On
Wednesday, April 25 we went to the Helmholtz Institute in Aachen for
cardiovascular engineering. We had a presentation on the work done
there, which includes valve projects, total artificial hearts, lung
assists, and research about blood flow through all these devices,
durability, how to best attach devices, and other things. I thought
it was very interesting to see all the engineering that has to go
into these devices that you might not think about, such as the
complex machines that simulate normal blood flow so they can see how
the device will affect the blood's normal flow. I also thought it was
interesting when we saw the machine shop where they make all the
devices, and the guide told us you learn a lot by working with those
people because sometimes an engineer will have a really good idea for
a design but it's impossible to manufacture, so the machinists will
offer suggestions about how the design could be modified so it is
possible to manufacture. Sometimes when you come up with an idea you
don't always think about how it would actually be made, so it was
interesting to hear about how much needs to come into consideration.
Another thing that was really surprising was when we learned that
companies that make devices will often choose not to make a device
more automatic if they can because legally it makes them liable if
something goes wrong, whereas if they leave it up to the surgeon or
patient to adjust, they are no longer liable if something goes wrong.
It was surprising because it seemed counter-productive to
technological advancement.
After
the Helmholtz Institute, we went to the Aachen Cathedral, which was
really neat because we got to see the throne,
and go
into the treasury and see the reliquaries.
We also
may or may not have seen Charlemagne's bones, depending on what you
believe. I especially liked the wall paintings.
I also
really enjoyed hearing about some of the history of the Cathedral
like the bronze banisters which had turned black because they stopped
being polished, and the pillars which the French had stolen. Also
there were relics inside the Shrine of St. Mary which are claimed to
be some piece of John the Baptist's clothing, Christ's swaddling
clothes, and Mary's cloak.
It was
cool that even though they couldn't prove for sure that they actually
were what they claimed to be, they could prove that it was from the
right time period.
The next
day, Thursday, I got to watch the Biomedical engineering students
give their device design presentations, which was fun because I
learned a lot even though I didn't do a device design project myself,
and I thought they were really cool.
On
Friday the most exciting thing to happen was the farewell party. It
felt a little weird because we hadn't actually taken our finals yet,
unlike some of the other groups, so it felt strange to celebrate
before the semester was actually over. We were still able to have fun
though, and it was really nice of the AIB people to put in the work
for party for us. It felt like just a while ago that we were at the
welcome party, and now we're almost finished with the program.
Most of
the rest of the weekend was devoted to studying and writing my paper
for 485, but on Saturday I did go with Megan to the Chocolate Museum
in Köln. Yes, the long-awaited
Chocolate Museum! After multiple failed attempts to go here, I
finally got to experience the legendary Chocolate Museum of Köln.
It was really fun, and at the end we went to the chocolate shop
attached to the museum, where we went just a little bit crazy
spending our money on wonderful chocolate. On the way back we rode
the chocolate express because it was rather warm outside and we
didn't want the chocolate to melt. We thought it would be just a
funny little train that took us back to the Cathedral, but it turned
out to be a mini-tour. It alternated between German and English, so
there wasn't a whole lot of new information, but it was still really
fun to ride on the little train. We ended up going to the Hard Rock
cafe for dinner, which we also thoroughly enjoyed. We decided to
split an appetizer and a burger, and both were so delicious that we
kept congratulating ourselves on our choices.
Most of
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were taken up with studying and writing
my paper. On Wednesday I had my physiology and history of medicine
finals, and on Thursday I had my differential equations final. It was
a relief to have them over with, but I still had some minor details
to take care of. For example, the day before I had gotten a letter
that a package my mom sent had been detained at the customs office
because it did not say what was in it on the outside. My host mom
helped me get directions to the customs office and figure out what
tram to take, so after my final on Thursday I went to see if they
would give me my package. I took the tram down to Ramersdorf and
found the customs office, or Zollamt, fairly easily with the
directions my host mom had given me. I then had to wait approximately
15 to 20 minutes in line, wondering the whole time if I was in the
right room for picking up packages. I reassured myself by trying to
read the German signs, which seemed to indicate that I was in the
correct place. When I got to the front I showed them my letter, and
the girl behind the counter went and got my package. She asked me if
I knew what was inside, so I said that it should be a jacket, and
then she asked me to open it. I was a little confused since I could
clearly see where post office form had been taped, and under the area
that said “Detailed description of contents,” I saw that my mom
had listed “clothes” and “candy.” But I did what she asked,
and when it turned out that yes, my mom had indeed sent me my jacket
along with some candy, the girl had me sign and date a piece of paper
and then I was done. The whole experience was a little annoying,
since I'm still not sure why the package was detained as it clearly
listed what was inside, but they didn't charge me any money so there
was no serious problem.
After
running a few more errands, I was ready to go to Munich! Some of us
whiled away the hours until our night train at the AIB, wrapping up
the loose ends of a differential equations project, or watching Katie
make etouffee, a wonderfully relaxing end to a stressful but
productive day.
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