Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Growth And Expression Of Halorhodopsin For Application In A Protein-Based Artificial Retina, Megan Ryan Gillespie

Honors Scholar Theses

Halorhodopsin (HR), a light-activated chloride ion pump, demonstrates potential for use as the scaffolding in an artificial retina. Retinal implants are needed to restore vision to people afflicted with ophthalmic diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). A protein-based chloride ion-patch would be utilized by the eye to create an influx of chloride ions, similar to ion concentrations in healthy retinas during the conversion of light stimuli to electrochemical signals. This protein-based retinal prosthesis will directly stimulate the bipolar cells of the retina, replacing the function of damaged photoreceptor cells. Other alternative treatments for AMD and …

Electronic Circuit To Mimic The Neural Network For The Saccade Controller, Justin D. Morse

Honors Scholar Theses

The proposed device is an electronic circuit that mimics the neural network controlling fast eye movements, or saccades. The device simulates the signals produced by each neuronal population during the control of a horizontal saccade and allows for observing and recording. It will serve as a valuable teaching tool in the field of neural control. Furthermore, the device will have applications in the realm of diagnosing and properly treating brain injury. Finally, this device could be incorporated into a system for controlling the eye movements of a realistic, artificially intelligent robot.

The FitzHugh-Nagumo model of the action potential is used …

Improved Tissue Caliper, Kenneth Ted-Luck Hung

Honors Scholar Theses

My honors thesis will be covering the work that I am doing for my senior design project. My senior design project involves building a tissue caliper for medical device company, Covidien. During medical research and development it is often necessary to measure and document the thickness of tissue samples and media (simulated tissue foam). A device known as a tissue caliper is currently used to perform such measurements. Our project requires us to design, build, calibrate, and validate an instrument, which will be capable of measuring sample thicknesses ranging from 0.10 to 1.00 inches with an accuracy of ± 0.005 …