Question: What is the most interesting thing you have worked on so far, in the NHS?

Olivia Lala answered on 6 Jul 2020: last edited 6 Jul 2020 11:18 am

I’ve worked on quite a few interesting projects. My projects don’t always involve coding so I will give a general example but if you would be more interested in a coding specific project let me know. One interesting project I was involved in was to research and develop a custom, non-invasive ventilation (NIV) mask for young children with craniofacial abnormalities. These masks are used with CPAP machines, which provide therapy to users that suffer from sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is condition where a person stops breathing for a period of time during sleep.The CPAP therapy helps to keep the persons airway open. This condition is more common in young children born with facial abnormality. However, the masks available on the market, to provide the therapy, are made for adults, and are a standard shape and size. They do not fit these children very well leading to rubbing, discomfort, leaking and ineffective treatment. The aim of the project was to develop a process to create custom masks for individuals who require one. I did some user analysis, developed some designs using computer animated design (CAD) software and used 3D printing to create some initial prototypes for testing. This is still an ongoing project, where we are working with the clinical team to develop something which suits their needs. If you would like anymore detail on different parts of the project let me know.