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.

One recent project, BruxSense, was developed by students Evie Del Campo, Delaney Sondgeroth, and Suhas Oruganti to address a common but often overlooked condition: bruxism, more commonly known as teeth grinding. Affecting nearly one in four adults, bruxism can lead to tooth fractures, jaw pain, and chronic tension headaches. Despite its prevalence, there is currently no commercially available device capable of accurately monitoring the force and frequency of grinding.

The student team designed BruxSense as a custom-fit, three-layer 3D-printed mouthguard connected to an external sensing system. The device uses air-filled tubing embedded within the mouthguard to detect pressure changes caused by biting and grinding. Those pressure changes are then measured through an external pressure transducer, allowing clinicians to better quantify a patient’s symptoms.

Throughout the development process, the team partnered closely with ProtoStudios to iterate on designs, test materials, and refine the final prototype. 

“ProtoStudios played a huge part in helping us get to our finalized design,” the team shared. 

“We printed many iterations through ProtoStudios, and Ron Troester's feedback and assistance helped shape BruxSense to what it is today. We would not have been successful without the help of Ron and ProtoStudios.”

Projects like BruxSense are part of the Biomedical Engineering Senior Design capstone sequence, where senior students spend two semesters designing, building, testing, and refining solutions to real-world biomedical challenges. Each year, dozens of students collaborate with clinicians, researchers, and industry partners to create prototype devices and software with meaningful clinical and research applications.

By providing access to advanced prototyping tools, technical expertise, and collaborative support, ProtoStudios continues to help student innovators transform ideas into impactful solutions.