Week 2

Last week in class we met our advisers and were able to choose our groups and projects. We created our blog and our bios page.  The project we chose was the Wearable LED for Photodynamic Therapy.  
Our challenge is to create a wearable LED device that can be used with pc4 to treat psoriasis.  By using 100 LEDs, a lilly pad, conductive epoxy, and conductive thread, a prototype can be built.  
During week 2, we met with our instructor and discussed ideas to build the LED strip.  We discovered many potential problems while brainstorming.  Some tools we still need to properly build the device include a multimeter, and model tweezers.  The LEDs are very small which makes it incredibly hard to glue them to the string by hand.  The use of tweezers will decrease the difficulty of this task.  Also, we do not know which end of the LEDs is positive, and which end is negative.  Before we can proceed, our group would like to be certain which end is which.  We also needed a ruler to measure the distance apart the LEDs needed to be mounted. Another problem is that the loom on which we were to build the device is needed for other groups.  Since the glue takes four hours to properly adhere, a new mount needs to be devised.  The mount should be non-conductive and portable.  Some ideas that were suggested include cork board and blocks of wood. 
We will obtain the needed devices, and bring them to lab next week.  This way we will be able to begin building the device immediately.

 First attempt at stringing LEDs on a Nativie American loom