Valerie Woo

Date of Award

Spring 2020

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2020.

Department

General Engineering

First Advisor

Jessica Kuczenski

Abstract

A digital height-measurement device (stadiometer) was developed in partnership with the Pediatric Wellness Group (PWG) clinic to improve the speed and accuracy of the height measurement process and address the discomfort and inefficiency issues of traditional physical height-measurement devices currently used in hospitals and clinics. The digital stadiometer uses sensor components to quickly and efficiently measure a patient’s height. One key need for accurate height measurements from this device is to ensure the device is level to the ground. Therefore, this project incorporated an accelerometer along with a “bubble level game” feature, which allowed the user to ‘self-level’ the device in two axes by moving a black circle into a ring as viewed by the LCD screen. The device was prototyped and tested, then mounted onto a helmet for final testing and analysis. The aim is for the helmet-mounted device to be incorporated into the Pediatric Wellness Group clinic’s routine physical measurements that they perform for each patient. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 lockdown, prototype testing was unable to be completed in the clinic setting with patients. However, limited testing proved that the device took quick height measurements, with height displayed in about 6 seconds, and was relatively accurate, though it did not meet the ¼” accuracy desired by the customer. Future revisions to the device will strive to improve accuracy of the device through implementation of a temperature sensor and more thorough testing.

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