The goal of this course is to introduce the human-centered design framework and how it can be applied to design new biomedical technologies to solve challenges in global health.
Terms Offered
Fall 2024
Course Details
Many medical technologies are not available in low and middle-income countries due to the cost, infrastructure, and medical expertise required to implement and sustain them. There is tremendous potential to increase access to health care through developing more affordable biomedical technologies, but effective design requires a deep understanding of the problem. The goal of this course is to introduce the human-centered design framework and how it can be applied to design new biomedical technologies to solve challenges in global health. Human-centered design is an approach to problem-solving that involves the end-user throughout the design process. It has three formal phases: hear, create, and deliver, which guide the course structure and content. At the end of the course, students will have the ability to do the following:
• Understand major health problems and how they differ throughout the world.
• Understand the human-centered design framework and how it can be applied to design effective technologies that can be used to solve world health problems.
• Use human-centered design to analyze and evaluate clinical needs and create a prototype of a technology to increase access to healthcare.
• Identify how technologies move from bench to bedside and propose how your technology could be implemented.
Number of Credits: 3
How You Will Learn and Work
This is a Global Classrooms Connections Course.
Cultural Connection
World-wide
General Education Credits
None
School/College
A. James Clark School of Engineering
Prerequisites & Restrictions
BIOE120, BIOE121, BIOE241, and MATH246.
Faculty Highlights
Jenna Mueller
Dr. Mueller joined the University of Maryland in August 2020. Her interdisciplinary training combines optical imaging, image processing, ablative therapies, and human-centered design to develop biomedical devices to solve challenges in global health. She received her bachelor’s degree in bioengineering with a minor in global health technologies from Rice University, and received both an M.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Duke University for her work developing optical systems and automated algorithms to improve the accuracy of cancer excision during surgery. Prior to joining BIOE, Dr. Mueller was a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University where she worked with a multidisciplinary team to develop the Pocket colposcope, a low-cost device to screen women for cervical dysplasia, which is now commercially available. Dr. Mueller’s lab is focused on developing translational low-cost diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to improve the management of cervical cancer and other cancers in the United States and in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Specifically, her lab uses engineering design methods, rapid prototyping and fabrication, multiple optical imaging methods, chemical ablation, bench testing, and small and large animal models to develop and evaluate biomedical technologies for cancer management. Her work has been supported by a NSF CAREER Award and by the NCI through a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, SBIR phase 1 and phase 2 awards, R21 and U01 subawards, and the NCI-UMD Partnership for Integrative Cancer Research award.
Tuition & Scholarship
Course costs should be calculated based on the university’s standard tuition and fees for undergraduate students and graduate students.
Students enrolled in winter and summer Global Classrooms courses may be eligible for the International Education Scholarship.
Cancellation and Refunds
Global Classrooms courses follow UMD's Schedule Adjustment policies.
Questions & Contact Info
For more course information contact Jenna L. Mueller at mueller7@umd.edu.
For general questions, please contact the Global Classrooms team at globalclassrooms@umd.edu.