Phoenix Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor Project
Sub-project: Data Acquisition Prototype Job Openings

Project Description

This page contains a list of "job openings" that volunteers can "fill" in the Phoenix Project lab.  This is really less formal than it sounds, but is perhaps a useful way to describe the kinds of people we're recruiting for at the moment.

People with skills not listed below or a desire to learn about blood pressure monitor R&D are encouraged to join the group also.  There's plenty of work to do in all areas, and at all skill levels.

Project Deliverables

The Phoenix Project Lab is comprised of members that experienced in various roles, or that want to become experienced in those roles.  The desire to learn by volunteering is often more important than being previously declared an expert.  Those that want to learn are often paired up with those that are already experienced in our projects.

Phoenix Project Lab volunteers typically read academic literature, design parts of products, build parts of products, or test parts of products.  Then they write up results of their work on a web page.  When possible, they attend lab meetings on a weekly, monthly, or ad-hoc schedule, either via teleconferencing or on campus at the University of Minnesota.

Phoenix Project Lab volunteers find that involvement in the Phoenix Project brings benefits to their job searches and other professional networking, find personal fulfillment as a member of a community working on an important healthcare project, and just plain enjoy the hobby.

Students that work on Phoenix Project Lab projects reinforce their current educational activities, use the projects to meet class requirements, and gain experience that makes their resume stand out from the crowd.

The Phoenix Project Lab is currently asking for volunteers for the following roles:

Role	Description
Project Manager	Manage Phoenix Project lab projects approved by the Phoenix Lab director.  Obtain resources, define goals, milestones and tasks, assign volunteers to tasks, track and report progress on web site or in oral reports.
Biomedical literature research engineer	Review academic literature and commercial product descriptions, summarize noninvasive blood pressure measurement technologies & techniques that might be useful to meet Phoenix Project goals.  Presents results to Phoenix members in oral or written form (e.g., talks with slides, written papers for the web site, or participating in informal discussions during lab meetings).
Biomedical R&D engineer	Design components of blood pressure monitors using various technologies.  Document designs (e.g., schematics, PCB layouts, packaging) on the Phoenix Project web site.  Perform and document simulations to show correctness of designs where possible.  Design and document tests for blood pressure monitors.   Work in the lab with technicians to help them achieve implementations of the designs.  Investigate failures of built or modified devices.
Biomedical Technician	Build or modify blood pressure monitors in the Phoenix Project lab.  Obtain parts, document build work via lab notes, photographs, etc. on Phoenix Project web site.
Biomedical Test Technician	Test off-the-shelf, modified off-the-shelf, and designed-from-scratch blood pressure monitors for basic function and FDA requirements (safety and efficacy) in the lab.  Document results on the Phoenix Project web site.
Labview/Matlab guru	Design and code signal capture and processing installations for use during development and testing of blood pressure monitor components and systems that occurs in the lab.  Labview "virtual instruments" and Labview/Matlab code is preserved in the Phoenix Project configuration management system for future use.
Embedded Software Developer	Investigate characteristics of various microprocessor/microcontroller architectures for use in blood pressure monitor devices, with an eye towards testing that demonstrates software designs that can be shown to meet FDA requirements.  Define, design, code, test, document, and maintain embedded software code.  Most Phoenix Project embedded software will be expected to operate on multiple hardware architectures.  Embedded software is kept in the Phoenix Project configuration management system for maintenance and future use.
Electrical Engineer	(Not currently looking to fill this role.)
Systems Engineer	(Not currently looking to fill this role.)
Collaboration Librarian	Investigate documentation, project management, and collaboration tools for use by engineers, managers, and others in the Phoenix Project.  Examples of such tools are web sites, Wikis, configuration management software, video conferencing software.  Manage the physical storage of Phoenix Project artifacts (documents, purchased software, produced software, test results, etc.).  Act as a librarian resource for Phoenix Project members.
Recruiter	Work closely with Phoenix Project Coordination Team and Phoenix Project Lab Director to recruit volunteers to perform all Phoenix Project roles.
Funding manager	Work closely with Phoenix Project Coordination Team to obtain donations of money or lab resources (e.g., electronic test instruments).  Research and implement donation recruitment techniques that are applicable to the open source medical device organization and business model.
Quality System consultant	Consulting resource for those in Phoenix Project leadership roles for issues of Quality systems and regulations from US, Canada, Europe, India, China, and/or Japan.  Recommend actions needed during all stages of research and development of blood pressure monitors and medical device web software to meet regulations of various authorities.  Knowledge of FDA QSR (21 CFR 820), EU CE marking (ISO 13485), and similar systems.
Quality System Manager	(Not currently looking to fill this role.)
Quality System Technician	(Not currently looking to fill this role.)
Documentation consultant	Consulting resource for Phoenix Project contributors that produce documentation and preserved written materials.  Review written materials to make suggestions to authors creating documents and to managers for future projects.
Technical Writer	Author written material for consumption by doctors, politicians, and the general public.  Might act as secondary author on academic papers.  Author product documentation for new products to meet regulatory agencies' requirements.
Medical Device Fashion Designer	Design blood pressure monitors and modifications to off-the-shelf blood pressure monitors to meet various fashion sense.  Take into account device requirements (e.g., convenient, easy-to-use), materials (colors, fabrics, solids), biocompatibility requirements,  age groups, culture issues, disabilities, ornamentation, fashion trends, merchandisability, etc.  Sketch/CAD drawings.  Prototype designs and materials.

Volunteers Are Needed

Would you like to work on any part of this project?  Send your suggestion to Larry.  Or start out by just asking questions.

About This Page

This page is maintained by Larry A. Beaty.  It was last updated on 28 August 2011.

The author(s) provide this information as a public service, and agree to place any novel and useful inventions disclosed herein into the public domain. They are not aware that this material infringes on the patent, copyright, trademark or trade secret rights of others. However, there is a possibility that such infringement may exist without their knowledge. The user assumes all responsibility for determining if this information infringes on the intellectual property rights of others before applying it to products or services.

(C) 2011 Larry A. Beaty. Copying and distribution of this page is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.

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