Georgia Hamblett

糖心原创 > Engineering > Departments > Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering > PDM Exhibitions > 2024 > MEng students > Georgia Hamblett

Exhalo aims to provide metabolic insights to the user, be this a medical patient trying to improve their cardiovascular health, or an athlete performing testing to monitor progression and identify training zones.

Combining creative thinking with engineering rationale to solve problems in novel and innovative ways was my main motivation for studying Product Design. Throughout the course, I have enjoyed developing skills in Solidworks and Keyshot, as well as undertaking optional modules like Engineering Sustainability and Cognitive Ergonomics. I am especially interested in the impact our products have on the environment, and how users interact with them. This was of key importance when I worked as a Design Engineer for my placement year at Eakin Healthcare in Northern Ireland in 2022-23. Here, I led a project with a Graduate Design Engineer, working on design and development work, as well as project management and leasing with interdisciplinary teams such as marketing and finance. It was a massively rewarding experience, both professionally and personally.

Moving back to Nottingham for my final year, I was keen to work on a major project brief that would excite me. I have a big interest in the human body, health, and wellness, and am also a competitive triathlete, so brainstormed ideas relating to these categories. I enjoy being able to really think outside the box at the start of a project, roughly sketching lots of different ideas, before streamlining the focus and refining the design.

I have been interested in Product Design Engineering since secondary school, obtaining an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship and IET Diamond Scholarship. Whilst at Nottingham, I received an award for being in the top 5% of the mechanical engineering department cohort during my first year and believe I have continued to push myself and expand my knowledge and capabilities.

Looking to the future, I am keen to continue exploring the limitlessness of this field and seek out opportunities I am passionate about, potentially within the consultancy, health, wellness, sport and sustainability areas of engineering design.

Georgia Hamblett, MEng Product Design and Manufacture

Exhalo: Portable Metabolic Analysis System

Issues around metabolic health are of ever-growing concern in society. Only 12% of Americans are metabolically healthy, contributing to 32% of global deaths being due to cardiovascular disease. At the same time, there are issues within sport, especially endurance sport, around overtraining and an increasing desire for more amateur athletes to be able to track progression. Exhalo aims to provide metabolic insights to the user, be this a medical patient trying to improve their cardiovascular health, or an athlete performing testing to monitor progression and identify training zones.

Exhalo offers four analyses through a highly modular system:

VO2 Max Testing – commonly used by athletes, determines how efficient the body is at using oxygen and indicates fitness / cardiovascular health level
CPET (Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test) – very similar to VO2 Max Testing, but used in hospitals for patients with cardiovascular disease, or before operations to check someone is well enough for surgery
RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) Testing – identifies the calories required for the body to ‘tick over’ in a rested state
Macro burn state identification – identifies if the body is burning fats / carbohydrates at a given time

Exhalo Portable Metabolic Analysis System

These different analyses all work on the same principle of monitoring the percentage of oxygen and carbon dioxide in exhaled breath.

The central element to Exhalo is the device which contains all components. To facilitate such versatility, Exhalo has three interchangeable mouthpieces.

The ‘on-the-go’ mouthpiece is a small nozzle into which the user can breathe for macro burn state readings. Only a few breaths are required. This configuration has a wrist strap and nozzle cap and is intended to be put in a bag and used throughout the day / exercise activity.

The ‘bite-down’ mouthpiece is much like a snorkel and is used with a headband. This most likely would be used for RMR due to limited movement but may also be used for VO2 testing / CPET if preferred, perhaps by those with beards or that feel claustrophobic using the mask. A nose clip is used so all exhaled air goes into the device.

The mask is most like traditional systems. It is translucent to reduce feelings of claustrophobia, and as with the ‘bite-down’ configuration, the device is connected directly to the front of the mouthpiece. With the mask, however, there is also the option of carrying the device in the rucksack. Here, airline connection pieces twist-fit to the mask and device, which allows an airline to be attached. The rucksack has additional features such as toggles for gels and zip pockets, as well as front and back pockets for the device.

There are interchangeable air passage cylinders to facilitate different anticipated flow rates, to improve the accuracy of readings. The oxygen sensor and battery can easily be replaced, and results viewed on compatible app.

Exhalo aims to allow people to explore their metabolic insights so that they can make better informed decisions around their cardiovascular health.