Engineering Commons^™

The Development Of Hyaluronic Acid Biomaterials For Vascular Tissue Engineering, Samir Ibrahim

All Dissertations

Current vascular implant materials poorly interact with medial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) allowing the permanent loss of vascular elastin, eliminated by trauma or disease, a crucial element in maintaining the natural biomechanics of the blood vessel and overall vascular homeostasis. In addition, these materials insufficiently recruit vascular endothelial cells (ECs) to form a normally functional, confluent endothelium that acts as the interface between the blood and vascular tissue and regulates numerous vital vascular processes. As a result, the restenosis, or re-occlusion, rate within these devices has remained fairly high stimulating the investigation of numerous new materials capable of providing the …

Development Of An Inexpensive, Haptic Graphical Display Device, David Burch

Theses and Dissertations

A finger-worn haptic device capable of rendering 2-D graphics through vibrotactile feedback is presented. The device development is presented from its initial stages of being a stylus design using a photo-interrupter optical sensor and pager-motor actuator to a small case worn on the finger using a RGB color sensor and a piezoelectric actuator. Testing of the latest prototype design shows that it has a spatial sensitivity (<2mm) comparable to natural touch (~1mm) and can be used to output a variety of vibrotactile textures. The design can be expanded for a multiple finger, independent device, while remaining affordable (<$100) and highly portable (<500g).

A Modified Surface Energy Balance For Modeling Evapotranspiration And Canopy Resistance, Luis O. Lagos

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A modified surface energy balance (SEB) model based on the Shuttleworth-Wallace and Choudhury-Monteith methods was developed to estimate evaporation from soil covered by crop residue, and transpiration from crop canopies. The model describes the energy balance and flux resistances for partially-vegetated and residue-covered surfaces. Physical and biochemical energy storage terms and lateral fluxes are neglected in the model. Net radiation is one of the inputs in the SEB model and provides the energy needed for soil evaporation, crop transpiration and heat transfer through the canopy, soil/residue surfaces and the atmosphere.

A sensitivity analysis of the SEB model parameters showed that …

Development Of A Computational Model To Predict The In Vivo Contact Mechanics Of Modern Total Knee Arthroplasty, Adrija Sharma

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the development of a computationally efficient and fast method that incorporates the kinematics obtained from fluoroscopy and extends it to the prediction of the in-vivo contact mechanics at the femoro-tibial articulation in modern knee implants for the deep knee bend activity. In this endeavor, this dissertation deals with the use of an inverse dynamic rigid body model characterizing the slip and roll behavior observed in the femoro-polyethylene articulation and a coupled deformation model where the polyethylene in knee implants are modeled as hexahedral discrete element networks. The performance of this method is tested by comparing force …

The Future Of The Operating Room: Surgical Preplanning And Navigation Using High Accuracy Ultra-Wideband Positioning And Advanced Bone Measurement, Brandon C. Merkl

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation embodies the diversity and creativity of my research, of which much has been peer-reviewed, published in archival quality journals, and presented nationally and internationally. Portions of the work described herein have been published in the fields of image processing, forensic anthropology, physical anthropology, biomedical engineering, clinical orthopedics, and microwave engineering.

The problem studied is primarily that of developing the tools and technologies for a next-generation surgical navigation system. The discussion focuses on the underlying technologies of a novel microwave positioning subsystem and a bone analysis subsystem. The methodologies behind each of these technologies are presented in the context …

A Novel Method For Characterization Of Peripheral Nerve Fiber Size Distributions By Group Delay, Robert B. Szlavik

Biomedical Engineering

The ability to determine the characteristics of peripheral nerve fiber size distributions would provide additional information to clinicians for the diagnosis of specific pathologies of the peripheral nervous system. Investigation of these conditions, using electrodiagnostic techniques, is advantageous in the sense that such techniques tend to be minimally invasive yet provide valuable diagnostic information. One of the principal electrodiagnostic tools available to the clinician is the nerve conduction velocity test. While the peripheral nerve conduction velocity test can provide useful information to the clinician regarding the viability of the nerve under study, it is a single-parameter test that yields no …

Department Of Biological Systems Engineering Newsletter, Vol. 4 No. 2, December 2008

BSE Department Magazine

Environmental Management Research
From the Department Head
Meet the Faculty
Alumni News
Comings and Goings
Alumna Profile
In Memoriam
Museum Hand-picked for HELP
Urban Water Quality
Summer Graduates
Distinguished Fellowship Awards
Partners in Pollution Prevention Interns
Quarter-scale Tractor Competition
Scholarships and Ice Cream
BSE faculty develop Odor Footprint Tool By Crystal Powers
Ethanol Co-product Storage and Utilization Conference By John Hay
Biological Systems Engineering Department Hall of Fame: Don Eret and Ned Meier
International Symposium
Faculty & Staff News
University Service Awards
ASABE Annual Meeting

Effect Of Clinically Relevant Mechanical Forces On Smooth Muscle Cell Response In Model Of Balloon Angioplasty, Kara Acampora

All Dissertations

Restenosis remains a common problem affecting the patency of endovascular intervention such as balloon angioplasty and stent placement as treatments for atherosclerosis. Denudation of the endothelial layer and the increased injury from balloon deployment can cause phenotypic changes in surrounding vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in vivo. The presented work modeled this mechanical environment in vitro to investigate the role of the altered mechanical environment on the phenotypic response of SMCs. Through the system design and CFD channel characterization, a six-independent-channel system providing low oscillating wall shear stress (WSS) was manufactured to apply concurrent shear and tensile forces with uniform …

Ecm Stabilization Strategies For Bioprosthetic Heart Valves For Improved Durability, Devanathan Raghavan

All Dissertations

Abstract
Approximately 85,000 heart valve replacement surgeries are performed every year in United States and about 300,000 surgeries worldwide. It is estimated that half of them are mechanical valve replacements and the other half bioprosthetic valve replacements. The use of bioprosthetic heart valves is slowly increasing. Bioprosthetic heart valves are made from porcine aortic valves or bovine pericardium. Commercially these bioprostheses are currently crosslinked using glutaraldehyde (GLUT) to prevent tissue degradation and reduce tissue antigenicity. GLUT crosslinks these bioprostheses by stabilizing the collagen present in the tissue via a Schiff base reaction of the aldehyde with the hydroxylysine / lysine …

Synergistic Effect Of Retinoic Acid, Nerve Growth Factor And Laminin For Enhanced Neurite Extension, Shrarath Ashwin Sriman

Masters Theses

Peripheral Nerve Injury is one of the most common and serious traumatic injuries. About 300,000 cases of peripheral nerve injury are reported annually in Europe and another 50,000 procedures performed annually in the United States. Peripheral nerve injury can lead to lifelong disability and also death in severe cases. Repair techniques remain a major challenge because of lack of efficient regeneration. Though techniques like autografts are highly efficient, they face a lot of drawbacks. Alternate methods focus on the use of growth supporting and enhancement components in nerve guidance channels. Current research necessitates the use of a combination of compounds …

Human Microvasculature Fabrication Using Thermal Inkjet Printing Technology, Xiaofeng Cui

All Dissertations

The current tissue engineering paradigm is that successfully engineered thick tissues must include vasculature. As biological approaches alone such as VGEF have fallen short of their promises, one may look for an engineering approach to build microvasculature. With the advent of cell printing, one may be able to build precise human microvasculature with suitable bio-ink. Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HMVEC) and fibrin were studied as bio-ink for microvasculature construction. Endothelial cells are the only cells to compose the human capillaries and also the major cells of blood vessel intima layer. Fibrin has been already widely recognized as tissue engineering scaffold …

Characterization Of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Mechanical And Frictional Properties Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Jason Hemmer

All Dissertations

A working hypothesis within the Laboratory of Vascular Research is that mechanical loading on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), especially due to solid contact from endovascular devices, contributes to the development of restenosis. In order to better understand the role of mechanical loading on VSMCs in vascular disease development, it is imperative to understand the mechanical properties of VSMCs themselves. To measure the viscoelastic and frictional properties of living VSMCs in an in vitro setting, an atomic force microscope (AFM) was utilized, thereby allowing for mechanical testing of living cells in a fluid environment. In the first phase of research, …

Vascular Tissue Engineering: The Creation Of Living, Non-Thrombogenic, Functional Blood Vessels Based On Elastin Scaffolds, Aditee Kurane

All Dissertations

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Blood vessel replacement is a common treatment for vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, restenosis and aneurysm, with over 300,000 bypass procedures performed each year. However, vein grafts are limited due to their availability. Although synthetic vascular replacements have been successful for large diameter arteries, they have shown minimal success in arteries with diameters <6mm. This is because most synthetic materials induce thrombus formation which, within a few months of implantation, causes failure of the vascular graft due to occlusion. Tissue engineering is a promising approach to the fabrication of non-thrombogenic vascular grafts, but a reliable and expandable cell source for tissue-engineered vascular graft (TEVG) has not been established.
The work presented here is motivated by the current unavailability of an ideal tissue engineered blood vessel replacement. Our overall goal is to create a living tissue engineered vascular graft that is biodegradable, non-thromobogenic, presents low antigenicity and …

Monitoring Tissue Engineering Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Huihui Xu, Shadi F. Othman, Richard L. Magin

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Assessment of tissue regeneration is essential to optimize the stages of tissue engineering (cell proliferation, tissue development and implantation). Optical and X-ray imaging have been used in tissue engineering to provide useful information, but each has limitations: for example, poor depth penetration and radiation damage. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) largely overcomes these restrictions, exhibits high resolution (approximately 100 μm) and can be applied both in vitro and in vivo. Recently, MRI has been used in tissue engineering to generate spatial maps of tissue relaxation times (T₁, T₂), water diffusion coefficients, and the stiffness (shear moduli) of …

A Device For Noninvasive Assessment Of Vascular Impairment Risk In The Lower Extremity, Michael J. Hoffmann, Paul E. Knudson, M. Barbara Silver-Thorn

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The repeatability and resolution of the clinical gold standard of vascular assessment, the ankle-brachial index (ABI), was compared to that of a new device that dynamically assesses tissue perfusion during external loading utilizing laser Doppler flowmetry. Eight subjects of varying levels of vascular impairment were tested in successive weeks using two different sites on the subject's posterior calf. These new measures included the perfusion decrease as well as the unloading delay during cyclic loading. Some new dynamic tissue perfusion measures demonstrated comparable levels of reproducibility with the ABI (e.g., 10%-20%). Only the unloading delay showed potentially enhanced resolution over ABI …

Comparison Of Electrically Mediated And Liposome-Complexed Plasmid Dna Delivery To The Skin, Loree C. Heller, Mark J. Jaroszeski, Domenico Coppola, Richard Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

BACKGROUND: Electroporation is an established technique for enhancing plasmid delivery to many tissues in vivo, including the skin. We have previously demonstrated efficient delivery of plasmid DNA to the skin utilizing a custom-built four-plate electrode. The experiments described here further evaluate cutaneous plasmid delivery using in vivo electroporation. Plasmid expression levels are compared to those after liposome mediated delivery.

METHODS: Enhanced electrically-mediated delivery, and less extensively, liposome complexed delivery, of a plasmid encoding the reporter luciferase was tested in rodent skin. Expression kinetics and tissue damage were explored as well as testing in a second rodent model.

RESULTS: Experiments …

Antibacterial Coatings For Medical Devices Based On Glass Polyalkenoate Cement Chemistry, A. Coughlan, D. Boyd, C. W.I. Douglas, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A biofilm is an accumulation of micro-organisms and their extracellular products forming a structured community on a surface. Biofilm formation on medical devices has severe health consequences as bacteria growing in this lifestyle are tolerant to both host defense mechanisms and antibiotic therapies. However, silver and zinc ions inhibit the attachment and proliferation of immature biofilms. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether it is possible to produce silver and zinc-containing glass polyalkenoate cement (GPC) coatings for medical devices that have antibacterial activity and which may therefore inhibit biofilm formation on a material surface. Two silver and zinc-containing …

Enhanced Recovery Of Mechanical Function In The Canine Heart By Seeding An Extracellular Matrix Patch With Mesenchymal Stem Cells Committed To A Cardiac Lineage., Glenn Gaudette, Irina Potapova, Sergey Doronin, Damon Kelly, Amy Rosen, Adam Schuldt, Zhongju Lu, Paul Kochupura, Richard Robinson, Michael Rosen, Peter Brink, Ira Cohen

Glenn R. Gaudette

The need to regenerate tissue is paramount, especially for the heart that lacks the ability to regenerate after injury. The urinary bladder extracellular matrix (ECM), when used to repair a right ventricular defect, successfully regenerated some mechanical function. The objective of the current study was to determine whether the regenerative effect of ECM could be improved by seeding the patch with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) enhanced to differentiate down a cardiac linage. hMSCs were used to form three-dimensional spheroids. The expression of cardiac proteins was determined in cells exposed to the spheroid formation and compared with nonmanipulated hMSCs. To …

Research For Propanediol, Chuen-Tat Kang

Kang Chuen Tat (江俊达)

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all parties involve in the contribution of the contents of the book. Without their efforts this book publication will never be made possible. This book summarizes the research experience of Chuen-Tat Kang comprehensively from year 2005 in Australia. Most portion of the book describes the biocatalysis research held in Swinburne University of Technology (www.swin.edu.au) and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Australia (www.csiro.gov.au) during the postgraduate doctorate studies in year 2005. Portion of the content of the scientific research experience could be viewed at the website http://chuentat.tripod.com. …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Temperature-Responsive Dendritic Peg-Pdlla Star Polymers For Drug Delivery, Arunvel Kailasan

Theses and Dissertations

This study describes a novel thermoresponsive dendritic polyethylene glycol-poly(D, L-lactide) (PEG-PDLLA) core-shell nanoparticle with potential for drug delivery and controlled release. A series of dendritic PEG-PDLLA nanoparticles were synthesized through conjugation of PEG to Starburst™ polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer G3.0 and subsequent ring-opening polymerization of DLLA, in which PEG chain length (i.e., MW=1500, 6000 or 12000 Dalton) was varied; however, the feeding molar ratio of DLLA monomers to the overall PEG repeat units on the dendrimer surface was kept at 1:1. Linear PEG-PDLLA copolymers were also syntheiszed under the same condition and used as control. According to our results, dendritic PEG-PDLLA …

Accelerometer Based Measurement Of Body Movement For Communication, Play, And Creative Expression, Mark Nolan, Edward Burke, Frank Duignan

Conference Papers

This paper presents a newly designed wireless accelerometer-based movement measurement device. The device is capable of measuring activity ranging from gross body movements to more subtle vibrations emanating from the body, including laryngeal vibration and the mechanomyogram (mechanical vibrations from working muscles). The main body of the device, which is less than 20cm3 in volume and weighs less than 50g, contains a microcontroller, wireless transceiver, battery, and one accelerometer. A supplementary accelerometer module is connected to the main device by thin wires. This module is very light weight and can therefore be directly attached to the skin to measure laryngeal …

Angiogenic Potential Of Human Macrophages On Electrospun Bioresorbable Vascular Grafts, Koyal Garg

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to investigate macrophage interactions with electrospun scaffolds and quantify the expression of vital angiogenic growth factors in vitro. This study will further help in evaluating the potential of these electrospun constructs as vascular grafts for tissue repair and regeneration in situ. Human peripheral blood macrophages were seeded in serum free media on electrospun (10 mm) discs of polydioxanone (PDO), elastin and PDO:elastin blends (50:50, 70:30 and 90:10). The growth factor secretion was analyzed by ELISA. Macrophages produced high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF). Transforming growth factor …

Extracellular Matrix Protein Orientation By Adsorption On Self-Assembled Monolayers Controls Nonviral Gene Delivery, Beth A. Duensing, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Conference Presentations and White Papers

To date, most efforts to understand and improve the efficiency of nonviral gene delivery have focused on altering the physicochemical properties of delivery systems and developing new delivery strategies. The importance of the cellular microenvironment in achieving successful nonviral gene transfer has not been thoroughly examined, though proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM) mediate cell adhesion and serve to regulate cellular behavior that may, in turn, dictate the cellular responsiveness to nonviral gene delivery. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols on gold were used to control adsorption of ECM molecules and thus control the architecture of the extracellular environment presented to …

Design And Optimization Of A Blood Vessel Mimic Bioreactor System For The Evaluation Of Intravascular Devices In Simple And Complex Vessel Geometries, Sara M. Leifer

Master's Theses

Coronary artery disease affects millions of people and the ability to detect and treat the disease is advancing at a rapid rate. As a result, the development of intravascular technologies is the focus of many medical device manufacturers. Specifically, coronary stent implantation is being performed in an increasing number of patients and a number of new stent designs have been introduced to the market, resulting in the need for improved preclinical testing methods. An in vitro tissue engineered “blood vessel mimic” (BVM) system has previously been established and its feasibility for the initial testing of newly emerging intravascular technology has …

Methodology Development For Three-Dimensional Mr-Guided Near Infrared Spectroscopy Of Breast Tumors, Colin M. Carpenter, Subhadra Srinivasan, Brian W. Pogue, Keith D. Paulsen

Dartmouth Scholarship

Combined Magnetic Resonance (MR) and Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) has been proposed as a unique method to quantify hemodynamics, water content, and cellular size and packing density of breast tumors, as these tissue constituents can be quantified with increased resolution and overlaid on the structural features identified by the MR. However, the choices in how to reconstruct and visualize this information can have a dramatic impact on the feasibility of implementing this modality in the clinic. This is especially true in 3 dimensions, as there is often limited optical sampling of the breast tissue, and methods need to accurately reflect …

Mechanisms Of Improved Knee Flexion After Rectus Femoris Transfer Surgery, M. D. Fox, Jeffrey A. Reinbolt, S. Ounpuu, S. L. Delp

Jeffrey A. Reinbolt

No abstract provided.

Implantable Biosensors For Real-Time Strain And Pressure Monitoring, Ee Lim Tan, Brandon D. Pereles, Brock Horton, Ranyuan Shao, Mohammed Zourob, Keat Ghee Ong

Michigan Tech Publications

Implantable biosensors were developed for real-time monitoring of pressure and strain in the human body. The sensors, which are wireless and passive, consisted of a soft magnetic material and a permanent magnet. When exposed to a low frequency AC magnetic field, the soft magnetic material generated secondary magnetic fields that also included the higher-order harmonic modes. Parameters of interest were determined by measuring the changes in the pattern of these higher-order harmonic fields, which was achieved by changing the intensity of a DC magnetic field generated by a permanent magnet. The DC magnetic field, or the biasing field, was altered …

Teaching Physiology To Biomedical Engineers Using Team-Based Learning And Inquiry Research, Trevor R. Cardinal

Biomedical Engineering

Presentation given at conference.

Volume Effects On Yield Strength Of Equine Cortical Bone, R. F. Bigley, J. C. Gibeling, S. M. Stover, S. J. Hazelwood, D. P. Fyhrie, R. B. Martin

Biomedical Engineering

Volume effects are a fundamental determinant of structural failure. A material exhibits a volume effect if its failure properties are dependent on the specimen volume. Many brittle ceramics exhibit volume effects due to loading a structure in the presence of “critical” flaws. The number of flaws, their locations, and the effect of stress field within the stressed volume play a role in determining the structure’s failure properties. Since real materials are imperfect, structures composed of large volumes of material have higher probabilities of containing a flaw than do small volumes. Consequently, large material volumes tend to fail at lower stresses …

Parameter Estimation Of The Arterial System, James Charles Carter Ii

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

There are a number of disorders that originate from or involve faulty operation of the cardiovascular system. Diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and hypertension can have a debilitating effect on blood flow. This makes the tools for simulating the effects of such diseases on blood flow important. Measures, such as pulse wave velocity, that are generated by models of the cardiovascular system can be important indicators of cardiac health. Although physically measurable, obtaining some parameters comes with a high cost and discomfort to the patient. Models can provide an assessment of many important parameters. The purpose of this project was …