Ashvin K. Dewan, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital has been there. A patient is in the ER. And he's called in to fix their broken femur. It's a rush against time: "So the stress is building."
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But when it comes to a long bone surgery, time isn't on his side. The surgery involves placing a rod in the patients leg and securing the rod through a hole at the bottom. That means drilling blind through hard bone.
"It's kind of like threading a needle with thread, but the only differences you're trying to thread the needle from 50 feet away," said Dr. Dewan.
Currently doctors use a series of x-rays to help them find the hole in the rod but it's a time-consuming process.
Dr. Dewan said, "As I'm taking these multiple x-rays the pressure is mounting."
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It exposes patients and staff to more radiation. And then there's the risk of missing.
"I was just like there needs to be a better way to do this," Dr. Dewan said.
So Dr. Dewan turned to an unlikely group: five undergraduate students at his alma mater, Rice University.
"It was many, many weeks of getting better and better and better," said Ian Frankel, a Rice University Senior and Mechanical Engineering Major.
The students invented a device that locates the hole in the rod by detecting magnetic fields.
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Dr. Dewan believes it could shorten the process by 60 to 80 percent saving valuable time.
When it matters most.
Dr. Dewan said, "So I think that's a substantial improvement in the existing process and I think it really could benefit the patient."
Two of the students will continue developing their device after graduation. They hope to apply for FDA approval after that.