Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Designing An Artificial Tendon/Graft Derived From Silkworm Silk And Synthetic Spider Silk With Respect To Structure, Mechanical Properties, Biocompatibility, And Attachment, Neal Hengge

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Achilles tendon is one of the most commonly damaged tendons in the human body (Hansen et al., 2012). Current surgical and therapeutic techniques require extended recovery time and the tendon is rarely returned to its original healthy state. For athletes in particular, strenuous rehabilitation is required to return from a serious injury like a ruptured Achilles tendon (Rosso et al., 2013).

Despite the high amount of sources for grafts to aid in surgical repair, all of the options have drawbacks such as availability, immune response, or poor mechanical properties. Spider silk has the potential to enhance current Achilles tendon …

Analyzing Thermal And Mechanical Effects Of Pulsed Laser Irradiation On Tissues, Mohit Ganguly

Theses and Dissertations

Pulsed lasers are known for their spatial and temporal specificity in delivering heat energy to the tissues. This is useful in laser ablation treatment mechanism where damage to the healthy tissues is highly undesired. However, the efficacy of the process is limited by the damage caused by the pulsed laser. A pulsed laser has both photothermal and photomechanical interaction with tissues. Photothermal interaction is caused by the rise in temperature due to the laser irradiation. This includes the denaturation of proteins, increased mitochondrial membrane permeability and ultimately vaporization. Photomechanical interaction causes the generation of pressure waves produced as a result …

Faculty Internships For Capstone Design Instructors: Maintaining An Up-To-Date Capstone Design Course, Jay R. Goldberg

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Reading And Wirelessly Sending Eeg Signals Using Arduinos And Xbee Radios To Control A Robot, Andrew Paul Simms

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this project is to develop an EEG device that can read brainwaves from an individual, analyze the data, and use the result to send a wireless signal using Arduinos and XBee Radios to a Boe-bot to perform an action. One of the goals of this project is to read EEG data with a higher sampling frequency than a previously manufactured EEG device. The second part of the project used the device developed to differentiate an individual’s thinking between right and left and then send a simple signal to a robot using an XBee radio to perform an …

Sensitivity Analysis Of A Leaf Photosynthesis-Stomatal Resistance Model, Gabriel A. Garcia

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Oriented Collagen And Applications Of Waveguide Evanescent Field Scattering (Wefs) Microscopy, Qamrun Nahar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, Waveguide Evanescent Field Scattering (WEFS) microscopy is developed as a non-invasive, label-free live cell imaging technique. This new high-contrast imaging can be employed to study the first hundred nanometers from the surface as it utilizes the evanescent field of a waveguide as the illumination source. Previously, waveguide evanescent field fluorescence (WEFF) microscopy was developed as a fluorescence imaging technique comparable to the total internal reflection fluorescent (TIRF) microscopy. Both the WEFF and WEFS technique utilizes the same fundamental concepts except in WEFS microscopy imaging is accomplished without the application of any fluorescent labeling. In this work, bacterial …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Clickable Dendrimer Hydrogels For Ocular Drug Delivery, Jingfei Tian

Theses and Dissertations

Topical medication is a standard treatment for glaucoma. However, frequent dosing makes the therapy inconvenient and patient unfriendly. There is a great need to develop new topical formulations that provide long lasting noninvasive drug release. In this thesis, novel clickable dendrimer hydrogels for anti-glaucoma drug delivery were synthesized and characterized. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers have been widely applied for drug delivery. The physical characteristics they possess include monodispersity, water solubility, encapsulation ability, and a large number of surface groups. Polycationic PAMAM dendrimer G3 was surface modified with alkyne-PEG5-acid and then reacted with polyethylene glycol bisazide (PEG-BA, 1100 gmol-1) through click chemistry …

Progress Of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy For Neural And Retinal Diseases, Tsz Kin Ng, Veronica R. Fortino, Daniel Pelaez, Herman S. Cheung

Biology Faculty Articles

Complex circuitry and limited regenerative power make central nervous system (CNS) disorders the most challenging and difficult for functional repair. With elusive disease mechanisms, traditional surgical and medical interventions merely slow down the progression of the neurodegenerative diseases. However, the number of neurons still diminishes in many patients. Recently, stem cell therapy has been proposed as a viable option. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a widely-studied human adult stem cell population, have been discovered for more than 20 years. MSCs have been found all over the body and can be conveniently obtained from different accessible tissues: bone marrow, blood, and adipose …

Application Of Limited Mixing In The Hele-Shaw Geometry In Fabrication Of Janus Hydrogels, Md Mahmudur Rahman

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

It is widely accepted that cells behave differently responding to the stiffness of their extracellular matrix (ECM). Such observations were made by culturing cells on hydrogel substrates of tunable stiffness. However, it was recently proposed that cells may sense how strongly they are tethered to ECM, not the local stiffness of ECM. To investigate both hypotheses, we developed a method to fabricate Janus polyacrylamide (PAAM) gels. We squeeze two drops of different concentrations in the Hele-Shaw geometry to generate radial Stokes flow. When the drops coalesce, limited mixing occurs at the interface due to the narrow confinement, and diffusion normal …

Characterization Of Extraction Methods To Recover Phenolic-Rich Antioxidants From Blue Green Algae (Spirulina) Using Response Surface Approaches, Ahmad Salamatullah

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Blue green algae (spirulina) is a dietary system that is widely consumed as a whole food or as a supplement in many Asian countries where populations are mostly unaffected by many of the diseases currently afflicting western societies, such as cancer, heart disease and arthiritis. Indeed, spirulina is a rich source of antioxidants with the phenolic compounds playing a significant role. As components of a complex dietary system, phenolic compounds can act alone or through synergistic mechanisms to impart a greater biologic effect than can be elicited by a sum of the individual parts. Therefore, an understanding of the antioxidative …

Humidity Effect On The Structure Of Electrospun Core-Shell Pcl-Peg Fibers For Tissue Regeneration Applications, Adam P. Golin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

With the aim of creating a biodegradable scaffold for tympanic membrane (TM) tissue regeneration, core-shell nanofibers composed of a poly(caprolactone) shell and a poly(ethylene glycol) core were created using a coaxial electrospinning technique. In order to create fibers with an optimal core-shell morphology, the effect of relative humidity (RH) on the core-shell nanofibers was systematically studied, with a FITC-BSA complex encapsulated in the core to act as a model protein. The core-shell nanofibers were electrospun at relative humidity values of 20, 25, 30, and 40% RH within a glove box outfitted for humidity control. The core-shell morphology of the fibers …

The Development And Application Of A Forearm Simulator To Investigate Radial Head Biomechanics, Brent A. Lanting

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The forearm is a complex articular unit, with poorly understood biomechanics. A novel forearm simulator to facilitate physiologic testing of cadavers for multiple clinical scenarios was designed, manufactured and validated. A number of outcome measurements were potentiated including the forearm’s resistance to rotation, radiocapitellar contact pressure and area as well as IOM loads. Testing of changes to forearm biomechanics due to radial head excision and variations of radial head arthroplasty dimensions was conducted. Radial head arthroplasty using the correct radial head length and diameter recreated the biomechanics of an intact forearm. Radial head excision as well an implant of non-anatomic …

Computational Techniques To Predict Orthopaedic Implant Alignment And Fit In Bone, Seyed Kamaleddin Mostafavi Yazdi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Among the broad palette of surgical techniques employed in the current orthopaedic practice, joint replacement represents one of the most difficult and costliest surgical procedures. While numerous recent advances suggest that computer assistance can dramatically improve the precision and long term outcomes of joint arthroplasty even in the hands of experienced surgeons, many of the joint replacement protocols continue to rely almost exclusively on an empirical basis that often entail a succession of trial and error maneuvers that can only be performed intraoperatively. Although the surgeon is generally unable to accurately and reliably predict a priori what the final malalignment …

Connect With Bioengineering Researchers And Entrepreneurs, Clemson University

Bioengineering

2014 Program for Connect with Bioengineering Researchers and Entrepreneurs at Madren Conference Center.

Design And Development Of A Surgical Robot For Needle-Based Medical Interventions, Mostafa Hadavand

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths. If diagnosed in a timely manner, the treatment of choice is surgical resection of the cancerous lesions followed by radiotherapy. However, surgical resection may be too invasive for some patients due to old age or weakness. An alternative is minimally invasive needle-based interventions for cancer diagnosis and treatment. This project describes the design, analysis, development and experimental evaluation of a modular, compact, patient-mounted robotic manipulator for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this regard, a novel parallel Remote Centre of Motion (RCM) mechanism is proposed for minimally invasive delivery of …

Drug Delivery To The Respiratory Tract Using Dry Powder Inhalers, Doaa M.R. Mossaad

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Aerosols are an effective method to deliver therapeutic agents to the respiratory tract. Among aerosol generation systems, dry powder inhales have been attractive area of research for both local and systemic delivery of drugs. The challenge of any inhalation delivery system is to generate particles with an adequate range of particle sizes. In order to advance powder aerosol technologies, researchers have recognized the importance of investigating determinants affecting powder dispersion. The effect of particles’ surface characteristics, inhalation airflow rate, inhalation device, and development of an effective drug-carrier system are some of the fundamental areas that have been under investigation.

The …

Interact With Speciknee: A Software Tool For Design Of Simple Four-Bar Prosthesic Knee Joints, Thomas J. Thompson, Erkai L. Watson

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

This poster and interactive demonstration presents an educational computer design tool which could enable prosthetists and mechanical designers to tailor the motion of low-cost, four-bar prosthetic knees to the sizes and needs of individual amputees. In designing a prosthetic knee joint, it is important to control the position of the lower leg in three angles of flexion and to control its center of rotation in the standing position. In 2010 [1] this problem was analyzed using vector methods, and an algorithm was written which produced curves displaying pivot locations which solve the problem exactly. Since then, a software tool called …

Taper-Trunion Interface Stresses In Metal On Metal Hip Implants, Timothy L. Norman, Scott Gardner, Andrew Orton, Sharon Grafton, Thomas Fehring

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Metal on metal (MoM) total hip arthroplasty describes a hip joint replacement where a metal (cobalt chromium) femoral head articulates against a metal socket. This implant scenario has generally been successful until recently when larger (> 36 mm) metal heads have become more popular as a means to reduce the incidence of hip joint dislocation. Today, the number of clinical failures (described by fretting corrosion and a need for revision surgery) of MoM total hip arthroplasty is occurring at unacceptable rates. The objective of our research was to investigate the effect of horizontal lever arm (HLA), a geometric variable that …

Biomechanical Investigations Of Medial Opening Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy: Gait Analysis, Materials Testing And Dynamic Radiography, Kristyn Leitch

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis aimed to develop and assess biomechanical methods to assist in the evaluation of medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO). Five studies using diverse methods were performed, including three-dimensional (3D) gait analysis, materials testing of HTO fixation plates, and dynamic radiography in patients after surgery. Study 1 compared external knee joint moments during walking before and after varus or valgus producing osteotomy in patients with lateral or medial compartment osteoarthritis, and in healthy participants. The results highlighted the importance of alignment on gait biomechanics with changes in frontal plane angular impulse highly correlated to changes in mechanical axis. …

Design Of Surgical End Effectors For Robotic Parallel Continuum Manipulators, Andrew L. Orekhov, Caroline E. Bryson, D. Caleb Rucker

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

No abstract provided.