Other Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Final Design Report For The Bioburden Pre-Cleaning Device And Dr. Mark Rasnake At The University Of Tennessee Medical Center, Katherine Elizabeth Stiles, Megan Pitz, Kayla Franklin, Simran Dayal, Austin Bullock

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Seeing Eye To Eye: A Machine Learning Approach To Automated Saccade Analysis, Maigh Attre

Honors Scholar Theses

Abnormal ocular motility is a common manifestation of many underlying pathologies particularly those that are neurological. Dynamics of saccades, when the eye rapidly changes its point of fixation, have been characterized for many neurological disorders including concussions, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and Parkinson’s disease. However, widespread saccade analysis for diagnostic and research purposes requires the recognition of certain eye movement parameters. Key information such as velocity and duration must be determined from data based on a wide set of patients’ characteristics that may range in eye shapes and iris, hair and skin pigmentation [36]. Previous work on saccade analysis has …

Deswelling Induced Morphological Changes In Dual Ph And Temperature Responsive Ultra-Low Crosslinked Poly (N-Isopropyl Acrylamide)-Co-Acrylic Acid Microgels, Molla R. Islam, Maddie Tumbarello, L. Andrew Lyon

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels prepared without exogenous cross-linker are extremely “soft” as a result of their very low cross-linking density, with network connectivity arising only from the self-crosslinking of pNIPAm chains. As a result of this extreme softness, our group and others have taken interest in using these materials in a variety of bioengineering applications, while also pursuing studies of their fundamental properties. Here, we report deswelling triggered structural changes in poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (ULC10AAc) microgels prepared by precipitation polymerization. Dynamic light scattering suggests that the deswelling of these particles not only depends on the collapse of …

Analysis Of The Effect Of Corrosion On The Surface Chemistry Of Mild Steel Exposed To Biofuel, Timothy D. Plourde

Theses and Dissertations

The use of biofuels in society is steadily becoming more prevalent. Through this proliferation a concern regarding the role of the fungus Byssochlamys nivea in microbially induced corrosion has surfaced. Through the use of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) technology, this thesis focused on attempting to determine what effect, if any, Byssochlamys nivea has on the corrosion of mild steel. For this analysis, samples were placed in environments that simulated the conditions of fuel tanks containing the biofuel B20, water, and spores of Byssochlamys nivea for varying lengths of time. However, due to a variety of …

Mobility-Based Models For Advancing Diagnostic/Predictive Healthcare, Elham Rastegari

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Functional ability has been always considered as one of the important determining factors of individuals’ health and quality of life. Traditional movement analysis systems require expensive facilities and frequent visits for patients to specialized laboratories. Portability and affordability of wearable sensors along with their improved accuracy and capability of monitoring movement during daily activities make them a potential alternative for analyzing mobility patterns for clinical and health assessment purposes. Wearable-based movement data, when combined with other relevant clinical or laboratory data, could enhance evidence-based healthcare and data-driven Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS). Utilizing the data from wearable devices, many researchers …

Ideomotion Gait Training Thigh Prompt, Kristin Schmidt, Elizabeth Peterson, Dalton Jennings

Biomedical Engineering

This document serves as our project report at its completion for developing thigh prompts to be used with the LiftWalker. In this document we outline our project from its beginning to end. We describe our process from understanding the background and our customer requirements, transforming these customer requirements into engineering specifications, performing the stage gate process, developing and evolving the design, testing the design, and finally drawing conclusions and making recommendations for the future.

Development Of A Myoelectric Detection Circuit Platform For Computer Interface Applications, Nickolas Andrew Butler

Master's Theses

Personal computers and portable electronics continue to rapidly advance and integrate into our lives as tools that facilitate efficient communication and interaction with the outside world. Now with a multitude of different devices available, personal computers are accessible to a wider audience than ever before. To continue to expand and reach new users, novel user interface technologies have been developed, such as touch input and gyroscopic motion, in which enhanced control fidelity can be achieved. For users with limited-to-no use of their hands, or for those who seek additional means to intuitively use and command a computer, novel sensory systems …

Concussion Indication Device, Taylor O'Donoghue, Isabel Jellen, Eric Shechter

Biomedical Engineering

In this document we summarize our intent to design and manufacture a device that will be used in conjunction with a football helmet, will detect impact forces to the head, and notify the user to seek out further medical attention when subjected to forces large enough to cause concussions. We describe the large market including all levels of football players and the need for improved technology that will not only be effective in elucidating risks but encouraging players to use the device over the alternatives. To design the device, we have researched the problem of concussions in football and have …

Accelerated Wear Reactor Testing, Tristan Frisella, Daniel Alanis, Kian Ashoubi

Biomedical Engineering

Carbon dioxide accounts for a large amount of global greenhouse gases released into the environment. Because plastic degradation emits carbon dioxide, there has been interest to investigate how much carbon dioxide various plastics generate as they degrade. We have been tasked to create a dehumidifier and carbon dioxide sensor assembly for an accelerated wear testing apparatus that degrades plastic. Several products and literature currently exist that share similarity with our assembly but have not been manufactured to achieve the same combination of measurements we are expecting of our accelerated wear testing device. The following report shall introduce these products and …

Foot Support Taping Device For Off-Loading Wounds, Andres Fojaco Gomez, Mikaela Williams, Josh Pelegrin

Biomedical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Slit Lamp Ophthalmoscope Redesign, Michael Hostetler, Austin Mattmiller, Alexis Brewer

Biomedical Engineering

The slit lamp ophthalmoscope is used by ophthalmologists for diagnosis of pathologies in the eye. The device is used for identifying ocular diseases or indications of other possible systemic diseases to treat them before the diseases progress. Redesign of the ergonomics and adjustment mechanisms of the slit lamp ophthalmoscope will attempt to improve the compatibility of the device across a greater variety of patients. The wider headrest tower of 12.75 inches, the wider table cutout of 12 inches, and the 12 inches of extension of the headrest tower creates a better ergonomic fit for the patient and doctor. The wider …

Development Of An Astrocyte/Glioma Co-Culture System For Measuring Cellular Dynamics, Urna Kansakar

Doctoral Dissertations

Gliomas are brain tumors that primarily arise from glial cells. Gliomas account for 70% of the brain tumors and they are more prevalent in older adults. About 60% of the people with gliomas experience at least one seizure. Brain tumors can grow and metastasize to neighboring areas, thereby destroying normal brain cells. In a brain tumor microenvironment, both malignant cancer cells and healthy brain cells are present. Studies have shown that astrocytes may have a role in tumor growth in the brain. Monocultures cannot evaluate interactions between two cell types and does not accurately represent in vivo conditions. Thus, a …

Development Of A Counter-Flow Thermal Gradient Microfluidic Device, Shayan Davani

Doctoral Dissertations

This work presents a novel counter-flow design for thermal stabilization of microfluidic thermal reactors. In these reactors, precise control of temperature of the liquid sample is achieved by moving the liquid sample through the thermal zones established ideally through the conduction in the solid material of the device. The goal here is to establish a linear thermal distribution when there is no flow and to minimize the temperature change at flow condition. External convection as well as internal flowinduced effects influence the prescribed thermal distribution. The counter-flow thermal gradient device developed in this study is capable of both stabilizing the …

Msg-Fast: Metagenomic Shotgun Data Fast Annotation Using Microbial Gene Catalogs, Stuart M. Brown, Hao Chen, Yuhan Hao, Bobby P. Laungani, Thahmina A. Ali, Changsu Dong, Carlos Lijeron, Baekdoo Kim, Claudia Wultsch, Zhiheng Pei, Konstantinos Krampis

Publications and Research

Background: Current methods used for annotating metagenomics shotgun sequencing (MGS) data rely on a computationally intensive and low-stringency approach of mapping each read to a generic database of proteins or reference microbial genomes.

Results: We developed MGS-Fast, an analysis approach for shotgun whole-genome metagenomic data utilizing Bowtie2 DNA-DNA alignment of reads that is an alternative to using the integrated catalog of reference genes database of well-annotated genes compiled from human microbiome data. This method is rapid and provides high-stringency matches (>90% DNA sequence identity) of the metagenomics reads to genes with annotated functions. We demonstrate the use of this …

A Microfluidic Tissue Array (Μfta) For Personalized Medicine Using Tumor Biopsies, A.H. R. Ahmed

Dissertations and Theses

Cancer is recognized as a complex disease with both genetic and epigenetic drivers that can vary from one individual to another. While very early research into cancer treated it as a clonal malfunction that could originate from as small as a single deregulated cell, the disease itself manifests itself with several more complexities beyond tumorigenic cells only. The tumor microenvironment itself – from the extracellular matrix to stromal cells - cooperate with tumor cells in a symbiotic manner towards metastatic progression. Clinical studies have provided more information regarding the degree of individualization possible, such that patients with similar genetic makeup …

Design And Testing Of An Agonist-Antagonist Position-Impedance Controlled Myoelectric Prosthesis, Christopher Aymonin

Theses and Dissertations

Intuitive prosthetic control is limited by the inability to easily convey intention and perceive physical requirements of the task. Rather than providing haptic feedback and allowing users to consciously control every component of manipulation, relegating some aspects of control to the device may simplify operation. This study focuses on the development and testing of a control scheme able to identify object stiffness and regulate impedance. The system includes an algorithm to detect the apparent stiffness of an object, a proportional nonlinear EMG control algorithm for interpreting a user’s desired grasp aperture, and an antagonistically acting impedance controller. Performance of a …

Development Of An Eye Movement Based Predictive Model For Discrimination Of Parkinson's Disease From Other Parkinsonisms And Controls, Mary Anisa Kannan

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Due to the neurological aspects of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and the sensitivity of eye movements to neurological issues, eye tracking has the potential to be an objective biomarker with higher accuracy in diagnosis than current clinical standards. Currently when PD is diagnosed clinically, there is an accuracy of 74% when diagnosed by a general practitioner and 82% when diagnosed by a movement disorder specialist. This study was designed to: 1. Assess eye movements as a potential biomarker for Parkinson’s Disease. 2. Determine if eye movements can distinguish between Parkinson’s Disease and commonly confounded movement disorders with parkinsonian symptoms. 3. …

Cell Type And Substrate Dependence Of Fibronectin Properties And Mechanotransduction, Navpreet S. Saini

Theses and Dissertations

Fibronectin is an important protein that is able to bind to other fibronectin molecules and to cell surface receptors. In doing so, the interactions fibronectin can perform is important for the processes of cell migration and tissue formation. Understanding the properties of fibronectin and fibril assembly is useful for areas such as wound healing, where fibronectin molecules are assembled to protect the tissue and to perform other tasks. Because of these reasons, it is important to understand how fibronectin is assembled and how its properties affect the fibril assembly, which in return affects the way the cell matrix operates. Previously …

Intensification Of Gas Absorption In A Downward Flow Microbubble Bioreactor, Manizheh Ansari

Dissertations and Theses

Bioreactors are of interest for value-upgrading of stranded or waste industrial gases, such as CO, CH₄, or syngas. Process economics requires reduction of reactor cost and size while maintaining high production rate via rapid delivery of gas feedstock to the liquid phase which in turn requires a high volumetric mass transfer rate (). One strategy to achieve this goal is to increase interfacial area density, a, to >3000 m² m^-3, while minimizing use of energy. Here we show a novel reactor column design that uses a micro-jet array to break feedstock at ambient pressure …

Aptamer Functionalized Zinc Oxide Field Effect Transistors For Odor Detection, Michael D. Aldridge

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Odor detection and identification are complex processes, and tasks that currently only animals do well. There is a pressing need for an electronic nose, or eNose, with good sensitivity, selectivity, and speed that mimics that ability. Food quality control operations, environmental sensing, occupational safety, and the defense sectors all require systems that can rapidly and reliably detect trace levels of volatile organic compounds. The goal of this work is to create a biologically inspired device which can accurately detect and identify odors at concentrations consistent with the most sensitive biological systems.

In order to mimic a natural olfactory system, we …