Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Computer Modeling And Signal Analysis Of Cardiovascular Physiology, Henian Xia

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation aims to study cardiovascular physiology from the cellular level to the whole heart level to the body level using numerical approaches.

A mathematical model was developed to describe electromechanical interaction in the heart. The model integrates cardio-electrophysiology and cardiac mechanics through excitation-induced contraction and deformation-induced currents. A finite element based parallel simulation scheme was developed to investigate coupled electrical and mechanical functions. The developed model and numerical scheme were utilized to study cardiovascular dynamics at cellular, tissue and organ levels. The influence of ion channel blockade on cardiac alternans was investigated. It was found that the channel blocker …

Quaternionic Attitude Estimation With Inertial Measuring Unit For Robotic And Human Body Motion Tracking Using Sequential Monte Carlo Methods With Hyper-Dimensional Spherical Distributions, Gary To

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the inertial tracking technology for robotics and human tracking applications. This is a multi-discipline research that builds on the embedded system engineering, Bayesian estimation theory, software engineering, directional statistics, and biomedical engineering.

A discussion of the orientation tracking representations and fundamentals of attitude estimation are presented briefly to outline the some of the issues in each approach. In addition, a discussion regarding to inertial tracking sensors gives an insight to the basic science and limitations in each of the sensing components.

An initial experiment was conducted with existing inertial tracker to study the feasibility of using this …

Melt Blown Poly(Lactic Acid) For Application As A Tissue Engineering Scaffold, William Horst Gazzola

Masters Theses

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was melt blown (MB) under varying processing conditions to create webs with micro and nano-architecture. Processing parameters varied were primary air flow rate and collector distance. In total, twenty-one webs were produced and the physical properties of the webs were investigated including, mean fiber diameter and fiber diameter distribution, mean pore diameter and pore size distribution, web thickness, degree of crystallinity, tensile modulus and degradation rate. Four webs, two with micro and two with nano-architecture, thought suitable for use as tissue engineering scaffolds were selected for seeding with A375 human malignant melanoma cells. Cell culture was conducted …

A Fully Coupled Model For Electromechanics Of The Heart, Henian Xia, Kwai Wong, Xiaopeng Zhao

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering

We present a fully coupled electromechanical model of the heart. The model integrates cardiac electrophysiology and cardiac mechanics through excitation-induced contraction and deformation-induced current. Numerical schemes based on finite element were implemented in a supercomputer. Numerical examples were presented using a thin cardiac tissue and a dog ventricle with realistic geometry. Performance of the parallel simulation scheme was studied. The model provides a useful tool to understand cardiovascular dynamics.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/927279

Modulation Of Bone And Nerve Cell Behavior Using Biodegradable Polymer Networks, Lei Cai

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents novel biodegradable and photo-crosslinkable building blocks to achieve polymer networks with controlled surface chemistry, stiffness, and topographical features for investigating cell-material interactions and targeting hard and soft tissue engineering applications. Chapter I reviews the recent progress in polymeric gel systems and how their physical properties can be tailored to regulate cell functions and satisfy the clinical needs. Chapter II presents a facile method to synthesize photo-crosslinkable poly(epsilon-caprolactone) acrylates (PCLAs) and reveal tunable cell responses to photo-crosslinked PCLAs. Chapter III investigates the mechanism of colorization in preparing crosslinkable polymers by reacting hydroxyl-containing polymers with unsaturated anhydrides or acyl …

Vision-Based Robot Control In The Context Of Human-Machine Interactions, Andrzej Nycz

Doctoral Dissertations

This research has explored motion control based on visual servoing – in the context of complex human-machine interactions and operations in realistic environments. Two classes of intelligent robotic systems were studied in this context: operator assistance with a high dexterity telerobotic manipulator performing remote tooling-centric tasks, and a bio-robot for X-ray imaging of lower extremity human skeletal joints during natural walking. The combination of human-machine interactions and practical application scenarios has led to the following fundamental contributions: 1) exploration and evaluation of a new concept of acquiring fluoroscope images of musculoskeletal features of interest during natural human motion, 2) creation …

Three-Dimensional Kinematic Analysis Using The Xbox Kinect, Robert Matthew Wham

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Novel Imaging System For Automatic Real-Time 3d Patient-Specific Knee Model Reconstruction Using Ultrasound Rf Data, Rimon Adel Messiha Tadross

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation introduces a novel imaging method and system for automatic real-time 3D patient-specific knee model reconstruction using ultrasound RF data. The developed method uses ultrasound to transcutaneously digitize a point cloud representing the bone’s surface. This point cloud is then used to reconstruct 3D bone model using deformable models method.

In this work, three systems were developed for 3D knee bone model reconstruction using ultrasound RF data. The first system uses tracked single-element ultrasound transducer, and was experimented on 12 knee phantoms. An average reconstruction accuracy of 0.98 mm was obtained. The second system was developed using an ultrasound …

Development And Experimental Analysis Of Wireless High Accuracy Ultra-Wideband Localization Systems For Indoor Medical Applications, Michael Joseph Kuhn

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses several interesting and relevant problems in the field of wireless technologies applied to medical applications and specifically problems related to ultra-wideband high accuracy localization for use in the operating room. This research is cross disciplinary in nature and fundamentally builds upon microwave engineering, software engineering, systems engineering, and biomedical engineering. A good portion of this work has been published in peer reviewed microwave engineering and biomedical engineering conferences and journals. Wireless technologies in medicine are discussed with focus on ultra-wideband positioning in orthopedic surgical navigation. Characterization of the operating room as a medium for ultra-wideband signal transmission …

Characteristics And Functionalities Of Natural And Bioinspired Nanomaterials, Lijin Xia

Doctoral Dissertations

Green nanoscience is a rapidly emerging field that aims to achieve the maximum performance and benefits from nanotechnology, while minimizing the impact on the environment. In this study, several methods for the green nanomanufacturing of biomedically important nanomaterials, specifically through the use of natural plants, have been extensively investigated. It was found that natural nanomaterials are inherent within plants, and can be further manipulated for potential biomedical applications. In addition, the metabolites and reductive capacity of plant extracts can be used to synthesize metallic nanoparticles with advantages over semi-conductor based nanomaterials. Nanoparticles were found to exist in the extracts produced …