Engineering Commons^™

Optimal Inertial Sensor Placement And Motion Detection For Epileptic Seizure Patient Monitoring, Babak Kamalizonouzi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Use of inertial sensory systems to monitor and detect seizure episodes in patients suffering from epilepsy is investigated via numerical simulations and experiments. Numerical simulations employ a mathematical model that is able to predict human body dynamic responses during a typical epileptic seizure. An optimized inertial sensor placement procedure is developed to address achievement of highest possible sensing resolution in determining angular accelerations with minimal errors. In addition, a joint torque estimation procedure is formulated to assist in the future development of a possible detection scheme. Experimental motion data obtained from an epileptic seizure patient as well as a healthy …

Biomechanical Modeling For Lung Tumor Motion Prediction During Brachytherapy And Radiotherapy, Zahra Shirzadi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A novel technique is proposed to develop a biomechanical model for estimating lung’s tumor position as a function of respiration cycle time. Continuous tumor motion is a major challenge in lung cancer treatment techniques where the tumor needs to be targeted; e.g. in external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy. If not accounted for, this motion leads to areas of radiation over and/or under dosage for normal tissue and tumors. In this thesis, biomechanical models were developed for lung tumor motion predication in two distinct cases of lung brachytherapy and lung external beam radiotherapy. The lung and other relevant surrounding organs geometries, …

Vision-Based Robot Control In The Context Of Human-Machine Interactions, Andrzej Nycz

Doctoral Dissertations

This research has explored motion control based on visual servoing – in the context of complex human-machine interactions and operations in realistic environments. Two classes of intelligent robotic systems were studied in this context: operator assistance with a high dexterity telerobotic manipulator performing remote tooling-centric tasks, and a bio-robot for X-ray imaging of lower extremity human skeletal joints during natural walking. The combination of human-machine interactions and practical application scenarios has led to the following fundamental contributions: 1) exploration and evaluation of a new concept of acquiring fluoroscope images of musculoskeletal features of interest during natural human motion, 2) creation …

Investigation Of In-Vivo Hindfoot And Orthotic Interactions Using Bi-Planar X-Ray Fluoroscopy, Kristen M. Bushey

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A markerless RSA method was used to determine the effect of orthotics on the normal, pes planus and pes cavus populations. Computed tomography (CT) was used to create bone models that were imported into the virtual environment. Joint coordinate systems were developed to measure kinematic changes in the hindfoot during weight-bearing gait and quiet standing. The objectives of this thesis were to (1) implement a fluoroscopy-based markerless RSA system on the foot, (2) determine the effect of various orthotics at midstance of fully weight-bearing dynamic gait, and (3) determine the effect of orthotics as measured using three different techniques. Every …

Polygrasp: Reach; Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand Iteration, Devon Patrick Augustus, Mighells Blaed Deuel, Ian Noel Fraser, Nicholas Philip Moesser

Mechanical Engineering

Amputations are a common occurrence in soldiers returning home who have suffered the effects of IED and munitions explosions. For upper limb amputees, trans-radial amputations are the most common. Traditional hook devices do not offer an adequate level of normalcy for users, prompting the use of myoelectric devices. While current myoelectric devices do offer a more natural experience, they come with a host of other problems that makes their adoption by service personnel not desirable or not permitted by the VA. PolyGrasp Reach seeks to reduce weight and cost and improve performance. This addresses several of the issues with devices …

Design And Testing Of A Low Cost Prosthetic Foot, Shalan Ertis, John Kearns, Seija Maniskas

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Hydraulically Driven Mechanical Representation Of A Biological System, Andrea Argouarch, Michael Mceachern, Brandon Parham

Biomedical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Viscoelastic Anisotropic Finite Element Mixture Model Of Articular Cartilage Using Viscoelastic Collagen Fibers And Validation With Stress Relaxation Data, Matthew Alexander Griebel

Master's Theses

Experimental results show that collagen fibers exhibit stress relaxation under tension and a highly anisotropic distribution. To further develop the earlier model of Stender [1], the collagen constituent was updated to reflect its intrinsic viscoelasticity and anisotropic distribution, and integrated with an existing mixture model with glycosaminoglycans and ground substance matrix. A two-term Prony series expansion of the quasi-linear viscoelastic model was chosen to model the viscoelastic properties of the collagen fibers. Material parameters were determined by using the simplex method to minimize the sum of squared errors between model results and experimental stress relaxation data of tissue in tension. …

Prediction Of Articular Cartilage Remodeling During Dynamic Compression With A Finite Element Model, Kevin Akira Yamauchi

Master's Theses

First, an in vitro growth experiment was performed to test the hypothesis that applying dynamic unconfined compression during culture produces het- erogeneous remodeling in newborn bovine articular cartilage explants. Het- erogeneous measures of cartilage microstructure were obtained by biochemical assays and quantified polarized light microscopy. Significant differences were measured between the GAG content in the inner and outer portions of the sam- ples stimulated with dynamic unconfined compression. The COL fiber network was found to be more highly aligned in the inner portion of the sample than in the peripheral region.

Next, a poroelastic finite element model with a remodeling …

In-Vivo Investigation Of The Medial Longitudinal Arch Of The Foot And Orthotic Interactions Using Bi-Planar Fluoroscopy, Megan E.R. Balsdon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Orthotic devices are a conservative treatment for common disorders of the foot and ankle such as pes planus and pes cavus. It is thought that orthotics change the kinematics of the foot by applying forces and constraint on the plantar surface, which can act to change body biomechanics and correct for malalignment in the legs and trunk. This thesis compares the angle of the medial longitudinal arch (MLA) between three foot types: pes planus (low arch), pes cavus (high arch) and normal arch, during barefoot and shoed walking, and walking with orthotics. In-vivo bi-planar fluoroscopy was used with markerless radiostereometric …

Biarticular Muscles Influence Postural Responses: Implications For Treatment Of Stiff-Knee Gait, Ashley Elizabeth Clark

Masters Theses

Stiff knee gait is a prevalent and troublesome movement disorder among children with cerebral palsy, where peak knee flexion is diminished during swing phase. Rectus femoris transfer surgery, a common treatment for stiff-knee gait, reattaches the distal tendon of this biarticular, or two joint, muscle to a new site, such as the sartorius insertion on the tibia. Biarticular muscles play a unique role in motor control. As a biarticular muscle, rectus femoris may offer unrecognized benefits to maintain balance. This study uses musculoskeletal modeling and simulation to investigate the role of this biarticular muscle on balance recovery following support-surface translations. …

Facility Implementation, Production, And Use Of Biodiesel On A University Campus, Michelle Erin Rodio

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

During the last two years, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has been in the process of having a fully-functional biodiesel processing facility on campus. Within this time, it was shown that biodiesel was a great alternative to diesel fuel based on emissions, performance, and cost, allowing for a grant of $10,000 being awarded to fund the project. Upon properly producing biodiesel, the fuel was tested in a John Deere 2653A tractor to see what differences, if any, existed when using a biodiesel blend over diesel fuel. In doing this, carbon buildup and fuel economy were compared, and a cost analysis conducted. It …

Silk Cryogels For Microfluidics, Christopher David Hinojosa

Dissertations and Theses

Silk fibroin from silkworm cocoons is found in numerous applications ranging from textiles to medical implants. Its recent adoption as a biomaterial is due to the material's strength, biocompatibility, self-assembling behavior, programmable degradability, optical clarity, and its ability to be functionalized with antibodies and proteins. In the field of bioengineering it has been utilized as a tissue scaffolding, drug delivery system, biosensor, and implantable electrode. This work suggests a new application for porous silk in a microscale chromatography column. We demonstrate in situ cryotropic polymerization of highly porous structures in microscale geometries by freezing aqueous silk with a solvent. The …