Interim Report

MAJOR COMPONENTS 1. Executive Summary (no more than 1 page) •

Place your piece in the context of the larger project

•

Explain the goal of your part (in relation to the whole project)

•

Explain clearly what stage you are at and how that stage fits with the expected

milestones. Have a look at an example of an executive summary from one of the projects done last year. The project was to develop a new protection circuit to replace the current limiter circuit for an ultrasound machine at Sunnybrook Hospital. The annotations in the left margin should help you see the significant points that you will also need to include. 2. Introduction (1-3 pages) •

more detailed purpose and overview

•

clear "road map" of sections of report

•

any important additions to literature review (ie. work that influences design) 3. Program Review (5-15 pages)

•

Describe the stages in this piece of the project (from the proposal if they were

clearly explained there) •

Explain

each

stage

For completed stages: o

what was done, why, and how does it contribute to related stages?

o

explain significant obstacles especially if they required a change of plan

or of timeline o

if possible, explain how the obstacles have been overcome.

For incomplete stages explain briefly work being done and to be completed

o

To keep this specific, focus only on your components and points of intersection with those of others. Do not talk about the whole project

at

this

stage.

4. Changes to the Program (0-10 pages) Explain: •

why a change was made

•

what effect it will it have on the outcome

•

how responsibilities are being revised 5. Revised Milestones 6. Revised Division of Responsibilities 7. Appendix Original

Milestones

from

the

Proposal

Original Division of responsibilities from the Proposal 8. References Sample

Executive Executive Summary

Summary: The first paragraph, though

The high-frequency, high-sensitivity transducer is part of

a little rough, places the

the

transducer into the context

protection circuitry for Ultrasound imaging. Current

of the larger ultrasound

ultrasound technology needs this development because

imaging project.

the current limiter circuit causes multiple signal

project

to

design

high-frequency-high-speed

reflections at the high voltages produced by the pulsers. These reflections deteriorate the resolution of the imaging system. A new protection switching circuit will replace the current limiter circuit and will preserve the stimulation pulse in the form it was delivered from the pulser. The transducer appears at the stage before the limiter The second paragraph is better. It defines what the transducer actually is.

circuit which makes up the main focus of this project. The transducer is activated by a 400V pulse from the pulser and produces a mechanical pulse. This pulse is then reflected by the observed object and transformed back to an electric signal. The goal of the transducer project is to design and build a prototype of a metal-backed transducer based on thin copolymer PVDF (poly (vinylidene fluoride)). This process has three stages:

The third paragraph clearly sets out the purpose and

o

finding an optimal alloy of Lead and Tin that can be cast in a Teflon mold.

milestones. o

designing

the

mold

and

prototype

based

primarily on existing research o

The

final

building a prototype.

paragraph

The project is on schedule, having met the first two

addresses the crucial point

milestones. A Pb27%Sn alloy has been selected because

of the report: the progress.

of its melting properties [1,2] and because it can easily

The

third

be cast in the Teflon mold [2,3]. The design will follow

sentences clearly address

Malloy [1]; however, Malloy used a Pb23%Sn alloy, so

milestones one and two.

we expect our transducer to be more efficient and

second

and

produce less circuit noise [3]. Arrangements have been made to cast the prototype in the first week of January. Once the casting is complete, the remainder of the prototype should be finished on schedule by the end of January when preliminary testing of the whole project is

scheduled to begin.