Engineering Commons^™

Methodology For Designing Assistive Robots For Activities Of Daily Living Assistance, Javier Dario Sanjuan De Caro

Theses and Dissertations

The growing prevalence of Upper or Lower Extremities Dysfunctions (ULED), often linked to central nervous disorders such as stroke, Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), underscores the urgent need for innovative support solutions. Over 5.35 million Americans currently live with ULED, a situation that places a significant socioeconomic burden on families and society. Despite invaluable support from caregivers and family members, the need for more scalable, practical solutions persists.

Wheelchair-mounted assistive robots emerge as a promising alternative in this context. These devices, offering continuous and reliable assistance, significantly alleviate caregiver fatigue and enhance the independence and quality of …

Deciphering The Firing Patterns Of Hippocampal Neurons During Sharp-Wave Ripples, Kourosh Maboudi Ashmankamachali

Theses and Dissertations

The hippocampus is essential for learning and memory. Neurons in the rat hippocampus selectively fire when the animal is at specific locations - place fields - within an environment. Place fields corresponding to such place cells tile the entire environment, forming a stable spatial map supporting navigation and planning. Remarkably, the same place cells reactivate together outside of their place fields and in coincidence with sharp-wave ripples (SWRs) - dominant electrical field oscillations (150-250 Hz) in the hippocampus. These offline SWR events frequently occur during quiet wake periods in the middle of exploration and the follow-up slow-wave sleep and are …

Image-Based Cancer Diagnosis Using Novel Deep Neural Networks, Hosein Barzekar

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is the major cause of death in many nations. This serious illness can only be effectivelytreated if it is diagnosed early. In contrast, biomedical imaging presents challenges to both clinical institutions and researchers. Physiological anomalies are often characterized by modest modifications in individual cells or tissues, making them difficult to detect visually. Physiological anomalies are often characterized by slight abnormalities in individual cells or tissues, making them difficult to detect visually. Traditionally, anomalies are diagnosed by radiologists and pathologists with extensive training. This procedure, however, demands the participation of professionals and incurs a substantial expense, making the classification of …

Python-Based Analysis To Segment Bone And Soft Tissue In A Healing Callus, Roberto Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this study was to produce a Python script that would help facilitate the segmentation process of both bone and soft tissue. The proposed script, in tangent with ImageJ and Mimics, was successful in producing viable results when the bone and soft tissue sample was placed near hydroxyapatite (HA) phantoms during the image acquisition process. It was important to acquire both the HA phantoms and the sample within the same image sequence as the script functioned by analyzing the statistical distribution of the different HA regions to locate the most ideal thresholding ranges to determine the bone …

Full-Body Biomechanical Characterization Of Children With Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome During Gait And Activities Of Daily Living, Anahita Alahmoradiqashqai

Theses and Dissertations

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is an inherited connective tissue disorder, often under-diagnosed, and presenting with frequent chronic pain and severe musculoskeletal symptoms that can drastically reduce the quality of life during one’s life span. While there are limited quantitative approaches in the literature on adult movements, the biomechanics of movements during activities of daily living (ADLs) in children have not been investigated comprehensively. Therefore, the primary purpose of this dissertation was to characterize the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system and investigate the biomechanics of hEDS by quantifying joint dynamics and muscle activations during ADLs and gait in the pediatric population. …

Effects Of Seat And Axle Position On Pain, Pathology, And Independence In Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury, Hannah Frank

Theses and Dissertations

Manual wheelchair (MWC) users with spinal cord injury (SCI) rely heavily on their upperextremities to complete daily occupations. Due to repetitive shoulder use during wheelchair mobility and propulsion, MWC users are at greater risk of shoulder pain and shoulder pathology, and thus decreased independence, and lower quality of life. The relative fit of the wheelchair and its parameters are critical and can further impact the user’s propulsion biomechanics. Parameters such as seat angle and axle position may put the user in detrimental shoulder positions for longer periods of time, impacting health outcomes even more. Although the effects of wheelchair setup …

Medical Image Segmentation Using Machine Learning, Masoud Khani

Theses and Dissertations

Image segmentation is the most crucial step in image processing and analysis. It can divide an image into meaningfully descriptive components or pathological structures. The result of the image division helps analyze images and classify objects. Therefore, getting the most accurate segmented image is essential, especially in medical images. Segmentation methods can be divided into three categories: manual, semiautomatic, and automatic. Manual is the most general and straightforward approach. Manual segmentation is not only time-consuming but also is imprecise. However, automatic image segmentation techniques, such as thresholding and edge detection, are not accurate in the presence of artifacts like noise …

Development Of A 7 Dof Exoskeleton Robot For Rehabilitation Of Lower Extremity, Sk Hasan

Theses and Dissertations

The World Health Organization reports that worldwide about 1 billion people have some form ofdisability. Of these, 110-190 million people have significant difficulties in functioning (mainly upper and lower extremity disability) independently. The major causes of human lower extremity disability include stroke, trauma, spinal cord injuries, and muscular dystrophy. Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke. A statistic shows that approximately 65% of post-stroke patients suffer lower extremity impairment. Rehabilitation programs are the main method to promote functional recovery in disabled individuals. The conventional therapeutic approach requires a long commitment from a therapist or a clinician. …

Developing Optical Imaging Tools To Investigate Metabolic And Structural Biomarkers In Rodent Injury Models, Soudeh Mostaghimi

Theses and Dissertations

Optical fluorescence imaging is one of the vastly growing fields of imaging used in a broad variety of preclinical investigation with great interest in translating its principles into clinical applications. Optical fluorescence imaging provides images of functional and structural changes with cellular and subcellular resolution in tissues at a low-cost. This technique takes advantage of the absorption of light photons at a specific wavelength by intrinsic or extrinsic fluorophores and emission of photons at characteristic wavelengths. The characteristics of the emitted wavelengths such as their energy and illuminance give substantial information of the imaged tissue. In the research presented here, …

Fabrication Of Double-Walled Polymeric Microspheres For Improved Bone Healing And Regeneration., Sara Travia

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to fabricate double-walled microspheres loaded with specific drugs to improve bone healing properties. The proposed microsphere design consists of hydroxyapatite-loaded poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) as the core layer and cobalt (II) chloride-loaded poly(DL-lactic–co-glycolic) (PLGA) as the shell layer. Cobalt (II) chloride and hydroxyapatite were the chosen drugs because they have previously shown to aid chondrogenesis and osteogenesis, respectively. The morphology, layer identification, and elemental composition of the prepared microspheres were evaluated using a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), 3D laser microscope, and selective dissolution techniques. With the help of …

Deterministic Model Of The Voltage Dependent Anion Channel (Vdac) Kinetics, Viren Shah

Theses and Dissertations

The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) is a voltage gated channel residing on the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) that facilitates the flow of metabolites between the cytosol and mitochondria. The channel is regulated through conformational changes driven by electrostatic effects along with numerous regulatory mechanisms. The aim of this study is to mechanistically model kinetics of substrate flow through VDAC and incorporate them into existing mechanistic computational models of mitochondrial function. The resulting model is used in two ways: 1) to establish mitochondrial bioenergetics (conductance, permeability, and current/flux) under physiological conditions, and 2) to conduct perturbations simulating the effect of altered …

Development And Control Of A 3-Dof Exoskeleton Robot For Forearm And Wrist Rehabilitation, Tanvir Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

The research conducted under this project directly contributes to the development of a forearm and wrist rehabilitation robot (UWM-FWRR). Upper extremity impairment following stroke, trauma, sports injuries, occupational injuries, spinal cord injuries, and orthopaedic injuries results in significant deficits in hand manipulation and the performance of everyday tasks. Strokes affect nearly 800,000 people in the United States each year. Rehabilitation programs are the main method of promoting functional recovery in individuals with finger impairment. The conventional therapeutic approach requiring a long commitment by both the clinician and the patient. Robotic devices (RDs) are novel and rapidly expanding technologies in hand …

Patients’ Needs And Preferences Regarding Radiology Test Results On Patient Portals, Mansour Abdulaziz Almanaa

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction and significance: Radiology exams are an important part of health care. To enhance the quality of health care, health care services need to be delivered in ways that meet patients’ needs and preferences. Patients were found to be interested in the timely receipt of radiology test results. One of the easiest and fastest ways to deliver radiology test results to patients is via online patient portals. It seems, however, that the method of providing radiology test results through patient portals has not reached its full maturity; it still needs a great deal of improvement. Therefore, participation of the end-readers …

Quantitative Optical Imaging Of Metabolic And Structural Biomarkers In Rodent Injury Models, Shima Mehrvar

Theses and Dissertations

The assessment of organ metabolic function using optical imaging techniques is an overgrowing field of disease diagnosis. The broad research objective of my PhD thesis is to detect quantitative biomarkers by developing and applying optical imaging and image processing tools to animal models of human diseases. To achieve this goal, I have designed and implemented an optical imaging instrument called in vivo fluorescence imager to study wound healing progress. I have also developed a 3-dimensional (3D) vascular segmentation technique that uses intrinsic fluorescence images of whole organs.

Intrinsic fluorophores (autofluorescence signals) provide information about the status of cellular bioenergetics in …

Development Of Investment Casting Method For Production Of Metal Foams For Tissue Engineering, Justin Aaron Womack

Theses and Dissertations

Ideal biomaterials for bone tissue regeneration are bone-mimicking structures that present a fully interconnected porous structure, have similar mechanical properties to bone, and exhibits a specific biodegradation behavior that is at the same rate as adjoining cell growth. Metals have high wear resistance, ductility, impact strength, and strain energy absorption capacity compared to other materials, which makes them suitable candidates for tissue engineering scaffolds. Magnesium and zinc are of interest for bone tissue regeneration for their biocompatibility and mechanical properties close to human bone. A newly developed process, presented in this thesis, for the creation of porous magnesium and zinc …

Investigation Of Dielectrophoretic Microfluidic Trap System For Separation And Parallel Analysis Of Single Particles, Tae Joon Kwak

Theses and Dissertations

Separation and identification of single molecules and particles based on their chemical, biochemical and physical properties are critical in wide range of biomedical applications. Manipulating a single biomolecule requires sensitive approaches to avoid damage to the molecule. Recent progress in micro- and nano-technology enabled the development of various novel methods and devices to trap, separate, and characterize micro- and nano-particles. In this dissertation, a microfluidic particle trap system to electrically separate particles at the single particle level was developed through particle manipulation methods using dielectrophoresis. The research in this dissertation will explain the operation strategy and setup of the novel …

Quantitative Evaluation Of Geared Manual Wheelchair Mobility In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury: An Integrative Approach, Omid Jahanian

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to quantify the effects of using geared wheelchair wheels on upper extremity biomechanics and energy expenditure during functional mobility tasks in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The effects of using geared wheels on hand-rim biomechanics, glenohumeral joint dynamics, and shoulder muscle activity were investigated during manual wheelchair propulsion over tiled and carpeted level-floors and up a ramp in low gear (1.5:1) and standard gear (1:1) conditions. The results for the hand-rim biomechanics indicated that regardless of the terrain, using the geared wheels in the low gear condition significantly decreased the propulsion speed, stroke …

A Discrete-Event Simulation Approach For Modeling Human Body Glucose Metabolism, Buket Aydas

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes CarbMetSim (Carbohydrate Metabolism Simulator), a discrete-event simulator that tracks the blood glucose level of a person in response to a timed sequence of diet and exercise activities. CarbMetSim implements broader aspects of carbohydrate metabolism in human beings with the objective of capturing the average impact of various diet/exercise activities on the blood glucose level. Key organs (stomach, intestine, portal vein, liver, kidney, muscles, adipose tissue, brain and heart) are implemented to the extent necessary to capture their impact on the production and consumption of glucose. Key metabolic pathways (glucose oxidation, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis) are accounted for by …

Clinical Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Instrumentation: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Studies, Parvathi Kadamati

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

CLINICAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY INSTRUMENTATION: POSTURAL ORTHOSTATIC TACHYCARDIA SYNDROME STUDIES

by

Parvathi Kadamati

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2017

Under the Supervision of Professor Mahsa Ranji

Aims: Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a type of chronic orthostatic intolerance, annually affecting around 500,000 young Americans. Symptoms of POTS include lightheadedness and persistent increase in heart rate with upright body posture [1-3]. It requires a medical diagnosis. Impaired cerebral oxygenation of patients with POTS has been reported [4]. The pathophysiology remains unclear, and research is needed to understand the underlying conditions that lead to POTS. The aim of this research is to …

An Array Of Circular Dielectrophoresis Traps To Separate And Charaterize Individual Microparticles From Population, Hwangjae Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Dielectrophoretic traps have been broadly studied in light of their many advantages of high controllability, ease of operation, and high efficiency. In the previous studies, however, it was challenging to count captured particles or required work to capture particles. In the thesis, an array of circular dielectrophoresis (DEP) traps was developed and tested to manipulate population of microparticles in single particle level. The circular DEP traps enable more precise control of the force field than conventionally used interdigitated electrodes due to its omnidirectional and symmetric properties. The location of the captured microparticle inside the trap was confirmed by both of …

A Battery-Operated Portable Standard Lead Ecg Monitor With Abnormal Heart Condition Detection System For Dogs, Zichen He

Theses and Dissertations

Long term monitoring the dog's heart condition is the best way to prevent being unable to treat the dog's heart failure in time when it occurs. Although, electro-cardio activity has been discovered by French scientist Mattencci in 1842, but there hasn't been any proper device developed so far for long term ECG (electrocardiogram) monitoring of cardiac dogs. Therefore, this paper has proposed an ECG monitor specially designed for dogs to fill this gap. The ECG monitor proposed is a 3-lead ECG monitoring system with diagnosis software that can detect heart failure, tachycardia, bradycardia, and arrhythmia according to dog's ECG signal. …

Dc Line-Interactive Uninterruptible Power Supply (Ups) With Load Leveling For Constant Power And Pulse Loads, Seyed Ahmad Hamidi

Theses and Dissertations

Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) systems are usually considered as a backup power for electrical systems, providing emergency power when the main power source fails. UPS systems ensure an uninterruptible, reliable and high quality electrical power for systems with critical loads in which a continuous and reliable power supply is a vital requirement.

A novel UPS system topology, DC line-interactive UPS, has been introduced. The new proposed UPS system is based on the DC concept where the power flow in the system has DC characteristic. The new DC UPS system has several advantageous with respect to the on-line 3-phase UPS which …

Study Of Computational Image Matching Techniques: Improving Our View Of Biomedical Image Data, Ahmadreza Baghaie

Theses and Dissertations

Image matching techniques are proven to be necessary in various fields of science and engineering, with many new methods and applications introduced over the years. In this PhD thesis, several computational image matching methods are introduced and investigated for improving the analysis of various biomedical image data. These improvements include the use of matching techniques for enhancing visualization of cross-sectional imaging modalities such as Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), denoising of retinal Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), and high quality 3D reconstruction of surfaces from Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images. This work greatly improves the process of data …

Design And Basic Verification Of A Discrete Event Simulator For Glucose Metabolism In Human Beings, Elizabeth Andrews

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the design and basic verification of a discrete event simulator for glucose metabolism in human beings. The simulator implements the glucose metabolism related behavior of various organs in the human body and tracks the blood plasma glucose level as the human body goes through a sequence of diet and exercise events. The simulator can mimic insulin resistance in various organs as well as the loss of insulin production in the pancreas and the adverse impact of these changes on the metabolic behavior of various organs. Thus, the simulator can serve as a model for people with diabetes. …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Geometry Changes In The Simulation Of Basilar Aneurysms, Paul Eserkaln

Theses and Dissertations

Computer simulation is a useful tool in the research and treatment of basilar aneurysms. Current technology allows researchers to create 3D models from cerebral vasculature in-vivo, allowing for the investigation of surgical options with minimal risk to the patient. The method used to construct these models overlooks smaller lateral arterial branches which are difficult to discern due to resolution limits of the imaging process. These lateral branches have minimal impact on the overall blood flow through the basilar artery, but they play a significant role in the health of the patient, so it is important to ensure sufficient blood will …

Quantitative Optical Studies Of Oxidative Stress In Rodent Models Of Eye And Lung Injuries, Zahra Ghanian

Theses and Dissertations

Optical imaging techniques have emerged as essential tools for reliable assessment of organ structure, biochemistry, and metabolic function. The recognition of metabolic markers for disease diagnosis has rekindled significant interest in the development of optical methods to measure the metabolism of the organ.

The objective of my research was to employ optical imaging tools and to implement signal and image processing techniques capable of quantifying cellular metabolism for the diagnosis of diseases in human organs such as eyes and lungs. To accomplish this goal, three different tools, cryoimager, fluorescent microscope, and optical coherence tomography system were utilized to study the …

Design, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Fluorescence Laminar Optical Tomography Scanner For Brain Imaging, Mahya Sheikhzadeh

Theses and Dissertations

Implementation of new instrumentation and techniques for neuroscience research in recent years has opened new avenues in the study of the dynamics of large-scale neural networks such as the brain. In many of these techniques, including fluorescence recordings and optogenetic stimulation, a combination of photonics and molecular genetic methods are exploited to manipulate and monitor neural activities. Such techniques have been proven to be highly efficient in unraveling the mysteries of data processing in the micro circuits of the brain and as a result these techniques are widely used nowadays in most neuroscience labs.

In optogenetics, cell-types of interest are …

The Effectiveness, Efficiency, And Appeal Of Pediatric Echocardiography Protocol Training For First Year Pediatric Cardiology Fellows, Lynne M. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Echocardiography training for pediatric cardiology fellows is complex and academic hospitals strive to provide high-quality training using limited resources. The purpose of this embedded single case study design was to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, and appeal of a newly developed 10-day echocardiography protocol learning module for first year pediatric cardiology fellows. Using blended learning methods that included didactic lectures, online learning activities, and interactive games, the learning module was the first step in the process of training pediatric cardiology fellows to perform echocardiograms independently with limited supervision during their first year of fellowship. At the end of the 10-day module, …

Spectral And Temporal Interrogation Of Cerebral Hemodynamics Via High Speed Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging, Rex Chin-Hao Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging (LSCI) is a non-scanning wide field-of-view optical imaging technique specifically developed for cerebral blood flow (CBF) monitoring. In this project, a versatile Laser speckle contrast imaging system has been designed and developed to monitor CBF changes and examine the physical properties of cerebral vasculature during functional brain activation experiments.

The hardware of the system consists of a high speed CMOS camera, a coherent light source, a trinocular microscope, and a PC that does camera controlling and data storage. The simplicity of the system’s hardware makes it suitable for biological experiments.

In controlled flow experiments using a …

Simulating The Impact Of Diet And Exercise On Blood Glucose Level For People With Type 2 Diabetes, Md Abdul Halim Sarkar

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the design of a discrete-event simulator that tracks the blood glucose level and glycated hemoglobin level as a person goes through her daily diet and exercise activities. This thesis also reports results of simulations performed using the simulator that show the changes in blood glucose level and glycated hemoglobin level as a diabetic person makes specific changes to her diet/exercise routine.