Written by: Marvin Larweh
If you were to ask me as a freshman what I wanted out of a career, I probably would have given you a seemingly idealistic and naïve answer: “I just want to help people.” I had no solid research interests, and I didn’t know much about what jobs were even out there for an aspiring biomedical engineer. All I knew was that whatever I did, it had to be for the betterment of others. I’ve learned a lot through my experiences at Hopkins so far, especially through Design Team. As I’ve lived and learned alongside classmates and friends, my desire to serve others with my newfound skills has grown. I’ve found that I feel most fulfilled through collaboration and service.
While looking for opportunities, IBT immediately stuck out to me. Founded in 1997 out of Dr. Nitish Thakor’s research lab at Hopkins, IBT is a small, Baltimore-based medical device company devoted to developing innovative prosthetic solutions for upper-limb amputees. Some of their most prominent work includes flexible batteries and form-fitting electrodes designed to ease the burden on prosthetic users. Most recently, IBT released Glide, a novel prosthetic control strategy designed to give users more control over how they operate their prosthesis while minimizing the amount of regular maintenance needed. My current research project involves quantitatively comparing this new control strategy to other industry standards.
What struck me the most about IBT before I joined was its commitment to collaboration and working directly with the people they serve. I knew as soon as I learned this that I would love the opportunity to work with them. Since starting here, I’ve witnessed firsthand the passion and dedication motivating everyone’s work. Whether it be brainstorming a new testing setup or clamoring together to fix a patient’s device, I’ve found it an extreme pleasure to learn from and work with such people-driven individuals. Furthermore, working with Dr. Chris Hunt, my research mentor, has helped me learn how biomedical research ties into helping others. The research done at places like IBT helps inspire further innovation in the field, informing clinicians and patients alike about new developments and allowing people to make informed decisions that give them the best possible medical care. Admittedly, I struggled to understand before how biomedical research impacts the patients it’s intended to serve. My experience so far has educated me, and I look forward to making continued discoveries that lead to lasting and beneficial change.
Of course, the experience I’ve gained from IBT so far is not limited to the motivational scope of things. Working here has taught me many hard engineering skills and given me real-world experience of the design process. As a research intern, my work started with doing a lot of background research into the prosthetic industry, including recent developments with prosthetic control strategies, how these have been evaluated in the past, and what the most optimal control solution entails. From there, I helped design research protocols for evaluating different control strategies and comparing them to each other. Since then, I’ve mostly been designing hardware and coding setups for each of the control strategies we’re interested in so they can work with our experimental setup. The first-run data collected from these setups gives us initial insights that help inform next steps for the study.
One key takeaway I have from all of this is the importance of being willing to ask for help when needed. There was a pretty steep learning curve when I first started here, and I’m still learning things even now! I found myself having to learn some engineering skills on the fly, and I even had to relearn a few things that I hadn’t used in a while. I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by many experienced and understanding teammates who have helped me learn the ropes of the prosthetics industry while also giving me room to contribute my own ideas. As I become more confident with the skills I’ve learned, I’m able to be more independent and better contribute to the direction of the project. It’s also encouraging to know that many of my teammates went through the same learning process when they first started.
The process has also taught me a lot of patience. Design engineering tends to be very cyclical; you’ll find yourself going from a near-finished result back to the drawing board very quickly! Even as things can be slow-going at times, it’s always worth being intentional and professional throughout the whole process. At the end of the day, it’s not just a finished result that I gain from all that work; I also gain tangible skills across multiple related fields and experience that informs future projects. It’s also quite rewarding to put in all the effort and deliver something worthwhile.
Overall, I’m very thankful for my experience here at IBT so far. I’ve gained invaluable connections and opportunities to collaborate with people at every level and department of the company, from the CEO to fellow ground-level engineers (and their accompanying dogs, another major boon). It has left me much more grounded in a wide range of skills that I can take with me anywhere. Most importantly, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work in an environment that is human-centered and dedicated to making a lasting impact. I look forward to further contributing towards work that reaches people right where they’re at, starting right here in Baltimore.
