This project was a collaborative effort by a team of four, completed as part of the Bio Design unit (BDSN3001) at the University of Sydney.
The Mycelium Heart came to life with the intention of supporting patients to betterunderstand their clinical diagnoses whilst also prompting reflection to incite positivechanges in their behaviour and health decisions. The team was tasked with constructing
a design derived from myco-materials that elicit an individuals capacity to reflect.
Through researching current literature combined with the utilisation of design methods,
a prevalent problem was discovered in the healthcare system,
and a need for change was established.
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USER-CENTRED DESIGN METHODS
Brainstorming was used to identify different ways in which myco-materials can be used to develop tools to support reflection with biodesign constructions. The team then went onto explore different ways biomaterials have been used to aid in healthcare environments, with machinery, equipment and conceptual modelling such as the incorporation of bio-mimicry and the biophilia effect. This solidified the benefit of likewise, using mycelium as an organic material to pursue the concept. The team constructed research questions to overarch the inquiry.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
DESIGN PROCESS
DECIDED DESIGN
Addressing the problem statement and user needs allowed the team to conclude the benefit in both concepts to fit a range of different demographics comprising the general public, therefore, merging the two concept solutions, where both educational and meditative processes come together to support more informed reflection was the desirable concept outcome. Through better understanding the anatomical and physiological makeup of the heart by 3d-visualisation, individuals may feel more enabled in the sense of having greater autonomy over their own mind and body, encouraging them not only to understand their medical conditions, but also to reflect and make the appropriate changes needed to maintain a healthy life. The Mycelium Heart is intended to be used as a tool to visualise and convey abnormalities to help patients better understand and reflect upon their diagnosis through a meditative process as the incorporation of music and vibrations were also suggested to help promote reflection more meditatively.
SCIENCE
To determine the feasibility and replicability of our design concept, the team must find an optimum mycelium-substrate mixture that can be extruded through a ~6 mm nozzle. This requires sourcing the correct substrate, finding a ratio that allows good printing flow as well as provide sufficient nutrients for growth, and determining suitable conditions for growth and drying.
Oats proved to be the best substrate for constructing the mycelium heart.
Through scientific exploration the team discovered that 3d-printing an anatomically-accurate heart model would be challenging due to its complex design, especially since the model is small and a nozzle size of 6.4 mm is large. This wouldn’t allow intricate details to be present.The team simplified the coding of the model by discarding the coronary veins and arteries, keeping just the heart’s body and large arteries and veins. The heart model was sourced from TurboSquid.
Simplified 3d model of the prototype
