Students in the University of Iowa’s Biomedical Engineering Senior Design program are turning unmet clinical needs into real-world solutions — and ProtoStudios helped bring a few of those ideas to life through rapid prototyping and hands-on collaboration.

When you first step into a prototyping lab, you might not expect to find an artist at the helm. But at Protostudios, Prototype Engineer Mike Sneller has proven that a fine arts background can be a powerful catalyst for medical innovation.

Thanks to Protostudios’ prototyping services, Jordan and Nick Ripley's idea for the Thumbee Mitt – a pacifier attached to a soft mitten – became a tangible product now helping parents and babies alike.

DJ Dillon, a former Senior Prototyping Associate at Protostudios and a 2024 Mechanical Engineering and Art graduate from the University of Iowa has started a new role as Makerspace Program Coordinator at Unity Point's Generate lab powered by MakerHealth.

Adam Holmes, a Senior Prototyping Student Associate at Protostudios, excelled during his summer internship at Shive-Hattery by applying his Protostudios-honed skills to challenging projects like steam line analysis and site documentation.

Protostudios hosted a 3D Printing Workshop where first-year engineering students designed puzzles using CAD software, gaining hands-on experience with prototyping technology under the guidance of the Protostudios team.