Project List
1—Neonate Sensor Module for Next Generation Oscillometer
Client
Contact
guy.drapeau [at] thorasys.com (Guy Drapeau) and francois.poulin [at] thorasys.com (François Poulin)
Project
Thorasys designs and commercializes ergonomic devices for clinicians and patients to improve diagnosis and monitoring of diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis. The company’s flagship product is the tremoflo C-100 (Airwave Oscillometry Device | tremoflo® C-100 | THORASYS). This simple handheld device superimposes a gentle oscillatory wave on the patient’s normal breathing to provide several key outcome parameters of respiratory mechanics. To perform the test, patients are required to execute some basic maneuvers such as biting down on a mouthpiece and holding their cheeks while they breath in the device for 20 consecutive seconds. While these actions are much simpler than other pulmonary function tests, they still demand some compliance from the patient, which may not be feasible from very young children or sleeping/unconscious patients. To address this concern, a prototype mask and adaptor (known as the N-100) has been designed and is presently under clinical evaluation in preliminary trials.
Thorasys is in the process of refining its tremoflo design, making it smaller and more portable, with a detachable sensor module. The objective of this project is to adapt the N-100 concept to the new sensor module approach so that it is compatible with our second generation tremoflo (the C2). Feedback will also need to be obtained from the current clinical teams to address any deficiencies. The deliverables include design specifications and drawings, a functional prototype and documented verification/validation of the adapted product per ISO13485.
Requirements
The team will need a combination of bioengineering, mechanical, and electronics engineering. Familiarity with computer science is an asset as the device is operated from a desktop software. The code base is not expected to require modifications but will need to be operated for testing purposes.
2—Emergency Department Patient Companion App
Client
antony.robert [at] mcgill.ca (Dr. Antony Robert)
Project
Patients present at the Emergency Department (ED) have a lot of idle time in between various physician and nursing evaluation or interactions.
During idle time, patients :
- may experience changes in symptoms (worsening or improvement);
- seek information about what they are waiting for (a treatment, a specialty consultation, the results of investigations (labs or imaging) or simply waiting for a clinician to re-evaluate them); and/or
- want more information about their symptoms, potential diagnosis, or a confirmed diagnosis.
After their visit, patients :
- may want to have a summary of their visit (what was done, what was the diagnosis);
- may want to know what to expect or observe in the coming days (including reasons to return to the ED); and/or
- may want to give feedback to clinicians about their stay.
Thus, we believe a mobile app that can be given to patients may improve their experience in the ED as well as provide insight to the treating time.
Such an app needs to be compliant to Canadian patient confidentiality and privacy requirements.
Noting that the ministry approves the use of Microsoft related projects, we hope to have:
- an android and IOS patient mobile app to display a patient's journey along with above mentioned data (real time in-hospital patient database);
- a clinician-specific web platform to view patient data, including their surveys; and
- an admin web platform to manage users and to create questionnaires and surveys.
Any data stored on cloud environment needs to follow current data and interoperability standards including FHIR and HL7.
3—Improving Access to Eye Care: Remotely Examine the Injured Eye in 3D
Client
The team's base is at the Clinical Innovation Platform in the Montreal General Hospital.
Contact
remoteoptical [at] gmail.com (Remote Optical Team)
Motivation
Patients in rural and other underserved communities often cannot access eye care from a specialist. This is especially problematic when there are acute injuries or disease far away from medical centers.
Objectives
To develop hardware and software that allows ophthalmologists to remotely conduct an eye exam, so that patients can receive outstanding ophthalmic care from anywhere.
The most immediate problem is to develop an algorithm that would allow the specialist to virtually manipulate eye images in a way that simulates having the patient next to them.
Requirements
- A passion for solving problems that will help people
- A strong background in software engineering or computer science
Previous experience in any of these fields is an asset:
- Coding in C# or C++
- CUDA, GPU-based programming
- Optics
- Mathematics
Project Conditions
There is the opportunity to work remotely/hybrid.
4—Design and Implementation for Expansion of Medical Device IoT Connection Range Beyond Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
Client
Contact
chrouk.kasem [at] my01.io (Chrouk Kasem)
Project
Our flagship product, the MY01 device, is an FDA approved biomedical pressure monitor, which functions by inserting an active pressure sensor into the patient’s muscle. Continuous pressure readings serve as an aide to diagnosis of Acute Compartment Syndrome (ACS) [1], which is a dangerous and difficult-to-detect condition prevalent in patients suffering from high-energy trauma such as bone fractures.
Currently the MY01 device uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with a companion mobile application on the user’s phone to give the physicians a real time feed of the pressure measurements. In addition, the mobile application can supply the physician with a graph that shows pressure measurements over the device’s lifetime (approximately 18 hours). These objective data can contribute to aiding the physician on making a rapid and accurate diagnosis. The main downside of this form of communication is the very limited range of BLE communication. BLE is designed for short-range communication, and in a hospital setting, we have seen it typically having a range of around 4 to 10m, requiring the physician to constantly be in close proximity with the patient to benefit from the companion app. We believe that introducing alternative communication protocols to our device would enable our device’s connection range to expand, thus improving the physician’s access to timely data.
We are seeking a team to explore, design and develop new means of expanding the device’s connectivity range using alternative communication methods. The communication method would need to have a sufficiently large enough range to cover the hospital, or at least several floors, have sufficient bandwidth and reliability to provide near real-time data transfer, have a small enough size such that the physical footprint does not require a larger device than our current design, and consume a low enough current to not substantially reduce the device’s lifetime.
[1] C. P. M. Osborn and A. Schmidt, "Management of Acute Compartment Syndrome," JAAOS - Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeos, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. e118-e114, 2020.
Looking for
Electrical, computer, and software engineering students
5—Design and Implementation of Implantable Multi-sensor Medical Diagnostic Aid
Client
Contact
anya.jesson [at] my01.io (Anya Jesson)
Project
The MY01 device is an FDA-approved intramuscular pressure monitor. It operates by inserting a MEMS-based pressure sensor into the patient’s muscle compartment, where it delivers continuous pressure readings. When paired with other clinical signs, pressure can serve as an aid to diagnosis of Acute Compartment Syndrome (ACS) [1], which is a dangerous and difficult-to-detect condition that can occur following high-energy trauma such as bone fractures.
MY01 wants to expand our sensing capabilities beyond pressure readings. Real-time monitoring of patient biometric data has significant potential in helping medical professionals respond quickly to changes in a patient’s condition before other clinical signs present. Integrating other significant biometrics into a single sensor can greatly simplify the acquisition of information needed for a doctor to make a diagnosis of ACS.
This project aims to build on the existing MY01 sensor by exploring and implementing other types of sensing technology in the context of an implantable medical device. The scope of the project includes research of market sensing technologies, feasibility testing, and eventual implementation of a prototype of the designed sensor interface.
We are seeking a team to work closely with our electrical hardware team to take this project through its early stages. Your team can expect to learn about biomedical device design requirements and regulations as well gaining experience with embedded system design. Prior experience in these areas is not required, but familiarity with Arduino and basic electrical hardware design principles are assets.
[1] C. P. M. Osborn and A. Schmidt, "Management of Acute Compartment Syndrome," JAAOS - Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeos, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. e118-e114, 2020.
Looking for
Electrical, computer, and software engineering students or bioengineering students
6—Mechanical Heel2Toe - A Shoe Insert that Provides Feedback and Improves Walking
Client
About PhysioBiometrics
PhysioBiometrics Inc. is a McGill Spin-off company dedicated to producing accessible technologies for people with gait and posture vulnerabilities so they can move better to move more.
Our pivotal product is a Walk-BEST[TM] (BEtter, Faster, Longer, STronger) toolkit comprising a Heel2Toe[TM] sensor, a workbook, videos, a set of walking-related exercises, and a workshop program. The Heel2Toe[TM] sensor is a class 1 medical device. This therapeutic wearable provides positive auditory feedback when the person makes a “good” step, one in which the step starts with a strong heel strike. This mimics a strategy that physiotherapists use during gait training and allows for sustained feedback for good gait. The Heel2Toe[TM] sensor requires IMU sensors, Bluetooth, and charging capacity. In many parts of the world and for many people around the globe this infrastructure is poor or non-existent. PhysioBiometrics Inc. is interested in developing an appropriate technology application for the Heel2Toe sensor where appropriate technology is the simplest level of technology that can achieve the intended purpose considering social and environmental contexts.
Contact
ted [at] physiobiometrics.com (Dr. Ted Hill), CTO PhysioBiometrics, and andrew.weightman [at] manchester.ac.uk (Professor Andy Weightman), Associate Dean Teaching Academy and Professor of Medical Mechatronics
Project
We need a technology that can work “under a tree” in a context where access to physiotherapy is only for the privileged and where Wi-Fi and even electricity cannot be assumed. The Mechanical Heel2Toe would produce a sound when the heel strikes the ground with an appropriate force during walking.
Resources
The McGill Mechanical Engineering students will work under the guidance of Dr. Nancy Mayo (Department of Medicine School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University; Divisions of Clinical Epidemiology, Geriatrics, Experimental Medicine, McGill University Health Center) and Dr. Helen Dawes (Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation, University of Exeter), and supervised by Dr. Andrew Weightman (Professor of Medical Mechatronics, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester) and Ted Hill (Chief Technology Officer of PhysioBiometrics Inc.).
Dr. Mayo, Dr. Dawes, and our team of physiotherapists, will validate your prototypes with real clientele in need of walking improvement, including seniors and people living with Parkinsons disease. Dr. Weightmans’s mechanical engineering and CADCAM expertise will guide you to a produce a commercializable product before the end of the 2nd semester.
Previous Work
We have tried some options with limited success and would welcome a team of engineers to tackle this challenge.
Our first prototype, before we contacted Professor Weightman, was a simple toy clicker mounted in a 3D-printed receptacle in the heel insert for a shoe. This prototype proved the concept.
We have explored a few other concepts, including (1) Gravity to move a ball bearing and only click if heel angle followed by heel strike, and no flat foot. Ball bearing rolls down when sufficient angle for heel strike. (2) Double switch: two buttons must both hit; one activates clicker, second dampens. So, if you hit both at same time, no click because it gets dampens.
7—A Low-Cost Functional Electrical Stimulation Device for Foot Drop
Clients
robert.kearney [at] mcgill.ca (Dr. Robert Kearney), Department of Biomedical Engineering, and antony.robert [at] mcgill.ca (Dr. Antony Robert), Department of Emergency Medicine
Project
Foot drop is a common disease post stroke, multiple sclerosis, birth brain injuries, or adult traumatic brain injuries. There is growing body of evidence that orthotics can be enhanced with Functional Electric Stimulation (FES). FES is a procedure in which a paralyzed muscle is activated by electrical stimulation to perform functional activities. A key application of FES is to assist patients with foot drop to walk. Foot drop results from paralysis of the tibialis anterior due injury to the peroneal nerve. This prevents the normal activation of tibialis anterior that dorsiflexes the ankle and prevents the toe from interfering with the swing phase. The use of FES with foot drop has many benefits. There are a variety of commercial devices available. At the low end, devices which cost about $100 are intended for exercise therapy but do not support walking area. At the higher end, there are devices that can assist walking but these are too expensive to be affordable to many users.
The objective of this project is to design and construct a low-cost FES device that provides functional stimulation for foot drop patients. The project will build on a previous project which developed some general principles for the device design. Students will require some knowledge of signal processing and electronic circuit design.
8—Development of a Back Supportive Device
Clients
emeric.bernier [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Emeric Bernier) and mark.driscoll [at] mcgill.ca (Prof. Mark Driscoll)
Project
The spine plays an important role in maintaining stability and controlling body movement in addition to many other functions. Therefore, injuries to the back may limit physical movement and generate pain that can cause work absences and require medical attention. In fact, it is estimated that pain in the low back region affects roughly 80% of people during their lifetime, which has significant socioeconomic repercussions. In Canada, low back pain is estimated to cost up to 12 billion dollars each year and this figure is estimated to exceed 100 billion dollars in the United States. Spinal corsets were developed as a way to reduce the risk of injury and aid in rehabilitation. However, the effectiveness of these corsets cannot be determined based on the current literature. Additionally, wearing lumbar corsets has significant drawbacks, such as limited movement, discomfort, and additional stress on the spine. Therefore, the current market has room for improved back support devices and requires better assessment techniques for coset functionality, in order to provide proper patient care.
Objectives
- Design and fabricate a back supporting device. The objective of the device is to increase the stability of the spine when undertaking commonly performed tasks such as leaning, lifting, or twisting.
- Evaluate the functionality of the device.
9—Development of a Real-time, Battery-Less, Intramuscular Pressure and Spinal Posture Sensor
Clients
mark.driscoll [at] mcgill.ca (Prof. Mark Driscoll) (Department of Mechanical Engineering), aditya.mithani [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Adi Mithani) (Masters Student, Department of Biomedical and Biological Engineering), and ibrahim.elbojairami [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Dr. Ibrahim El Bojairami) (Post-Doc Student), Department of Mechanical Engineering
Project
The clinical assessment of an individual’s spinal posture plays a critical role in diagnosing, monitoring, and treating spinal abnormalities. For instance, patients suffering from adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, defined as an abnormal curvature of the spine in the frontal plane, experience postural and proprioceptive dysfunctions, which may further deteriorate the spinal deformity. In addition, the compensation strategies adopted by the body in response to postural abnormalities could lead to asymmetries in tissue stresses, altering normal movement. Currently, no real-time, non-invasive and battery-less modality exists to assess intramuscular pressure and spinal curvature.
The objective of this project is to develop a real-time, battery-less intramuscular pressure (IMP) and spinal posture sensor that can be integrated into a smart garment for use by athletes and patients during functional movements. IMP sensors have shown significant promise in the real-time assessment of muscle force, with studies indicating a nearly linear correlation between the pressure generated and force output. The system should offer a real-time assessment of IMP and spinal curvature, in both the frontal and sagittal planes. In addition, the IMP sensor must achieve a target resolution between 1-2 mmHg. Finally, as movement disturbances can alter the accuracy of sensor readings, a correction factor to the pressure and curvature values should be employed. The readings generated from the sensor will be utilized in a finite element (FE) spinal model to improve the model’s prediction of spinal compensation patterns under conditions of fatigue. It will be also used during in-vivo studies to characterize the effectiveness of therapeutic strategies.
In summary, the sensor system should include the following:
- Battery-less Intramuscular pressure (IMP) sensor with a target resolution of 1-2 mmHg;
- Battery-less Spinal Curvature Sensor;
- Real-time and non-invasive;
- Designed to function during functional movement; and
- Sensor thickness: 1mm.
10—Design and Prototyping of an Educational Exoskeleton Kit
Client
Contact
jonathan.falardeau [at] communautique.quebec (Jonathan Falardeau)
Project
In perfect coherence with Communautique, a non-profit whose mission is to democratize access to technology to support the social, cultural and economic growth, the project consists of designing, prototyping and documenting the creation of an exoskeleton (either full body coverage, half body coverage or only specific limbs), entirely buildable with equipment commonly found in a Fab Lab and electronics that are generally available to the public. The exoskeleton would eventually be used as a support for people with reduced mobility to support them in achieving tasks that were once available for them (ex. Elderly people that have a hard time getting up and walking due to old age or a disease) and will be available to those who wish to build their own, within Fab Labs around the world.
These designs will be licensed with one of the many Creative Commons licenses and eventually shared with other Fab Labs around the world. Communautique will use these designs and prototypes to manufacture packaged kits to be used as a support within our own workshops and training.
11—Development of a Dynamic Friction Setup for Medical Devices
Client
rosaire.mongrain [at] mcgill.ca (Prof. Rosaire Mongrain)
Project
Catheters and guidewires are frequently used for cardiovascular procedures for diagnoses (injecting and retrieving fluids) and therapeutic interventions (stenting, drainage, ablation). The practitioner may experience significant resistance when navigating and positioning the catheter. This resistance is due to friction between the catheter body material and the endothelial surface of the vessel (or cavity). This directly affects the precision of the positioning which is critical for the success of the procedure (ablation or deployment sites).
The goal is to develop a testing system to assess the dynamic friction (Stribeck curve) behavior of soft-tissue substitutes (including hydrogels, 3D printing materials, silicones) interacting with cardiovascular devices such as catheters, guide wire and coatings.
12—Development of a Drug Elution Testing Setup
Client
rosaire.mongrain [at] mcgill.ca (Prof. Rosaire Mongrain)
Project
Drug eluting stents DES are coated with drugs that inhibit smooth muscle cells and myofibroblasts replication and neointima growth after stent implantation. Several stent designs, polymer coatings, and pharmacological compounds are currently being investigated by many groups for the prevention of in-stent restenosis. The compounds used in DES include antithrombogenic agents e.g., heparin, hirudin, immunosuppressive agents e.g., sirolimus, tacrolimus, antiproliferative agents e.g., paclitaxel, actinomycin, anti-inflammatory agents e.g., dexamethasone, extracellular matrix modulators e.g., batismat, and prohealing agents e.g., 17-estradiol.
However, the currently available approaches are still accompanied by suboptimal clinical result, and optimization of DES is a challenge.
The project aims at developing and constructing a perfused experimental setup to asses compound release kinetics (concentration release as a function of time) from a coated cardiovascular technology.
13—All-in-one Bioreactor/Fermentation Vessel with Integrated Temperature Control Systems
Client
brewingclub [at] mcgilleus.ca (Brewing Club) (Club within Engineering Undergraduate Society)
Project
In the context of biomedical engineering, the biologics manufacturing, cell culture, and synthetic organ industries all rely heavily on a large supply of human and non-human cells cultivated in various ways. One way to grow cells is in a tank bioreactor with automatic control of environmental variables. The design of such systems combines the fields of bioengineering, chemical engineering, manufacturing, heat transfer, control systems, and fluid mechanics. Since fermentation in the context of the food and beverage industry applies many of the same concepts at significantly lower costs, it will be selected as an educational corollary for the design of a bioreactor in the medical field.
The bioreactor will need to be able to perform the principal tasks associated with fermentation (using beer as an example): converting starches in grain into simple carbohydrates accessible to yeast cells by maintaining a specific temperature over the course of an hour; straining the grain out; boiling the mix for one hour; cooling the resulting liquid; fermenting the liquid with yeast under controlled temperature for approximately two weeks; and transferring it to a container for transportation, carbonation, and serving. All steps above should be made as safe, quick, and user-friendly as possible, via careful design, mechanical assistance wherever necessary, and a clean and simple user interface through a smartphone application used for control.
The timeline for the project will consist of four principal deliverables:
- Theoretical design and all drawings, due November 1st.
- A completed assembly of the shell of the device and heating element, ready to brew from start to finish, by the end of the fall semester.
- The automated heating and cooling systems, due February 20th.
- The application and user-interface, due March 10th.
By the end of the year, students will have accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments. They will have hands-on experience manufacturing for sterile and food-safe environments, be familiar with HVAC control systems, have software and hardware experience, and have designed a cell culture vessel from scratch.
14—In-Vivo Low Profile Percutaneous Tissue Homogenizer
Client
louis-martin.boucher [at] mcgill.ca (Louis-Martin Boucher), MD/PhD, McGill University, McGill University Health Centre
Project
The goal of the project is to be able to generate a self-tumoral vaccine, in-vivo, by homogenizing/mixing an ablated tumor in the liver with an immuno-stimulant (adjuvant). Normally to do this, one would need to excise the tumor, homogenize it with the adjuvant ex-vivo and then use this as a vaccine. However, this demands very special techniques of sterility and tissue processing, not easily available and prohibitvely costly.
In interventional radiology, we routinely ablate tumors in the liver, leaving the dead tumor in place. The idea is to try to use the dead tumor left in the liver to stimulate the immune system. This requires some mechanism to mix the ablated tumor in-vivo with the adjuvant. This would be done via a percutaneous access.
The system we are looking for is a low-profile system (that could be engaged through a 15g needle) into the ablated tumor under US guidance. Needle length would have to be approximately 20 cm in length. Once the homogenizer needle in place it would have to be able to inject a specific volume of immunostimulator (gelified liquid) while mixing/homogenizing this with the ablated tumor. The system would need to be controllable in such a way that a relatively specific volume of tissue is mixed/homogenized so that we do not damage the normal liver around the ablated tumor, whether time based or speed based. Ideally, the system would need to be autoclavable/sterilizable.
We have published the idea in a previous publication. See “Carias et al., Ex Vivo Study of Experimental Method Toward Future In Vivo Tissue Processing for Self-Anti-Tumoral Vaccinations, Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2021 May;44(5):818-821.doi: 10.1007/s00270-020-02736-7. Epub 2021 Jan 27.” For this we used a basic thrombectomy device that consists of a rotating wire, but at low speed and which was insufficient to optimally mix the tumor with the gellified liquid. We are therefore at a road block presently and the design of this system will allow us to move forward in developing a technique to use someone’s own ablated tumor, in-vivo, to generate a anti-self vaccine, allowing us to create personalized medicine with universal tools, a possible game-changer in the fight against cancer.
Last year a Capstone project group worked on designing such a needle. The project timeline allowed them to design a blade system that could placed through a small 15g needle and controlled by a motor driven torquing system to turn the blades in an attempt to homogenize the tissues. However the actual conception of the design ended up realizing the motor system, but the actual homogenizing needle was not fabricated due to limitations in time and small caliber needed.
We are therefore looking for a group to take over the project and design this low profile homogenizing needle system.
Carias et al., Ex Vivo Study of Experimental Method Toward Future In Vivo Tissue Processing for Self-Anti-Tumoral Vaccinations, Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2021 May;44(5):818-821.doi: 10.1007/s00270-020-02736-7. Epub 2021 Jan 27.
15—Clemex Microscope Turret
Client
Contact
matthieug [at] clemex.com (Matthieu Guihard), Ph.D., Product Manager
Project
Clemex is presently building its own microscope dedicated to specific needs, the objective being to reduce the overall
cost of such system for a particular industry.
As seen in the image, the system involves a X/Y stage, a light path (objective, lens and tube, camera, ring light) and a motorized Z-Axis, all assembled on a common plate.
Existing prototype only manages one objective lens. In order to address a frequent request in the application domain, an automatic turret should be added to the microscope. This turret would handle 4 objective lenses, would be controlled in position by the application, where the application would drive a motor to change position and obtain a feedback for the actual position of the turret.
The project includes the following tasks and requires two teams to accomplish them:
- design the turret and integrate it into existing microscope;
- develop control system for switching the lenses and integrate it into microscope setup.
Both teams should coordinate their work.
16—Servomotor-Controlled Specimen Stage for Laser Cutting
Client
natalie.reznikov [at] mcgill.ca (Prof. Natalie Reznikov), Department of Bioengineering, McGill
Project
My lab studies biomineralized specimens such as mollusk shells, eggshells, bones and teeth. Dissecting such objects mechanically using rotary instruments is common, although it can be tricky: small objects can easily shatter, and the precision of cutting might be low. A method of contactless dissection of biomineralized tissues has been originally invented for dental practice. A dental Er-YAG far infrared solid state laser emits light that is absorbed by calcium salts and structural water, which results in cold and gentle cutting of mineralized tissues. The working element of the Er-YAG laser in my lab is shaped as a typical dental handpiece. The aim of this Capstone project is to design and assemble a servomotor-controlled stage that would move a sample with respect to the stationary laser and piece. The stage would be connected to a binocular microscope (provided), and the trajectory of the stage movement will be defined by the operator via, for example, a Raspberry Pi controller.
17—Clemex Stage X-Y and Z Axis
Client
Contact
matthieug [at] clemex.com (Matthieu Guihard), Ph.D., Product Manager
Project
Clemex is using a X/Y stage as well as a Z axis column as primary components for its microscopy systems. These components are motorized and controlled by a specific controller which, in turn, is handled by the Clemex Image Analysis software. Being used in the tilling of mosaic images acquired by a camera (involving reconnections of microscopic particles), the movement precision and repeatability of the stage/column are essential aspects. They range around 3-5 microns.
For Clemex, the goal of the project would be to design and build its own stage and Z-axis hardware (excluding the controller for the moment) with the expectation that it would substantially reduce the overall cost of the product lines.
The project requires two MECH Eng teams working in collaboration:
- Team 1 designs and builds X/Y stage of the microscope;
- Team 2 designs and builds Z-axis column of the microscope.
Important: Both teams work together to integrate two designs in a single unit!