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Biomedical Devices and Instrumentation

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Articles 1 - 17 of 17

Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Control Design And Implementation Of An Active Transtibial Prosthesis, Joseph Klein Jul 2018

Control Design And Implementation Of An Active Transtibial Prosthesis, Joseph Klein

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Prior work at Marquette University developed the Marquette Prosthesis, an active transtibial prosthesis that utilized a torsional spring and a four-bar mechanism. The controls for the Marquette Prosthesis implemented a finite state control algorithm to determine the state of gait of the amputee along with two lower level controllers, a PI moment controller to control the moment during stance and a PID position controller to control the position during stance. The Marquette Prosthesis was successful in mimicking the gait profile presented by Winter. However, after completing human subject testing, the Marquette Prosthesis was insufficient in trying to match the gait …

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Investigation Of The Effects Of Prosthetic Knee Condition On Novice Transfemoral Amputee Runners, Natalie Nelson Apr 2018

Investigation Of The Effects Of Prosthetic Knee Condition On Novice Transfemoral Amputee Runners, Natalie Nelson

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Some unilateral transfemoral amputees (TFAs) run in a prosthesis with an articulating prosthetic knee, others choose to run without a knee (prosthetic socket and foot are linked via a straight, non-articulating pylon) to increase stability. Research regarding unilateral TFA running with an unlocked versus locked prosthetic knee (approximately equivalent to the no-knee condition) with respect to energy cost and temporal metrics is limited; no studies have investigated the impact of knee condition on kinematic metrics. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the prosthetic knee of a running-specific prosthesis (RSP) should be unlocked or locked for unilateral TFAs …

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Collapsible Silicone Tubes: An In Vitro Model For Tracheal Traction, Kevin D. Garman Oct 2017

Collapsible Silicone Tubes: An In Vitro Model For Tracheal Traction, Kevin D. Garman

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent episodes of airway collapse and airflow limitation during sleep. Fragmented sleep and reductions in blood oxygen saturation lead to several comorbidities, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Longitudinal forces (tracheal traction) acting on the soft tissues surrounding the upper airway have been proposed to play a significant role in stabilizing the airway and preventing collapse. However, the relative contribution of longitudinal forces as compared to other factors that affect airway stability (airway geometry, tissue properties, muscle activity) remains unclear. This in-vitro study aimed to investigate to what extent longitudinal forces can …

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Effects Of Random Oscillations On Balance Control In Healthy Young Adults, Jacob Van Dehy Oct 2017

Effects Of Random Oscillations On Balance Control In Healthy Young Adults, Jacob Van Dehy

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In human walking, balance control is managed through proactive changes in spatio-temporal parameters of stepping [1]. It has been suggested that continuous disruptions to healthy young adult balance cause greater changes to overall variability of these parameters than a shift in the mean stepping parameters [2]. This suggests that walking may be occurring in a more reactive manner, modulating to maintain balance without increasing the mean significantly. Work using continuous oscillations to treadmill walking suggest there is an interplay between the predictability of a signal used to disrupt subject balance and the degree to which compensation occurs [3]. To determine …

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Developing An Imaging Biomarker To Detect Aberrant Brain Connectivity In Individual Patients, Esther Cox Apr 2017

Developing An Imaging Biomarker To Detect Aberrant Brain Connectivity In Individual Patients, Esther Cox

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) has been proven to be a valuable tool in clinical applications such as pre-surgical mapping, but there is not yet a functional and usable algorithm that can be used by physicians in a clinical setting to evaluate an individual patient for diseases and aberrant brain connectivity. If a physician wants to evaluate a patient in this way, the rsfMRI data must be looked at “by hand,” i.e. the physician must manually evaluate the data and identify the functional ICN’s and whether they are normal or aberrant. An algorithm that would automate this process and supplement …

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Evaluation Of An Actuated Wrist Orthosis For Use In Assistive Upper Extremity Rehabilitation, Devon Holley Oct 2016

Evaluation Of An Actuated Wrist Orthosis For Use In Assistive Upper Extremity Rehabilitation, Devon Holley

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological condition caused by damage to motor control centers of the brain. This leads to physical and cognitive deficiencies that can reduce an individual’s quality of life. Specifically, motor deficiencies of the upper extremity can make it difficult for an individual to complete everyday tasks, including eating, drinking, getting dressed, or combing their hair. Physical therapy, involving repetitive tasks, has been shown to be effective in training normal motion of the limb by invoking the neuroplasticity of the brain and its ability to adapt in order to facilitate motor learning. Creating a device for use …

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Functional Comparison Of Conventional Afos With The Dynamic Response Afo, Mitchell Ruble Jul 2016

Functional Comparison Of Conventional Afos With The Dynamic Response Afo, Mitchell Ruble

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are commonly prescribed to provide stability and foot clearance for patients with weakened or injured musculature. The Dynamic Response AFO (DRAFO) was designed to improve proprioception at heel strike. The design includes a rigid outer shell with a cut out heel and a soft inner lining; it is typically aligned in plantarflexion and may incorporate external heel wedges. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the DRAFO design features and contrast its biomechanical function with that of conventional locked and articulating AFOs. The research hypotheses were: 1) DRAFO-assisted gait parameters (e.g. ankle …

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Hockey Skating Kinematics And The Effect Of Skate Design And Technique Training, Rebecca Mae Tidman Oct 2015

Hockey Skating Kinematics And The Effect Of Skate Design And Technique Training, Rebecca Mae Tidman

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of technique training and hockey skate design on hockey skating performance. Fourteen male subjects, aged 12-16 years, with no recent skate treadmill experience completed ten training sessions on a skating treadmill. Instruction emphasized maximizing stride width by pushing laterally with the skate pointed anteriorly. Subjects were randomly placed into one of two experimental groups based on initial skate type: traditional or Easton Mako. After completion of five sessions, skate type was switched so that skate design effects could be assessed. In contrast to a traditional hockey skate design, the Easton …

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Mechanical Characterization Of Carbon Fiber And Thermoplastic Ankle Foot Orthoses, Amanda Wach Oct 2015

Mechanical Characterization Of Carbon Fiber And Thermoplastic Ankle Foot Orthoses, Amanda Wach

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The needs of an increasingly young and active orthotic patient population has led to advancements in ankle foot orthosis (AFO) design and materials to enable higher function. The Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis (IDEO) is a custom energy-storing carbon fiber AFO that has demonstrated improved clinical function, allowing patients to return to high-intensity activities such as sports and military service. An improved understanding of AFO mechanical function will aid prescription and fitting, as well as assist in design modifications for different patient populations. This study investigated the mechanical properties of AFOs, specifically structural stiffness, rotational motion, and strut deflection, to discern …

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Lpcoms: Towards A Low Power Wireless Smart-Shoe System For Gait Analysis In People With Disabilities, Ishmat Zerin Oct 2015

Lpcoms: Towards A Low Power Wireless Smart-Shoe System For Gait Analysis In People With Disabilities, Ishmat Zerin

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Gait analysis using smart sensor technology is an important medical diagnostic process and has many applications in rehabilitation, therapy and exercise training. In this thesis, we present a low power wireless smart-shoe system (LPcomS) to analyze different functional postures and characteristics of gait while walking. We have designed and implemented a smart-shoe with a Bluetooth communication module to unobtrusively collect data using smartphone in any environment. With the design of a shoe insole equipped with four pressure sensors, the foot pressure is been collected, and those data are used to obtain accurate gait pattern of a patient. With our proposed …

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Integrating Meal And Exercise Into Personalized Glucoregulation Models: Metabolic Dynamics And Diabetic Athletes, Sofie Schunk Oct 2015

Integrating Meal And Exercise Into Personalized Glucoregulation Models: Metabolic Dynamics And Diabetic Athletes, Sofie Schunk

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Diabetes affects nearly 26 million Americans, according to the American Diabetes Association, with as many as three million Americans who have Type 1 Diabetes (ADA, 2015). Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is autoimmune and characterized by little to no insulin production whereas Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) concerns insulin resistance and inability to use produced insulin. Factors contributing to current diabetes management and regulation include exercise type, daily movement activities, and distinct tissue compartment metabolism, each challenging to model in a robust and comprehensive manner. Past models are highly limited in regard to exercise and varying glucose fluctuations dependent on type, intensity, …

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Software Tools And Analysis Methods For The Use Of Electromagnetic Articulography Data In Speech Research, Andrew Kolb Apr 2015

Software Tools And Analysis Methods For The Use Of Electromagnetic Articulography Data In Speech Research, Andrew Kolb

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Recent work with Electromagnetic Articulography (EMA) has shown it to be an excellent tool for characterizing speech kinematics. By tracking the position and orientation of sensors placed on the jaws, lips, teeth and tongue as they move in an electromagnetic field, information about movement and coordination of the articulators can be obtained with great time resolution. This technique has far-reaching applications for advancing fields related to speech articulation, including recognition, synthesis, motor learning, and clinical assessments. As more EMA data becomes widely available, a growing need exists for software that performs basic processing and analysis functions. The objective of this …

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Kinematic Analysis Of The Glenohumeral Joint: A Comparison Of Post-Operative Rotator Cuff Repair Patients And Controls, Ryan Richard Inawat Oct 2014

Kinematic Analysis Of The Glenohumeral Joint: A Comparison Of Post-Operative Rotator Cuff Repair Patients And Controls, Ryan Richard Inawat

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Rotator cuff (RC) repair is a standard surgical intervention used to alleviate pain and loss of function in the shoulder due to torn RC tendons, involving re-attachment of the tendon to the humerus. Quantitative evaluation of kinematics following RC repair is possible with video motion analysis techniques, yet is rarely performed. With the purpose of quantifying the effects of RC repair, a Vicon 524 (Oxford, UK) motion analysis system was used to investigate three-dimensional (3D) kinematics of the glenohumeral (GH) joint and thorax following supraspinatus repair. A validated, 18 marker, inverse dynamics model based on ISB standards was applied to …

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Automated Selection Of The Optimal Cardiac Phase For Single-Beat Coronary Ct Angiography Reconstruction, Daniel Stassi Jul 2014

Automated Selection Of The Optimal Cardiac Phase For Single-Beat Coronary Ct Angiography Reconstruction, Daniel Stassi

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This thesis investigates an automated algorithm for selecting the optimal cardiac phase for CCTA reconstruction. Reconstructing a low-motion cardiac phase improves coronary artery visualization in coronary CT angiography (CCTA) exams. Currently, standard end-systole and/or mid-diastole default phases are prescribed or alternatively, quiescent phases are determined by the user. As manual selection may be time-consuming and standard locations may be suboptimal due to patient variability, an automated method is investigated. An automated algorithm was developed to select the optimal phase based on quantitative image quality (IQ) metrics. For each reconstructed slice at each reconstructed phase, an image quality metric was calculated …

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Markerless Analysis Of Upper Extremity Kinematics During Standardized Pediatric Assessment, Jacob R. Rammer Apr 2014

Markerless Analysis Of Upper Extremity Kinematics During Standardized Pediatric Assessment, Jacob R. Rammer

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy experience reduced motor performance in the affected upper extremity and are typically evaluated based on degree of functional impairment using activity-based assessments such as the Shriners Hospitals for Children Upper Extremity Evaluation (SHUEE), a validated clinical measure, to describe performance prior to and following rehabilitative or surgical interventions. Evaluations rely on subjective therapist scoring techniques and lack sensitivity to detect change. Objective clinical motion analysis systems are an available but time-consuming and cost-intensive alternative, requiring uncomfortable application of markers to the patient. There is currently no available markerless, low-cost system that quantitatively assesses upper extremity …

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Computational Evaluation Of Shear Stress And Restenosis In Stented Coronary Arteries Using Optical Coherence Tomography, Joshua K. Hughey Apr 2014

Computational Evaluation Of Shear Stress And Restenosis In Stented Coronary Arteries Using Optical Coherence Tomography, Joshua K. Hughey

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The cause of coronary artery neointimal thickness (NT) leading to restenosis in ~10% of drug-eluting stents (DES) is unknown, but adverse wall shear stress (WSS) may contribute. Prior studies comparing WSS to restenosis for first generation DES yielded conflicting results, and cited different mechanisms of action for DES agents. Studies to date have not accounted for stent geometry, which dictates local WSS patterns influencing drug concentration. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate current generation stent platforms via their WSS patterns and their respective impact on NT. We prospectively enrolled 19 patients, who were randomized to thin-strut (81μm) 2-link …

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Supraspinal Control Of Unilateral Locomotor Performance: An Fmri Study Using A Custom Pedaling Device, Brett Arand Oct 2013

Supraspinal Control Of Unilateral Locomotor Performance: An Fmri Study Using A Custom Pedaling Device, Brett Arand

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This study aimed to develop a novel unilateral pedaling device, validate its function, and use it in an fMRI study of bilateral vs. unilateral locomotor control. The new device is MRI compatible and allows for conventional coupled bilateral pedaling, along with decoupled unilateral pedaling. It was designed with an assistance mechanism to simulate the presence of the non-contributing leg while pedaling unilaterally. During coupled bilateral pedaling, the two legs work in unison: while one leg is extending in the downstroke, it provides support to lift the other leg back up as it is flexing in the upstroke. The device uses …

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