DAHLGREN, Va. – Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) mechanical engineer, Colin West, has an emboldened confidence after receiving his first patent. West spent four years in the Marine Corps before attending Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, where he earned his degree in mechanical engineering.
West, in partnership with Kelcy Seabolt and Philip Heffner, was accorded a patent for the Medical Monitor Pouch in this year’s honorary award presentation, ten years after first joining NSWCDD as a civilian engineer.
The trio worked together to fulfill a need for the wounded warfighter. “If you were in a hospital, you’d have all these machines hooked up to you, tracking your vitals and how well you’re doing. The medical monitor does that in a smaller form,” said West. “Before we created the pouch, there was no way to carry the device around. Our device can strap onto a gurney, removing any possibility of more injury caused by the monitor.”
“I couldn’t have done this without the help of Kelcy and Philip. They helped with design and all the iterations needed to make the pouch successful,” said West. “My department and Dahlgren as a whole have been so supportive of the whole process.”
NSWCDD Commanding Officer Capt. Casey Plew and NSWCDD Technical Director John Fiore recognized West with a patent in a video presentation, released to the workforce on July 27.
Now that his work on the Medical Monitoring Pouch is complete, West has moved to a new project working on fulfilling telecommunication needs in the field with a “one stop shop” for company communications. This time, he’s putting his independence and confidence to the test alone.
“When I was working on the medical monitor pouch project, there were other mechanical engineers, so I had help,” said West. “Now, I’m able to be more confident and reliant on my processes because I know they work.”