Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Analysis And Enhancement Of Human Cognitive Control Using Noninvasive Brain-Computer Interfaces, Soheil Borhani

Doctoral Dissertations

Cognitive control including attention and working memory are crucial to human daily life. Whether a civilian who walks across a street or a military service member who is responsible for navigating a mission, cognitive control is involved, entirely. This ability is subject to impairment. People with attention disorder are easily disposed to distraction and lacks the ability to maintain the focus to a task. Multiple treatment strategies have been suggested which most of them has been pharmaceutical. Evidently, the medical treatment has side effects for long-term use. Moreover, it has a risk of drug misuse. Another line of treatment is …

Assessment Of The Use Of Low Molecular Weight Diblock Copolymers For The Formation Of Stable, Tunable Droplet Interface Bilayers, Joseph Tawfik

Masters Theses

This thesis presents the use of diblock copolymers, poly(butadiene)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PB_m PEO_n) and poly(isoprene)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PI_mPEO_n), as amphiphilic molecular building blocks for the formation of synthetic polymer bilayer membranes using the droplet interface bilayer (DIB) technique. The DIB technique makes use of the self-assembly of amphiphilic macromolecules along oil-water droplet interfaces that can then be physically connected for the construction of liquid supported macromolecular bilayers at the droplet interface. These bilayer membranes are capable of hosting both naturally occurring and synthetic protein channels. This technique has been used to form synthetic bilayer membranes …

Inter-Droplet Membranes For Mechanical Sensing Applications, Nima Tamaddoni Jahromi

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation combines self-assembly phenomena of amphiphilic molecules with soft materials to create and characterize mechanoelectrical transducers and sensors whose sensing elements are thin-film bioinspired membranes comprised of phospholipids or amphiphilic polymers. We show that the structures of these amphiphilic molecules tune the mechanical and electrical properties of these membranes. We show that these properties affect the mechanoelectrical sensing characteristic and range of operation of these membrane transducers. In the experiments, we construct and characterize a membrane-based hair cell embodiment that enables the membrane to be responsive to mechanical perturbations of the hair. The resulting oscillations of membranes formed between …

Alternating Current Electrokinetics Based Capacitive Affinity Biosensor: A Point-Of-Care Diagnostic Platform, Haochen Cui

Doctoral Dissertations

Capacitive bioaffinity detection using microelectrodes is considered as a promising label-free method for point-of-care diagnosis, though with challenges in sensitivity, specificity and the time “from sample to result.” This work presents an alternating current (AC)-electrokinetic based capacitive affinity sensing method that is capable of realizing rapid in-situ detection of specific biomolecular interactions such as probe-analyte binding. The capacitive biosensor presented here employs elevated AC potentials at a fixed frequency for impedimetric interrogation of the microelectrodes. Such an AC signal is capable of inducing dielectrophoresis (DEP) and AC electrothermal (ACET) effects, so as to realize in-situ enrichment of macro and even …

Wirelesseeg: Data Aquisition + Handheld Device, Michael Dylan Snowden, Madeline Threatt, Brent Mcferrin, David Platillero, Karsten Solies, Lindsey Hopf

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Dynamic Complexity And Causality Analysis Of Scalp Eeg For Detection Of Cognitive Deficits, Joseph Curtis Mcbride

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the potential of scalp electroencephalography (EEG) for the detection and evaluation of neurological deficits due to moderate/severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Neurological disorders often cannot be accurately diagnosed without the use of advanced imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET). Non-quantitative task-based examinations are also used. None of these techniques, however, are typically performed in the primary care setting. Furthermore, the time and expense involved often deters physicians from performing them, leading to potential worse prognoses for patients.

If …

Developing Chitosan-Based Biomaterials For Brain Repair And Neuroprosthetics, Zheng Cao

Masters Theses

Chitosan is widely investigated for biomedical applications due to its excellent properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioadhesivity, antibacterial, etc. In the field of neural engineering, it has been extensively studied in forms of film and hydrogel, and has been used as scaffolds for nerve regeneration in the peripheral nervous system and spinal cord. One of the main issues in neural engineering is the incapability of neuron to attach on biomaterials. The present study, from a new aspect, aims to take advantage of the bio-adhesive property of chitosan to develop chitosan-based materials for neural engineering, specifically in the fields of brain …