Taking Research from a Family Affair to the National Fair

July 8, 2011

CSTAR Supports Students in Nationally-Acclaimed Scientific Innovation

Christopher and Melissa Chopcian at CSTAR

LONDON, ON – Although Christopher and Melissa Chopcian have yet to graduate high school, they have already received national acclaim for their work in medical science. Through CSTAR’s support of research and innovation, Christopher, Grade 11, and Melissa, Grade 9, have developed medical devices that may one day revolutionize patient care. This morning, 16-year-old Christopher presents his latest accomplishments to the CSTAR staff that made it all possible.

Christopher and his sister Melissa first visited CSTAR in 2008. With a voracious curiosity for medicine and robotics, the two young students were captivated by their tour of the facilities. Taking inspiration from a force sensor in the lab, Melissa made her own CPR training mannequin to provide users with real time feedback on the rate and force of their compressions. Her project was awarded best project in Canada in the junior category at the 2009 Canada Wide Science Fair. In the same year, Christopher approached CSTAR with his own plans.

Christopher presented the CSTAR team with design plans for a computer-controlled heart assist pump to support patients waiting for heart transplants. Measuring just 0.5 inches by 1.49 inches, the miniature device would be small enough to be installed in a patient’s heart with minimally invasive surgery, reducing the chances of infection and improving quality of life. The pump even showed potential to be adapted for other medical uses, such as improving circulation in patients with diabetes. Thrilled to support the aspiring young researcher, CSTAR constructed a model of Christopher’s device using their rapid prototyping machine.

At this year’s Canada Wide Science Fair in Toronto, Christopher competed against more than 500 students from across the country. In addition to winning the Gold Medal in the senior division, Christopher’s project was also honored with The Manning Young Canadian Innovation Award, a Manning Innovation Achievement Award, and five university entrance scholarships. Melissa, who also competed this year, was awarded a Silver Medal in the intermediate division, and a university scholarship, for her project entitled, “Pacemaker Battery Improvements Using Kinetic Energy Harvesting."
“My sister and I heard about the amazing work CSTAR did with medical robots and wanted to see these things for ourselves,” Christopher says. “They taught us so many things, like the advantages of minimally invasive surgery, and how their rapid prototyping machine can build absolutely any three-dimensional part you can dream up. I’m very thankful to CSTAR for these opportunities and their very kind help.”

“It’s incredibly exciting to work with such bright and forward-thinking youth,” says Dr. Rajni Patel, Director of Engineering at CSTAR. “Christopher and Melissa truly espouse CSTAR’s innovative, translational spirit and we are proud to support their research and learning.”

Christopher and Melissa attend the Northern Collegiate Institute and Vocational School in Sarnia, Ontario. Both aspire to one day study at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario. In the meantime, CSTAR has invited Christopher to continue his work in their labs to further develop and test his pump.