Spring 2020

Project Goal: Create a low-cost user-friendly spectrophotometer device that can detect and report blood hemoglobin levels to diagnose anemia (low iron levels) in medical patients.

Skills: Arduino programming, prototyping, 3D modeling, 3D printing, circuit building, technical presentation

I collaborated with an interdisciplinary group of first year engineering students to research the light absorption properties of the hemoglobin molecule in blood and the physics principles of light spectroscopy. We then created created a device capable of detecting and reporting the concentration of hemoglobin molecules in blood samples to diagnose anemia in medical patients.

Our device utilizes an Arduino Uno, a violet LED light, photoresistor, a breadboard, electrical wires, and several 3D printed components I designed in Solidworks.

We utilized Arduino IDE to create code to turn on the LED light, collect data from the photoresistor, and report the hemoglobin levels to the user.

We preformed several stages of device calibration and testing and were ultimately successful in accurately measuring and reporting hemoglobin level in 10 provided blood samples.

Finally, we presented our background research, device functionality, and a theoretical plan for device commercialization to a panel of Villanova University engineering faculty.