Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Correlates With Short-Term Myelopathy Outcome In Patients With Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy, Aditya Vedantam, Avinash Rao, Shekar N. Kurpad, Michael B. Jirjis, Gerald Eckardt, Brian D. Schmit, Marjorie C. Wang

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

To determine if spinal cord diffusion tensor imaging indexes correlate with short-term clinical outcome in patients undergoing elective cervical spine surgery for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM).

Methods

A prospective consecutive cohort study was performed in patients undergoing elective cervical spine surgery for CSM. After obtaining informed consent, patients with CSM underwent preoperative T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging of the cervical spine. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values at the level of maximum cord compression and at the noncompressed C1-2 level were calculated on axial images. We recorded the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) scale, Neck Disability Index, and …

Lessons Learned From A 10-Year Collaboration Between Biomedical Engineering And Industrial Design Students In Capstone Design Projects, Jay R. Goldberg, Pascal Malassigné

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Engineers and industrial designers have different approaches to problem solving. Both place heavy emphasis on identification of customer needs, manufacturing methods, and prototyping. Industrial designers focus on aesthetics, ergonomics, ease of use, manufacturing methods, and the user’s experience. They tend to be more visual and more concerned with the interaction between users and products. Engineers focus on functionality, performance requirements, analytical modeling, and design verification and validation. They tend to be more analytical and more concerned with the design of internal components and product performance. Engineers and industrial designers often work together on project teams in industry. Collaboration between the …

Limb Stabilization In Older Adults And Chronic Stroke Survivors: A Pilot Study, Raymond C. Doudlah, Robert A. Scheidt, Aaron J. Suminski

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Visual fidelity influences many aspects of daily living, including stabilizing wrist movements against environmental perturbations. Here, we present a pilot investigation to determine how visual feedback impacts wrist stabilization for populations with age related declines in motor function and chronic stroke. To quantify these interactions, behavioral performance and local brain activation were observed during a task requiring stabilization of the wrist against constant and stochastic extensor torque perturbations. All subjects were better able to stabilize their wrist when veridical visual feedback of their limb was provided. Examination of the neural activation maps in the Control and Aging populations revealed patterns …

Effects Of Training Intensity On Locomotor Performance In Individuals With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Crossover Study, Gabrielle Brazg, Meghan Fahey, Carey L. Holleran, Mark Connolly, Jane Woodward, Patrick W. Hennessy, Brian D. Schmit, T. George Hornby

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background. Many physical interventions can improve locomotor function in individuals with motor incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI), although the training parameters that maximize recovery are not clear. Previous studies in individuals with other neurologic injuries suggest the intensity of locomotor training (LT) may positively influence walking outcomes. However, the effects of intensity during training of individuals with iSCI have not been tested. Objective. The purpose of this pilot, blinded-assessor randomized trial was to evaluate the effects of LT intensity on walking outcomes in individuals with iSCI. Methods. Using a crossover design, ambulatory participants with iSCI >1 year duration performed either …

How A Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review Of Nidilrr’S Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers, David J. Reinkensmeyer, Sarah Blackstone, Cathy Bodine, John Brabyn, David Brienza, Kevin Caves, Frank Deruyter, Edmund Durfee, Stefania Fatone, Geoff Fernie, Steven Gard, Patricia Karg, Todd A. Kuiken, Gerald F. Harris, Mike Jones, Yue Li, Jordana Maisel, Michael Mccue, Michelle A. Meade, Helena Mitchell, Tracy L. Mitzner, James L. Patton, Philip S. Requejo, James H. Rimmer, Wendy A. Rogers, W. Zev Rymer, Jon A. Sanford, Lawrence Schneider, Levin Sliker, Stephen Sprigle, Aaron Steinfeld, Edward Steinfeld, Gregg Vanderheiden, Carolee Winstein, Li-Qun Zhang, Thomas Corfman

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their …

Structurofunctional Resting-State Networks Correlate With Motor Function In Chronic Stroke, Benjamin Kalinosky, Reivian B. Barillas, Brian D. Schmit

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

Motor function and recovery after stroke likely rely directly on the residual anatomical connections in the brain and its resting-state functional connectivity. Both structural and functional properties of cortical networks after stroke are revealed using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging(MRI). Specifically, functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) can extract functional networks of the brain at rest, while structural connectivity can be estimated from white matter fiber orientations measured with high angular-resolutiondiffusion imaging (HARDI). A model that marries these two techniques may be the key to understanding functional recovery after stroke. In this study, a novel set of voxel-level measures …

Resting State Functional Network Disruptions In A Kainic Acid Model Of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy., Ravnoor Singh Gill, Seyed M Mirsattari, L Stan Leung

Physiology and Pharmacology Publications

We studied the graph topological properties of brain networks derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in a kainic acid induced model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in rats. Functional connectivity was determined by temporal correlation of the resting-state Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signals between two brain regions during 1.5% and 2% isoflurane, and analyzed as networks in epileptic and control rats. Graph theoretical analysis revealed a significant increase in functional connectivity between brain areas in epileptic than control rats, and the connected brain areas could be categorized as a limbic network and a default mode network (DMN). The …

Transient Alt Activation Protects Human Primary Cells From Chromosome Instability Induced By Low Chronic Oxidative Stress, Elisa Coluzzi, Rossella Buonsante, Stefano Leone, Anthony J. Asmar, Kelley L. Miller, Daniela Cimini, Antonella Sgura

Bioelectrics Publications

Cells are often subjected to the effect of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a result of both intracellular metabolism and exposure to exogenous factors. ROS-dependent oxidative stress can induce 8-oxodG within the GGG triplet found in the G-rich human telomeric sequence (TTAGGG), making telomeres highly susceptible to ROS-induced oxidative damage. Telomeres are nucleoprotein complexes that protect the ends of linear chromosomes and their dysfunction is believed to affect a wide range of cellular and/or organismal processes. Acute oxidative stress was shown to affect telomere integrity, but how prolonged low level oxidative stress, which may be more physiologically relevant, affects telomeres …

Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Induced Changes In Cell Surface Charge Density, Diganta Dutta, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Anthony Asmar, Michael Stacey, Shizhi Qian

Bioelectrics Publications

This study reports that the surface charge density changes in Jurkat cells with the application of single 60 nanosecond pulse electric fields, using atomic force microscopy. Using an atomic force microscope tip and Jurkat cells on silica in a 0.01 M KCl ionic concentration, we were able to measure the interfacial forces, while also predicting surface charge densities of both Jurkat cell and silica surfaces. The most important finding is that the pulsing conditions varyingly reduced the cells' surface charge density. This offers a novel way in which to examine cellular effects of pulsed electric fields that may lead to …

Smartphone Based Optical Spectrometer For Diffusive Reflectance Spectroscopic Measurement Of Hemoglobin, Perry Edwards, Chenji Zhang, Baigang Zhang, Xiangqian Hong, Vivek K. Nagarajan, Bing Yu, Zhiwen Liu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We report a miniature, visible to near infrared G-Fresnel spectrometer that contains a complete spectrograph system, including the detection hardware and connects with a smartphone through a microUSB port for operational control. The smartphone spectrometer is able to achieve a resolution of ~5 nm in a wavelength range from 400 nm to 1000 nm. We further developed a diffuse reflectance spectroscopy system using the smartphone spectrometer and demonstrated the capability of hemoglobin measurement. Proof of concept studies of tissue phantoms yielded a mean error of 9.2% on hemoglobin concentration measurement, comparable to that obtained with a commercial benchtop spectrometer. The …

Antibody-Nanoparticle Conjugates To Enhance The Sensitivity Of Elisa-Based Detection Methods., Margaret M Billingsley, Rachel S. Riley, Emily S Day

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

Accurate antigen detection is imperative for clinicians to diagnose disease, assess treatment success, and predict patient prognosis. The most common technique used for the detection of disease-associated biomarkers is the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In an ELISA, primary antibodies are incubated with biological samples containing the biomarker of interest. Then, detectible secondary antibodies conjugated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) bind the primary antibodies. Upon addition of a color-changing substrate, the samples provide a colorimetric signal that directly correlates to the targeted biomarker concentration. While ELISAs are effective for analyzing samples with high biomarker content, they lack the sensitivity required to …

Evaluating Outer Segment Length As A Surrogate Measure Of Peak Foveal Cone Density, Melissa A. Wilk, Brandon M. Wilk, Christopher S. Langlo, Robert F. Cooper, Joseph Carroll

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Adaptive optics (AO) imaging tools enable direct visualization of the cone photoreceptor mosaic, which facilitates quantitative measurements such as cone density. However, in many individuals, low image quality or excessive eye movements precludes making such measures. As foveal cone specialization is associated with both increased density and outer segment (OS) elongation, we sought to examine whether OS length could be used as a surrogate measure of foveal cone density. The retinas of 43 subjects (23 normal and 20 albinism; aged 6–67 years) were examined. Peak foveal cone density was measured using confocal adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO), and OS …

Lung Injury Pathways: Adenosine Receptor 2b Signaling Limits Development Of Ischemic Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pneumonia, John C. Densmore, Terry R. Schaid, Paul M. Jeziorczak, Meetha Medhora, Said H. Audi, Shraddha Nayak, John Auchampach, Melinda R. Dwinell, Aron M. Geurts, Elizabeth R. Jacobs

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose/Aim of the Study: Adenosine signaling was studied in bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) resulting from unilateral lung ischemia. Materials and Methods: Ischemia was achieved by either left main pulmonary artery or complete hilar ligation. Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats, Dahl salt sensitive (SS) rats and SS mutant rat strains containing a mutation in the A_2B adenosine receptor gene (Adora2b) were studied. Adenosine concentrations were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) by HPLC. A_2A (A_2AAR) and A_2B adenosine receptor (A_2BAR) mRNA and protein were quantified. Results: Twenty-four hours after unilateral PA …

A Comprehensive Dosimetric Study On Switching From A Type-B To A Type-C Dose Algorithm For Modern Lung Sbrt, Christina Zhou, Nathan Bennion, Rongtao Ma, Xiaoying Liang, Shuo Wang, Kristina Zvolanek, Megan Hyun, Xiaobo Li, Sumin Zhou, Weining Zhen, Chi Lin, Andrew Wahl, Dandan Zheng

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Background: Type-C dose algorithms provide more accurate dosimetry for lung SBRT treatment planning. However, because current dosimetric protocols were developed based on conventional algorithms, its applicability for the new generation algorithms needs to be determined. Previous studies on this issue used small sample sizes and reached discordant conclusions. Our study assessed dose calculation of a Type-C algorithm with current dosimetric protocols in a large patient cohort, in order to demonstrate the dosimetric impacts and necessary treatment planning steps of switching from a Type-B to a Type-C dose algorithm for lung SBRT planning.

Methods: Fifty-two lung SBRT patients were included, each …

A Method For Measuring The Attachment Strength Of The Cestode Hymenolepis Diminuta To The Rat Intestine, Wanchuan Xie, Gábor R. Rácz, Benjamin S. Terry, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

A unique adaptation of many internal parasites of mammals is their ability to stay in the intestine for extended periods of time and resist the normal peristaltic movements and forces that push and expel material. To better understand parasite adhesion behavior and replicate their attachment method in medical devices, an experiment was designed and performed using the rat tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta. The experiment employed a tensile test machine and a digital scale and was designed to calculate the attachment strength of the scolex to the mucosa through the change of the value of the digital scale during the tensile …

Biom 3110: Medical Physiology (Syllabus), Bradford D. Pendley

Biomedical Engineering Syllabi

Course Description: Basic principles of human physiology and how these are applied in medicine and biomedical engineering problem and devices; physiological principles using appropriate mathematical and engineering models to construct an understanding of how the body works as an integrated system.

Biom 4110/6110: The Science Of Medicine (Syllabus), Bradford D. Pendley

Biomedical Engineering Syllabi

Course Description: Integration of fundamental principles from physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics, and applications of these principles to solve problems in medicine.