Throughout the summer, Skandalaris Center Summer Internship Program participants will be writing guest blog posts about their internship experience. Following is one such post. 

Building a Novel X-Ray Device 

By Rishav Sharma (TG)

When I started Wash U last fall as a dual degree engineering student, I had a few things that I wanted to achieve. On the top of the list was my desire to learn more about start-ups; I have always been interested in entrepreneurship and I knew that the McKelvey School of Engineering at Wash U, a place with a strong entrepreneurial spirit would be the best place to do so.

Moreover, I am very interested in medical devices. I am interested in medical devices for two main reasons. First, medical devices save lives every day. Secondly, most medical devices are ripe for disruption. One example of such devices are X-ray machines. X-ray machines are medical imaging devices that have worked on the same basic principle for more than 100 years.

TetraImaging is a startup based in Saint Louis led by Washington University Professor Tiezhi Zhang. TetraImaging aims to create a novel X-ray device that is an update to the familiar device found in every hospital. With the help of the Skalandaris Center, I have been working at TetraImaging for the last week and it has been very fascinating.

Professor Zhang and his post doctorate researchers and PhD students in his research lab in the CSRB building at the WashU medical school  have worked on this project for the past few years and have a strong research base for his new company.  Professor Zhangs’ novel X-ray machine has many key features that make it very attractive. The main one being the efficiency advantage of the new device compared to the traditional X-Ray machine.

For the past week I have been very busy at Tetraimaging learning about the device. Professor Zhang is in the later testing phases and expects to build a prototype as soon as possible. I understand that I will be heavily involved in building this prototype.  So, Professor Zhang has put me to work and I have been busy learning the major components of the device, primarily the circuitry and the vacuum chamber. I started on Monday and the first few days have been primarily spent observing the last of the testing on the second of the two vacuum chambers in the lab. I got to observe the process of how this device is put together and learnt about the challenges that lay ahead in creating a working prototype.

I am very excited for the summer and I hope positive experiences lie ahead working at TetraImaging. I am very grateful towards the Skalandaris Center for giving me the opportunity to make the most of my first summer at WashU.