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BME team SpacerScope—composed of Faizah Ahmmed ’25, Elena Dapi ’25, Rupika T. ’25, and Keyden Snow ’25—hopes that a small change to a device for administering medication to the lungs can make a big difference for patients worldwide. Patients who are prescribed metered dose inhalers (MDI) to treat conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are often recommended to use a spacer—a plastic tube that helps deliver the medication effectively into the lungs.

But spacers can be cumbersome and inconvenient for patients to carry, sometimes getting lost. Erika O’Geen, a registered respiratory therapist at the , says that years ago she had the idea for a collapsible spacer and approached the Department of Biomedical Engineering about developing a prototype.

“I thought it was time to pursue the opportunity after hearing from patients repeatedly the reason that they never used a spacer in the first place was due to it being too ‘bulky,’” says O’Geen. “Patient after patient with the same response. But when patients use a spacer in the first place, they experience a better outcome with the medication delivery and deposition of the drug.”

Supervised by Associate Professor of Instruction Kanika Vats, the students 3D printed a mold to create a silicone prototype of a more convenient, collapsible spacer. Once their prototype was ready, they tested it to see if it could withstand everyday wear and tear, conducted fluid flow testing to ensure it administers as much medication as existing products, and tested the cleanliness to see how much bacteria grows inside after use. But prototyping is just one part of the learning experience.

“This project is not only about engineering something,” says Rupika Talagadadeevi ’25. “It’s also about budgeting, teamwork, communicating with people back and forth to understand the problem.”

O’Geen says she has been pleased with the outcome and believes it has real-world potential. The students say it was rewarding working with a customer who works to help patients daily.

“It’s pretty cool that the customer is at the Medical Center, so we have a very close connection to the patients,” says Elena Dapi ’25. “We know that the patients she’s talking about are real people, and it’s nice to hopefully help them with this issue.”

Make sure to stop by Design Day on Monday, May 5 to hear from the research team themselves: