Engineering Commons^™

Psychophysical Similarity Based Feature Selection For Nodule Retrieval In Ct, Ravi K. Samala

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The emerging paradigms in cancer research indicate the need for a multi-perspective and multi-modal screening approach for early lung cancer diagnosis to increase the probability of clinical resection. Currently no standalone screening methodology is proved to suffice for a clinical diagnosis. Computed tomography has been proved to present abnormality at an early stage with less impact on survival rate in population studies. Nevertheless, because of its non-invasive characteristic, it can be used for diagnosis, prognosis and visualization of tumor. Studies have shown that Computer aided diagnosis (CAD) as a second reader can perform in a similar capacity as a radiologist. …

Bioprinting Oxygen Releasing Microparticles For Improved Cell Tissue Viability, Daniel Reyna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A major challenge in regenerative medicine/tissue engineering is the difficulty of providing adequate oxygen to all cells within implanted engineered tissues before full vascularization is achieved. To overcome this limitation, a variety of oxygen-releasing particles have been developed to improve cell and tissue survival. However, most of these particles are used in random mixtures within scaffolding materials, which usually leads to an uneven distribution of oxygen in bioengineered tissues. An ideal oxygen supply requires a precise depositing control of oxygen-releasing particles in scaffolds. Cell bioprinting is a novel tissue fabrication approach, in which the bio-printer can be programmed to deposit …

Novel Photovoltaic Device For Targeted Drug Delivery, Sunny S. Ambure

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite decades of research, progress in targeted drug delivery is relatively slow, hampered, in part, by the lack of appropriate mechanisms to deliver anticancer drugs selectively to tumor tissues. Systemic or oral administration can cause severe toxicity, which limits the therapeutic potential of anticancer drugs [1]. Therefore, the most important goal of drug delivery is to minimize the exposure of normal tissues to these drugs while maintaining their therapeutic concentration in tumors.

A photovoltaic cell (PV) is a system that converts lights into electricity as well as induces charge transfer by photovoltaic effect. Motivated by such unique property, we have …

Impulse Oscillometric Features And Parsimonious Respiratory Models Track Small Airway Function In Hispanic And Anglo Children, Erika Guadalupe Meraz Tena

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the peripheral (small) airways resulting in airway hyper-reactivity and, among other symptoms, airflow obstruction. It is the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease in children. Reliable and patient-friendly instruments and methods are required to help pulmonologists accurately detect asthma and Small Airway Impairment (SAI) with acceptable clinical accuracy, specificity and sensitivity. Impulse Oscillometry System (IOS) based on the Forced Oscillation Technique (FOT) has been successfully used to measure lung function in children with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity to SAI and Asthma. IOS is a patient-friendly lung function to measure the mechanical impedance …

An Investigation Into The Effect Of Blood Glucose Level Changes On Lf/Hf Parameter Of Hrv Signal In Non-Diabetic And Diabetic Individuals, Reza M. Amanipour

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The analysis of time duration between consecutive R waves of electrocardiogram (ECG) is a standard method to evaluate the variations in heart rate. The physiological literature reveals that blood glucose levels modulate the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and heart rate variability (HRV) is representative of the cardiovascular autonomic function. In the research, an investigation was carried out to investigate the relationship between HRV signal measures derived from ECG and arterial blood glucose changes in five non-diabetic and five diabetic individuals during normoglycemic and mildly hyperglycemic conditions. A CleveLabs BioCapture wireless device was used to acquire ECG signals from ten …

Spatio-Temporal Cardiac Pacing Sites Localization And Time Varying Pericardium Potential Maps Projection Using Ecg Precordial Leads And A Single Moving Dipole Model, Jaime R. De La Cruz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A novel non-invasive method for the spatiotemporal localization of the sites of strongest cardiac activity, and for the creation of time varying Pericardium Potential Maps (PPM), with the use of patients' ECG precordial leads, is proposed in this Thesis study. Compared to previous studies, which analyze electrocardiograms in either time domain or spatial domain, the proposed method has the advantage of a simultaneous spatiotemporal electrocardiograph analysis and a 3-D visualization of pericardium potentials maps, as well as, the pericardium surface polarization patterns during the cardiac cycle. The spatial properties added to the electrocardiogram allow for the analysis of specific regions …

Modeling Impulse Oscillometry Data: Using Augmented-Ric And Extended-Ric Respiratory Impedance Model Paramaters To Track Pulmonary Health And Disease, Carlos Domingo Ramos Rocha

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Respiratory diseases are a great health concern. Early detection of disease could greatly improve quality of life and yet the most common pulmonary function test can be an unreliable diagnostic method, especially in the case of children. A reliable method of detecting and assessing small airway impairment could greatly help with timely diagnosis. This research approaches this problem by taking Impulse Oscillometry (IOS) data and its model-derived parameters and assessing their utility in tracking respiratory function and more specifically, small airway function.

This research first describes the use of electric circuits as models to describe lung properties at distinct regions …