’s mysteries.

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