Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Stability Analysis Of A More General Class Of Systems With Delay-Dependent Coefficients, Chi Jin, Keqin Gu, Islam Boussaada, Silviu-Iulian Niculescu

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

This paper presents a systematic method to analyse the stability of systems with single delay in which the coefficient polynomials of the characteristic equation depend on the delay. Such systems often arise in, for example, life science and engineering systems. A method to analyze such systems was presented by Beretta and Kuang in a 2002 paper, but with some very restrictive assumptions. This work extends their results to the general case with the exception of some degenerate cases. It is found that a much richer behavior is possible when the restrictive assumptions are removed. The interval of interest for the ...

Production And Biocompatibility Of Spider Silk Proteins In Goat Milk, Richard E. Decker Jr

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to its strength, flexibility, and biocompatibility, spider silk is a highly appealing material for applications in the medical field. Unfortunately, natural spider silk is difficult to obtain in large quantities because spiders are territorial and cannibalistic, making them impractical to farm. Synthetic spider silk proteins produced by transgenic hosts such as bacteria and goats have made it possible to obtain the quantities of spider silk needed to study it more fully and to investigate its potential uses. The spider silk proteins produced in our laboratory do not have an optimal purification method to remove all of the non-biocompatible contaminants ...

Dynamic Calibration Of Emg Signals For Control Of A Wearable Elbow Brace, Taylor Stanbury

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Musculoskeletal injuries can severely inhibit performance of activities of daily living. In order to regain function, rehabilitation is often required. Assistive devices for use in rehabilitation are an avenue explored to increase arm mobility by guiding therapeutic exercises or assisting with motion. Electromyography (EMG), which are the muscle activity signals, may be able to provide an intuitive interface between the patient and the device if appropriate classification models allow smart systems to relate these signals to the desired device motion.

Unfortunately, there is a gap in the accuracy of pattern recognition models classifying motion in constrained laboratory environments, and large ...

Development Of Image-Based Surgical Planning Software For Bone-Conduction Implants, Carlos D. Salgado

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The BONEBRIDGE bone-conduction device is used to treat conductive and mixed hearing losses. The size of its floating mass transducer (FMT) can preclude implantation in certain anatomies, necessitating comprehensive surgical planning. Current techniques are time consuming and difficult to transfer to the operating room. The objective of this thesis was to develop software for calculating skull thickness to the dura mater to find locations for the FMT and to the first air cells which guarantee sufficient bone for the implant screws to grasp. Temporal bone computed tomography (CT) images were segmented and processed and custom Matlab code was written to ...

Fabrication And Evaluation Of Poly(Lactic Acid), Chitosan, And Tricalcium Phosphate Biocomposites For Guided Bone Regeneration, Srikanthan Ramesh, Lisa Lungaro, Dimitrios Tsikritsis, Eric Weflen, Iris V. Rivero

Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Publications

This study presents and evaluates an approach for fabricating poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/chitosan (CS)/tricalcium phosphate (TCP) electrospun scaffolds for guided bone regeneration, a dental procedure that uses membranes to direct and delineate regions of osteogenesis. Biomaterials were pre‐processed using cryomilling, a solid‐state grinding technique that facilitates the generation of powdered biocomposites conducive to electrospinning. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the generation of cryomilled blends consisting of PLA, CS, and TCP. Results from the differential scanning calorimetry showed an upward shift in glass transition temperature and an increase in crystallinity with the inclusion of TCP reinforcing the ...

Method For The Destruction Of Endotoxin In Synthetic Spider Silk Proteins, Richard E. Decker, Thomas I. Harris, Dylan R. Memmott, Christopher J. Peterson, Randolph V. Lewis, Justin A. Jones

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Although synthetic spider silk has impressive potential as a biomaterial, endotoxin contamination of the spider silk proteins is a concern, regardless of the production method. The purpose of this research was to establish a standardized method to either remove or destroy the endotoxins present in synthetic spider silk proteins, such that the endotoxin level was consistently equal to or less than 0.25 EU/mL, the FDA limit for similar implant materials. Although dry heat is generally the preferred method for endotoxin destruction, heating the silk proteins to the necessary temperatures led to compromised mechanical properties in the resultant materials ...

Forward Electrophysiological Modeling And Inverse Problem For Uterine Contractions During Pregnancy, Mengxue Zhang

Engineering and Applied Science Theses & Dissertations

Uterine contractile dysfunction during pregnancy is a significant healthcare challenge that imposes heavy medical and financial burdens on both human beings and society. In the U.S., about 12% of babies are born prematurely each year, which is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and increases the possibility of having subsequent health problems. Post-term birth, in which a baby is born after 42 weeks of gestation, can cause risks for both the newborn and the mother. Currently, there is a limited understanding of how the uterus transitions from quiescence to excitation, which hampers our ability to detect labor and treat ...

Engineering Robust And Programmable Biological Systems, Tatenda Shopera

Engineering and Applied Science Theses & Dissertations

The ability to engineer programmable biological systems using complex artificial gene networks has great potential to unlock important innovative solutions to many biotechnological challenges. While cells have been engineered to implement complex information processing algorithms and to produce food, materials, and pharmaceuticals, many innovative applications are yet to be realized due to our poor understanding of how robust, reliable, and predictable artificial gene circuits are built. In this work, we demonstrate that robust complex cellular behaviors (e.g., bistability and gene expression dynamics) can be achieved by engineering gene regulatory architecture and increasing the complexity of genetic networks. We further ...

Brain-Computer Interfaces Using Electrocorticography And Surface Stimulation, Jesse Wheeler

Engineering and Applied Science Theses & Dissertations

The brain connects to, modulates, and receives information from every organ in the body. As such, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have vast potential for diagnostics, medical therapies, and even augmentation or enhancement of normal functions. BCIs provide a means to explore the furthest corners of what it means to think, to feel, and to act—to experience the world and to be who you are. This work focuses on the development of a chronic bi-directional BCI for sensorimotor restoration through the use of separable frequency bands for recording motor intent and providing sensory feedback via electrocortical stimulation. Epidural cortical surface electrodes ...

In Vivo Vascular Imaging With Photoacoustic Microscopy, Hsun-Chia Hsu

Engineering and Applied Science Theses & Dissertations

Photoacoustic (PA) tomography (PAT) has received extensive attention in the last decade for its capability to provide label-free structural and functional imaging in biological tissue with highly scalable spatial resolution and penetration depth. Compared to modern optical modalities, PAT offers speckle-free images and is more sensitive to optical absorption contrast (with 100% relative sensitivity). By implementing different regimes of optical wavelength, PAT can be used to image diverse light-absorbing biomolecules. For example, hemoglobin is of particular interest in the visible wavelength regime owing to its dominant absorption, and lipids and water are more commonly studied in the near-infrared regime.

In ...

Shaped 3d Microcarriers For Adherent Cell Culture And Analysis, Chueh-Yu Wu, Daniel Stoecklein, Aditya Kommajosula, Jonathan Lin, Keegan Owsley, Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, Dino Di Carlo

Mechanical Engineering Publications

Standard tissue culture of adherent cells is known to poorly replicate physiology and often entails suspending cells in solution for analysis and sorting, which modulates protein expression and eliminates intercellular connections. To allow adherent culture and processing in flow, we present 3D-shaped hydrogel cell microcarriers, which are designed with a recessed nook in a first dimension to provide a tunable shear-stress shelter for cell growth, and a dumbbell shape in an orthogonal direction to allow for self-alignment in a confined flow, important for processing in flow and imaging flow cytometry. We designed a method to rapidly design, using the genetic ...

Sbaigs18.Pdf, Sarfaraz Niaz Ali Baig

Sarfaraz Baig

No abstract provided.

High-Throughput Nanoliter Dispensing Device For Biological Applications, Cole Reynolds, Euiwon Bae Dr., J Paul Robinson Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Pathogen identification is a field that can contribute largely to the prevention of the spreading of illness and disease. In the past, pathogen identification has been a long and arduous process due to the time-consuming processes and steps that requires technician’s time and effort. With new technologies emerging however, screening of bacteria colonies can be done in a quick and high-throughput way. The problem is that using the current methods, bacteria cannot be transferred to petri dishes fast enough to keep up with the new screening methods. The current study focuses on exploring different methods to create an ergonomic ...

Rapid Sample Processing Of Foodborne Pathogens Using Cross-Flow Microfiltration, Casey Bomrad, Michael R. Ladisch, Linda Liu, Jessica Lynn Zuponcic, Eduardo Ximenes

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Foodborne illnesses are a prominent issue, causing 48 million illnesses annually. The Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak in romaine lettuce is a recent example. The source of the pathogen was contaminated irrigation water. The most common methods for detecting foodborne pathogens involve cultivation and enrichment of food samples. The enrichment steps are time-consuming, taking 24 to 72 hours to complete. Our study aims to accelerate irrigation water sample preparation for pathogenic microorganism fast detection through cross-flow microfiltration. This is accomplished by a device called a continuous cell concentration and recovery device (C3D). The C3D uses cross-flow microfiltration in a hollow ...

Bacteria Movement Near Surfaces, Shulin Wang, Adib Ahmadzadegan, Arezoo Ardekani

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Understanding the behaviors of bacteria near surfaces is crucial in many biological and ecological applications. This knowledge can be used to hinder undesired biofilm formation on medical instruments and wounds. On top of that, it could also provide further insights in biodegradation of dispersed oil. In this work, the behavior of Escherichia Coli near a surface was experimentally studied. We utilized an inverted microscope in the phase filed illumination mode and processed acquired images to track the motions of bacteria near surfaces with high accuracy and repeatability. Distribution of the cells when they reached a steady state shows that the ...

Fluidic Control With Wax Valves For Paper-Based Diagnostics, Emilie I. Newsham, Elizabeth A. Phillips, Katherine N. Clayton, Jacqueline C. Linnes

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Paper-fluidic devices are a common platform for point-of-care disease detection in under-resourced areas because of their low cost and minimal instrumentation requirements. Limited fluidic control in paper-fluidic devices has hindered the incorporation of multistep reactions that are necessary for more sensitive disease detection. One potential fluidic control mechanism is the incorporation of thermally actuated wax valves to separate assay stages. Such valving would expand the detection capabilities of these devices by permitting fluid obstruction for sustained reactions and facilitating controlled volume release within a fully-automated, self-contained device. Despite the potential to exploit wax valves for innovative paper-fluidic diagnostics, a thorough ...

Improving Biomanufacturing Production With Novel Elp-Based Transcriptional Regulators, Juya Jeon, Logan R. Readnour, Kevin V. Solomon

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Microbes can be used to produce valuable drugs, chemicals, and biofuels, but their potential has not been fully realized due to low production yields. To improve biomanufacturing processes and yield, we are developing novel, transcriptional regulators using biosynthesis technology in order to improve cellular health and overall production. Our regulator contains elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs), which make ideal sensors since they exhibit a sharp, inverse phase transition to indicators of cell health such as intracellular pH and ionic strength, and external stimuli such as temperature. We hypothesize that ELP can be fused to transcription factors to control expression of target genes ...

Method Validation Of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging And Electrophysiological Recording To Investigate Mechanisms Of Vagus Nerve, Christina L. Hendren, Jiayue Cao, Zhongming Liu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is used clinically to treat epilepsy and depression, but its mechanism of action is unknown. Useful techniques to study this are functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the local field potential (LFP). fMRI relies on oxygen use in the brain to show areas where neurons are active. The LFP is an electrical signal created by neuron action potentials and other current moving across cell membranes. The most information can be gained when the two methods are used simultaneously, however, this is difficult to do. This study seeks to validate the technique of fMRI-LFP as applied to ...

Creating A Mammary Duct Model To Study The Effects Of Cancer Heterogeneity On Tumor Metastasis, Megan Hofstetter, Mazin Hakim, Luis Solorio

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

During tumor progression, the process of clonal evolution gives rise to a variety of cell subpopulations that cause differential sensitivity to drugs and give rise to cell populations with the ability to metastasize, there are many mouse models available that can be used to study tumor progression and metastasis. However, there is a lack of models to study the effect of tumor heterogeneity using human cancers. Xenograft based systems require the use of immunodeficient mice, which limits the use of the model to evaluate microenvironmental factors involved in metastatic dissemination. Humanized mouse models with established human immune systems have been ...

Flow Chamber For Confocal Tracking Of Particles In Bone, Brennan Flannery, Russell Main, Xiaoyu Xu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Interstitial fluid flow in the lacunar-canalicular system (LCS) of bone is recognized as a potential regulator of bone remodeling. Movement of fluid across bone cells called osteocytes regulates gene expression that leads to either bone formation or resorption. Interstitial fluid moves in response to bone loading during daily activity, and bone growth occurs to compensate for these loads, affecting bone shape and strength. While interstitial fluid flow is thoroughly studied using computational models, there is a critical need to study flow in real bone samples with imaging techniques. Flow velocities determined from imaging will be more accurate than computational models ...