Throughout the summer, Skandalaris Center Summer Internship Program participants will be writing guest blog posts about their internship experience. Following is one such post.
By Jack Mills (EN ’20)
My name is Jack Mills and I am a rising senior studying biomedical engineering with a minor in mechanical engineering. This summer, I am working at a biotech startup called Equine Smartbit, where they have developed new microtechnology used in measuring the biometrics of horses. The biosensor and circuit board are embedded on the horse’s bit (the piece of metal in the horse’s mouth attached to the bridle and reigns) hence, the name ‘Smartbit.’ By using reflectance pulse oximetry, the Smartbit measures heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and temperature, and this data is given to the user in real time via an app on their phone or tablet. This data will allow for users to monitor and improve their horse’s health, something that is very valuable as many horses are a great investment for their owners.
This internship has been a unique experience not only due to the many moving parts of a startup, but also due to the different arenas in which a horse biomedical device company operates. On any given day, I may be in the office, at an offsite meeting, or at a horse farm doing field testing. The latter scenario is what I want to focus on in this blog post since I’ve had some pretty cool experiences so far during field testing over the first half of my summer.
We normally do field testing about twice a week, and last week was particularly special since we had the opportunity to test on Clydesdale horses. Clydesdales are a beautiful type of draft horse, best known for their association with St. Louis’s very own Budweiser. We tested at JFP Equine in Waterloo, Illinois, where the owner buys, maintains, and sells Clydesdale horses. I was shocked at how large these horses were up close as they were much bigger than any of the other horses that I had interacted with while testing. We were able to obtain good results while also in the company of a local newspaper who was there taking pictures and interviewing us in preparation for their upcoming article on ESB.
Most of our other field tests take place at Fairmount Park Racetrack where we test on race horses and other riding horses of one of our close associates. We were there today at 7:30am running tests to assess our calculated values algorithm, Bluetooth connection and range, app functionality, and bit compatibility. Each of these components show improvement from test to test, and it is really rewarding to witness Equine Smartbit make these strides during this phase of the startup. While I might not have had much experience around horses before this internship, I’ve had a great time with it whether it was in the office developing the hardware, at the farm testing the device, or meeting a lot of fascinating people along the way.
