Engineering Commons^™

Influence Of Isoflurane On Left Atrial Function In Dogs With Pacing-Induced Cardiomyopathy: Evaluation With Pressure-Volume Relationships, Franz Kehl, John F. Ladisa, Douglas Anthony Hettrick, Judy R. Kersten, David C. Warltier, Paul S. Pagel

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

The actions of volatile anesthetics on left ventricular (LV) function in normal and failing hearts have been previously evaluated, but the effects of these agents on left atrial (LA) function in the presence of LV dysfunction are unknown. The hypothesis was tested that isoflurane alters LA mechanics evaluated with pressure-volume relations.

Design

Prospective.

Setting

Laboratory.

Participants

Barbiturate-anesthetized dogs (n = 8) were instrumented for measurement of aortic, LA, and LV pressures (micromanometers), and LA volume (epicardial orthogonal sonomicrometers) after 3 weeks of rapid ventricular pacing (220 beats/min).

Interventions

LA myocardial contractility (E_es) was assessed with end-systolic pressure-volume …

Robust Pi Controller Design Satisfying Sensitivity And Uncertainty Specifications, O. Yaniv, Mark L. Nagurka

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents a control design method for determining proportional-integral-type controllers satisfying specifications on gain margin, phase margin, and an upper bound on the (complementary) sensitivity for a finite set of plants. The approach can be applied to plants that are stable or unstable, plants given by a model or measured data, and plants of any order, including plants with delays. The algorithm is efficient and fast, and as such can be used in near real-time to determine controller parameters (for online modification of the plant model including its uncertainty and/or the specifications). The method gives an optimal controller for …

The Effect Of Pruning And Compression On Graphical Representations Of The Output Of A Speech Recognizer, Yang Liu, Mary P. Harper, Michael T. Johnson, Leah H. Jamieson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Large vocabulary continuous speech recognition can benefit from an efficient data structure for representing a large number of acoustic hypotheses compactly. Word graphs or lattices have been chosen as such an efficient interface between acoustic recognition engines and subsequent language processing modules. This paper first investigates the effect of pruning during acoustic decoding on the quality of word lattices and shows that by combining different pruning options (at the model level and word level), we can obtain word lattices with comparable accuracy to the original lattices and a manageable size. In order to use the word lattices as the input …

Sufficient Conditions For Admittance To Ensure Planar Force-Assembly In Multi-Point Frictionless Contact, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

An important issue in the development of force guidance assembly strategies is the specification of an appropriate admittance control law. This paper identifies procedures for selecting the appropriate admittance to achieve reliable planar force-guided assembly for multi-point contact cases. Conditions that restrict the admittance behavior for each of the various types of two-point contact are presented. These conditions ensure that the motion that results from contact reduces part misalignment for each case. We show that, for bounded misalignments, if the conditions are satisfied for a finite number of contact configurations, the conditions ensure that force guidance is achieved for all …

Efficient Contact State Graph Generation For Assembly Applications, Feng Pan, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

An important aspect in the design of many automated assembly strategies is the ability to automatically generate the set of contact states that may occur during an assembly task. In this paper, we present an efficient means of constructing the set of all geometrically feasible contact states that may occur within a bounded set of misalignments (bounds determined by robot inaccuracy). This set is stored as a graph, referred to as an Assembly Contact State Graph (ACSG), which indicates neighbor relationships between feasible states. An ACSG is constructed without user intervention in two stages. In the first stage, all hypothetical …

Admittance Selection For Planar Force-Guided Assembly For Single-Point Contact With Friction, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper identifies procedures for selecting the appropriate admittance to achieve reliable planar force-guided assembly for single-point frictional contact cases. A set of conditions that are imposed on the admittance matrix is presented. These conditions ensure that the motion that results from contact reduces part misalignment. We show that, for bounded misalignments, if an admittance satisfies the misalignment-reduction conditions at a finite number of contact configurations and a given coefficient of friction /spl mu//sub M/) then the admittance will also ensure that the conditions are satisfied at all intermediate configurations for all coefficients less than /spl mu//sub M/.

Business Case For Implementing Two Ergonomic Interventions At An Electric Power Utility, Patricia Seeley, Richard W. Marklin

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Ergonomics analysis of line workers in the electric power industry who work overhead on utility poles revealed some tasks for which less than 1% of the general population had sufficient strength to perform. During a 2-year study, a large Midwestern US electric utility provided a university with a team of represented workers and management. They evaluated, recommended, and monitored interventions for 32 common line worker tasks that were rated at medium to high magnitude of risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Two of the recommended ergonomic interventions—the battery-operated press and cutter—were selected by the team as having the greatest potential …

Sufficient Conditions Used In Admittance Selection For Force-Guided Assembly Of Polygonal Parts, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Admittance control approaches show significant promise in providing reliable force-guided assembly. An important issue in the development of these approaches is the specification of an appropriate admittance control law. This paper identifies procedures for selecting the appropriate admittance to achieve reliable force-guided assembly of planar polyhedral parts for single-point contact cases. A set of conditions that are imposed on the admittance matrix is presented. These conditions ensure that the motion that results from contact reduces part misalignment. We show that, for bounded misalignments, if an admittance satisfies the misalignment-reduction conditions at a finite number of contact configurations, then the admittance …

Diagnostics Of Eccentricities And Bar/End-Ring Connector Breakages In Polyphase Induction Motors Through A Combination Of Time-Series Data Mining And Time-Stepping Coupled Fe-State Space Techniques, John F. Bangura, Richard J. Povinelli, Nabeel Demerdash, Ronald H. Brown

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper develops the foundations of a technique for detection and categorization of dynamic/static eccentricities and bar/end-ring connector breakages in squirrel-cage induction motors that is not based on the traditional Fourier transform frequency-domain spectral analysis concepts. Hence, this approach can distinguish between the "fault signatures" of each of the following faults: eccentricities, broken bars, and broken end-ring connectors in such induction motors. Furthermore, the techniques presented here can extensively and economically predict and characterize faults from the induction machine adjustable-speed drive design data without the need to have had actual fault data from field experience. This is done through the …

Automatic Classification Of African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Follicular And Luteal Rumbles, Michael T. Johnson, Patrick J. Clemins

Dr. Dolittle Project: A Framework for Classification and Understanding of Animal Vocalizations

Recent research in African elephant vocalizations has shown that there is evidence for acoustic differences in the rumbles of females based on the phase of their estrous cycle (1). One reason for these differences might be to attract a male for reproductive purposes. Since rumbles have a fundamental frequency near 10Hz, they attenuate slowly and can be heard over a distance of several kilometers. This research exploits differences in the rumbles to create an automatic classification system that can determine whether a female rumble was made during the luteal or follicular phase of the ovulatory cycle. This system could be …

Robust Pi Controller Design Satisfying Gain And Phase Margin Constraints, Mark L. Nagurka, O. Yaniv

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents a control design algorithm for determining PI-type controllers satisfying specifications on gain margin, phase margin, and an upper bound on the (complementary) sensitivity for a finite set of plants. Important properties of the algorithm are: (i) it can be applied to plants of any order including plants with delay, unstable plants, and plants given by measured data, (ii) it is efficient and fast, and as such can be used in near real-time to determine controller parameters (for on-line modification of the plant model including its uncertainty and/or the specifications), (iii) it can be used to identify the …

Design Of Predictive Controllers By Dynamic Programming And Neural Networks, Chen-Wen Yen, Mark L. Nagurka

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper proposes a method for the design of predictive controllers for nonlinear systems. The method consists of two phases, a solution phase and a learning phase. In the solution phase, dynamic programming is applied to obtain a closed-loop control law. In the learning phase, neural networks are used to simulate the control law. This phase overcomes the "curse of dimensionality" problem that has often hindered the implementation of control laws generated by dynamic programming. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method

Reactive Oxygen Species Modulate Coronary Wall Shear Stress And Endothelial Function During Hyperglycemia, Eric R. Gross, John F. Ladisa, Dorothee Weihrauch, Lars E. Olson, Tobias T. Kress, Douglas Anthony Hettrick, Paul S. Pagel, David C. Warltier, Judy R. Kersten

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Hyperglycemia is associated with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and this action may contribute to accelerated atherogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that hyperglycemia produces alterations in left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) wall shear stress concomitant with endothelial dysfunction and ROS production in dogs (n = 12) instrumented for measurement of LAD blood flow, velocity, and diameter. Dogs were randomly assigned to receive vehicle (0.9% saline) or the superoxide dismutase mimetic 4- hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (tempol) and were administered intravenous infusions of d-glucose to achieve target blood glucose concentrations of 350 and 600 mg/dl (moderate and severe hyperglycemia, respectively). Endothelial …

Application Of Speech Recognition To African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Vocalizations, Patrick J. Clemins, Michael T. Johnson

Dr. Dolittle Project: A Framework for Classification and Understanding of Animal Vocalizations

This paper presents a novel application of speech processing research, classification of African elephant vocalizations. Speaker identification and call classification experiments are performed on data collected from captive African elephants in a naturalistic environment. The features used for classification are 12 mel-frequency cepstral coefficients plus log energy computed using a shifted filter bank to emphasize the infrasound range of the frequency spectrum used by African elephants. Initial classification accuracies of 83.8% for call classification and 88.1% for speaker identification were obtained. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a universal analysis framework and robust feature set for animal …

Adenosine Type 1 (A ) Receptors Mediate Protection Against Myocardial 1 Infarction Produced By Chronic, Intermittent Ingestion Of Ethanol In Dogs, Franz Kehl, John G. Krolikowski, John F. Ladisa, Judy R. Kersten, David C. Warltier, Paul S. Pagel

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Chronic consumption of small amounts of ethanol protects myocardium from ischemic injury. We tested the hypothesis that adenosine type 1 (A₁) receptors mediate these beneficial effects.

Methods: Dogs (n=37) were fed with ethanol (1.5 g/kg) or water mixed with dry food twice per day for 12 weeks, fasted overnight before experimentation, and instrumented for measurement of hemodynamics. Dogs received intravenous drug vehicle (50% polyethylene glycol in 0.1 N sodium hydroxide and 0.9% saline over 15 min) or the selective A₁ receptor antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX, 0.8 mg/kg over 15 min) and were subjected …

A New Temporal Pattern Identification Method For Characterization And Prediction Of Complex Time Series Events, Richard J. Povinelli, Xin Feng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A new method for analyzing time series data is introduced in this paper. Inspired by data mining, the new method employs time-delayed embedding and identifies temporal patterns in the resulting phase spaces. An optimization method is applied to search the phase spaces for optimal heterogeneous temporal pattern clusters that reveal hidden temporal patterns, which are characteristic and predictive of time series events. The fundamental concepts and framework of the method are explained in detail. The method is then applied to the characterization and prediction, with a high degree of accuracy, of the release of metal droplets from a welder. The …

Nonlinear Elastic Material Property Estimation Of Lower Extremity Residual Limb Tissues, Ergin TöNüK, M. Barbara Silver-Thorn

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The interface stresses between the residual limb and prosthetic socket have been studied to investigate prosthetic fit. Finite-element models of the residual limb-prosthetic socket interface facilitate investigation of the mechanical interface and may serve as a potential tool for future prosthetic socket design. However, the success of such residual limb models to date has been limited, in large part due to inadequate material formulations used to approximate the mechanical behavior of residual limb soft tissues. Nonlinear finite-element analysis was used to simulate force-displacement data obtained during in vivo rate-controlled (1, 5, and 10 mm/s) cyclic indentation of the residual limb …

Measuring The Effect Of Airway Pressure On Pulmonary Arterial Diameter In The Intact Rat Lung, Robert C. Molthen, Steven Thomas Haworth, Amy Heinrich, Christopher A. Dawson

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

To study the relationship between transpulomnary [sic] pressure (Ptp), intravascular pressure (Pv), and the pulmonary arterial tree structure, morphometric measurements of pulmonary arterial trees were made in intact lungs from Sprague-Dawley rats. Using cone beam micro-CT and techniques we developed for imaging small animal lungs, volumetric CT data were acquired for Ptp from 0 - 12 mmHg and Pv from 5 - 30 mmHg. The diameter, D (measured range approximately 0.08-2.0 mm), vs. pressure, P, relation can be described by D(P) = D(0)(1+ α P), where α is a distensibility coefficient. Unlike studies performed in larger animals, where changes in …

Spect Imaging Of Pulmonary Blood Flow In A Rat, Christian Wieholt, Robert C. Molthen, Roger H. Johnson, Christopher A. Dawson, Anne V. Clough

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Small animal imaging is experiencing rapid development due to its importance in providing high-throughput phenotypic data for functional genomics studies. We have developed a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system to image the pulmonary perfusion distribution in the rat. A standard gamma camera, equipped with a pinhole collimator, was used to acquire SPECT projection images at 40 sec/view of the rat thorax following injection of Tc99m labeled albumin that accumulated in the rat's lungs. A voxel-driven, ordered-subset expectation maximization reconstruction was implemented. Following SPECT imaging, the rat was imaged using micro-CT with Feldkamp conebeam reconstruction. The two reconstructed image …

Breakdown Probabilities For Thin Heterostructure Avalanche Photodiodes, Majeed M. Hayat, Ünal Sako ̆Glu, Oh-Hyun Kwon, Shuling Wang, Joe C. Campbell, Bahaa E.A. Saleh, Malvin Carl Teich

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The recurrence theory for the breakdown probability in avalanche photodiodes (APDs) is generalized to heterostructure APDs that may have multiple multiplication layers. The generalization addresses layer-boundary effects such as the initial energy of injected carriers as well as the layer-dependent profile of the dead space in the multiplication region. Reducing the width of the multiplication layer serves to both downshift and sharpen the breakdown probability curve as a function of the applied reverse-bias voltage. In structures where the injected carriers have an initial energy that is comparable to the ionization threshold energy, the transition from linear mode to Geiger-mode is …

Scene-Based Nonuniformity Correction For Focal Plane Arrays By The Method Of The Inverse Covariance Form, Sergio N. Torres, Jorge E. Pezoa, Majeed M. Hayat

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

What is to our knowledge a new scene-based algorithm for nonuniformity correction in infrared focal-plane array sensors has been developed. The technique is based on the inverse covariance form of the Kalman filter (KF), which has been reported previously and used in estimating the gain and bias of each detector in the array from scene data. The gain and the bias of each detector in the focal-plane array are assumed constant within a given sequence of frames, corresponding to a certain time and operational conditions, but they are allowed to randomly drift from one sequence to another following a discrete-time …

Optimal Excess Noise Reduction In Thin Heterojunction Al0.6Ga0.4As-Gaas Avalanche Photodiodes, Oh-Hyun Kwon, Majeed M. Hayat, Shuling Wang, Joe C. Campbell, Archie L. Holmes, Yi Pan, Bahaa E.A. Saleh, Malvin Carl Teich

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

It has been recently found that the initial-energy effect, which is associated with the finite initial energy of carriers entering the multiplication region of an avalanche photodiode (APD), can be tailored to reduce the excess noise well beyond the previously known limits for thin APDs. However, the control of the initial energy of injected carriers can be difficult in practice for an APD with a single multiplication layer. In this paper, the dead-space multiplication recurrence theory is used to show that the low noise characteristics associated with the initial-energy effect can be achieved by utilizing a two-layer multiplication region. As …

Scene-Based Nonuniformity Correction For Focal Plane Arrays By The Method Of The Inverse Covariance Form, Sergio N. Torres, Jorge E. Pezoa, Majeed M. Hayat

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

What is to our knowledge a new scene-based algorithm for nonuniformity correction in infrared focal-plane array sensors has been developed. The technique is based on the inverse covariance form of the Kalman filter (KF), which has been reported previously and used in estimating the gain and bias of each detector in the array from scene data. The gain and the bias of each detector in the focal-plane array are assumed constant within a given sequence of frames, corresponding to a certain time and operational conditions, but they are allowed to randomly drift from one sequence to another following a discrete-time …

Sensitivity To Hand Path Curvature During Reaching, Kyle P. Lillis, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

People optimize reaching to make straight and smooth movements. We performed experiments characterizing human sensitivity to hand path deviations from a straight reach. Vision of the arm was blocked. Subjects either moved the hand along paths of constrained curvature, or a robot moved the relaxed limb along similar trajectories (active and passive conditions, respectively). Subjects responded after each trial whether or not they thought the movement curved convex right. In a series of three experiments, we tested the effects of modifying visual feedback of hand position to suppress curvature, isotonic muscle activation, and a distracter task on subjects ability to …

Mechanisms Of Volatile Anesthetic-Induced Myocardial Protection, Lynda M. Ludwig, Judy R. Kersten, Katsuya Tanaka, Weidong Gu, John F. Ladisa, David C. Warltier, Paul S. Pagel

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Volatile anesthetics protect myocardium against reversible and irreversible ischemic injury. Experimental evidence from several in vitro and in vivo animal models demonstrates that volatile agents enhance the recovery of stunned myocardium and reduce the size of myocardial infarction after brief or prolonged coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion, respectively. This protective effect persists after the anesthetic has been discontinued, a phenomenon known as anesthetic-induced preconditioning (APC). Recent clinical data also demonstrates evidence of APC in patients during cardiac surgery. Thus, administration of volatile anesthetics may represent a novel therapeutic approach that reduces morbidity and mortality associated with perioperative myocardial ischemia and …

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Algorithm For A Reverse-Geometry Volumetric Ct System With A Large-Array Scanned Source, Taly Gilat Schmidt, Rebecca Fahrig, Norbert J. Pelc

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We have proposed a CT system design to rapidly produce volumetric images with negligible cone beam artifacts. The investigated system uses a large array scanned source with a smaller array of fast detectors. The x-ray source is electronically steered across a 2D target every few milliseconds as the system rotates. The proposed reconstruction algorithm for this system is a modified 3D filtered backprojection method. The data are rebinned into 2D parallel ray projections, most of which are tilted with respect to the axis of rotation. Each projection is filtered with a 2D kernel and backprojected onto the desired image matrix. …

A Thermal Time-Constant Experiment, Kyle Ressler, Kyle Brucker, Mark L. Nagurka

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A simple experiment, well suited for an undergraduate course in mechatronics, is described in which thermal time-constant information is extracted from a heater-blower table-top system. In the experiment, a thermistor measures the temperature of a resistive-heater that is cooled by a blower and a microcontroller is used for data acquisition. The student is asked to determine the thermal time response, and in particular the thermal time-constant of the system, for different blower speeds. The experiment prompts questions about modeling a thermal system, and exposes the student to basic concepts of mechatronics including measurement and data analysis.

Aerodynamic Effects In A Dropped Ping-Pong Ball Experiment, Mark L. Nagurka

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper addresses aerodynamic modeling issues related to a simple experiment in which a pingpong ball is dropped from rest onto a table surface. From the times between the ball-table impacts, the initial drop height and the coefficient of restitution can be determined using a model that neglects aerodynamic drag. The experiment prompts questions about modeling the dynamics of a simple impact problem, including the importance of accounting for aerodynamic effects. Two nonlinear aerodynamic models are discussed in the context of experimental results.