A Typical Day in 10th Grade Engineering

On Wednesday, December 14, students in Mrs. Silverman’s tenth grade engineering course entered the lab to find the instructor’s table strewn with catheters, twenty-pound x-ray resistant medical garb, an assortment of medical appliances, and a demonstration console of the Sensei® Robotic Catheter System. From the outset of the school year, students in the engineering course have become accustomed to visits from engineers, and professionals who work with cutting-edge technology, but this was something else. Frisch parent, Dr. David Feigenblum, a visiting electrophysiologist from Englewood Hospital, brought samples of the appliances he works with in operations on the heart, in order to demonstrate to the students the “real-world” application of engineering.



Dr. Feigenblum opened his presentation with a powerpoint outlining his work. As an electrophysiologist, Dr. Feigenblum is the “electrician of the heart,” and works on curing arrhythmia, or abnormal cardiac rhythms. Dr. Feigenblum explained that in operating on the heart, x-rays must be taken constantly to track the work of the physicians. Outlining the measures taken by electrophysiologists to avoid extended exposure to x-rays, Dr. Feigenblum donned a “suit” made with lead, which protects the body from x-ray exposure. Dr. Feigenblum wore the protective clothing until the concluding slides of the presentation, at which point, after taking questions, he allowed the class to approach the front desk and take a close-up look at the medical instruments.

Students began operating sample catheters and working with the Sensei operation console, which allowed the operator to experience the work carried out by an electrophysiologist. Cellphones were pulled out to take pictures of the medical instruments as well as to take photos of the students as they dressed in the protective layers worn by electrophysiologists. Mrs. Silverman’s engineering class, through lab-work and the help of visiting engineers and medical professionals, has truly been educating the students in the course about the fundamentals of engineering and its practical application.

-By Benjamin Glass, Class of 2014