Medicine

RNA Ruth

The project started when we were asked to build a copy of DNA Dave ( https://www.openplant.org/dna-dave ), which is a prop for helping to explain about DNA with a very quirky and home made feel.

We felt that we could improve the user experience so added a visualisation of the full transcription process. You 'feed' some an RFID tag into her mouth which has some DNA code stored on it.

Gene Therapy

We were asked to produce a demo that would consist of a series of cups that would model cells in a body. Different types of cells would have different genes turned on, making a healthy human. There is a switch which will turn off some of the genes which only makes a difference in some tissues. The game is then to throw a ping pong ball into the cells which are suffering from the missing gene. If you manage it an led lights up showing that the cell has been 'repaired'.

Knee surgery models

We built these 'knees' as a commission for an outreach exhibit for a group working on keyhole surgery for knees, to allow participants to get a feel for the different approaches needed for keyhole as opposed to open surgery. The outsize knees, complete with booted feet, use games (and an arthroscope) supplied by Sawbones and more usually used as training equipment for arthroscopic surgeons.