Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Acromial Insufficiency Fractures In Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Biomechanical Study, Alicia Kerrigan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) is increasingly utilized in the aging population, with a growing list of surgical indications including rotator cuff tear arthropathy, proximal humerus fractures, and revision arthroplasty. Acromial insufficiency fractures following RTSA are poorly understood, difficult to diagnose, and associated with inferior clinical outcomes. There is limited knowledge in the literature regarding the etiology of post-operative acromial fractures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of implant parameters on acromial strain following RTSA.

Using a cadaveric model, a custom designed modular RTSA system was implanted that allowed for evaluation of modifiable parameters including glenoid …

Hip And Knee Biomechanics For Transtibial Amputees In Gait, Cycling, And Elliptical Training, Greg Orekhov

Master's Theses

Transtibial amputees are at increased risk of contralateral hip and knee joint osteoarthritis, likely due to abnormal biomechanics. Biomechanical challenges exist for transtibial amputees in gait and cycling; particularly, asymmetry in ground/pedal reaction forces and joint kinetics is well documented and state-of-the-art passive and powered prostheses do not fully restore natural biomechanics. Elliptical training has not been studied as a potential exercise for rehabilitation, nor have any studies been published that compare joint kinematics and kinetics and ground/pedal reaction forces for the same group of transtibial amputees in gait, cycling, and elliptical training. The hypothesis was that hip and knee …

Experimental Determination Of Motion Parameters And Path Forces Of Robot-Driven Glenoid Reaming Procedure, Mayank Sharma

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Glenoid reaming is one of the most challenging milestones of the total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) procedure. For a successful TSA, adequate bone resurfacing is required to ensure a well-conformed positioning of the implant onto the native bone.

In this study, a light-weight robot was employed to assert a prescribed thrust-force and reaming depth to mimic clinical practice. Reaming of bone-analogs indicated that specimen density had a linear relationship with reamer velocity and apparent machining stiffness. Human cadaveric bone studies confirmed a linear relationship between specimen density and reamer velocity in both subchondral and cancellous regions of the glenoid. A reaming …

Impoved Hardware Design Of Iot Prosthetic Device, Yu Wang, Warren Hunter, Xiaolin Chen, Housney Ahmed, Haneefah Safo

Publications and Research

Our previous IoT based prosthetic arm prototype used servo motors to control finger movement through an Arduino Mega, which is connected to the muscle, pulse, and temperature sensors. The Arduino Mega was also connected to a Raspberry Pi 3 model B to transfer data from/to an online web application. One major limitation encountered during testing this prosthetic device was the space occupied by these components, which makes the device bulky. In addition, these servo motors cannot control the movement of the prosthetic device precisely. In this paper, we propose to improve on the existing prosthetic limb prototype by transitioning the …

Computational Aerodynamics And Anatomical Characterization Of Laryngotracheal Stenosis In Children, William Poynot

LSU Master's Theses

Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a health condition in which an obstruction in the upper trachea can cause breathing difficulties and increased incidence of infection, among other symptoms. Occurring most commonly due to intubation in infants, LTS often requires corrective surgery. Currently, clinical methods of assessing the blockage region are simplistic and subjective, and it is challenging to determine the most effective surgical strategy for any given patient. In the present work, a comprehensive methodology is proposed for characterizing the stenosis region both in terms of its anatomical parameters and its corresponding aerodynamic properties. The combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) …

Using Electromyography Of Five Muscles And Joint Angle To Predict Knee Joint Moment, Mohamadreza Karimi Bokti, Alireza Hashemi Oskouei

Conference Presentations

Forces and moments acting on joints is of great importance in different fields of biomechanics such as ergonomics, sports biomechanics, and rehabilitation. EMG driven models can be used to estimate forces and moments acting on joints. The current study aimed to propose a model for prediction of knee joint moment using EMG signals detected from muscles and knee joint angle. Electromyography of knee muscles, knee joint angle and moment were recorded simultaneously during the extension-flexion movement in three young men using an isokinetic system. The model for estimating knee joint moment was developed using multiple linear regression. In order to …

Microfluidic Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy, John J. Foley

Master's Theses

The goal of this study is to design and manufacture a microfluidic device capable of measuring changes in impedance valuesof microfluidic cell cultures. Tocharacterize this, an interdigitated array of electrodes was patterned over glass, where it was then bonded to a series of fluidic networks created in PDMS via soft lithography. The device measured ethanol impedance initially to show that values remain consistent over time. Impedance values of water and 1% wt. saltwater were compared to show that the device is able to detect changes in impedance, with up to a 60% reduction in electrical impedance in saltwater. Cells were …

Flow Chamber For Confocal Tracking Of Particles In Bone, Brennan Flannery, Russell Main, Xiaoyu Xu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Interstitial fluid flow in the lacunar-canalicular system (LCS) of bone is recognized as a potential regulator of bone remodeling. Movement of fluid across bone cells called osteocytes regulates gene expression that leads to either bone formation or resorption. Interstitial fluid moves in response to bone loading during daily activity, and bone growth occurs to compensate for these loads, affecting bone shape and strength. While interstitial fluid flow is thoroughly studied using computational models, there is a critical need to study flow in real bone samples with imaging techniques. Flow velocities determined from imaging will be more accurate than computational models …

Bacteria Movement Near Surfaces, Shulin Wang, Adib Ahmadzadegan, Arezoo Ardekani

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Understanding the behaviors of bacteria near surfaces is crucial in many biological and ecological applications. This knowledge can be used to hinder undesired biofilm formation on medical instruments and wounds. On top of that, it could also provide further insights in biodegradation of dispersed oil. In this work, the behavior of Escherichia Coli near a surface was experimentally studied. We utilized an inverted microscope in the phase filed illumination mode and processed acquired images to track the motions of bacteria near surfaces with high accuracy and repeatability. Distribution of the cells when they reached a steady state shows that the …

Inverse Dynamic Analysis Of Acl Reconstructed Knee Joint Biomechanics During Gait And Cycling Using Opensim, Megan V. Pottinger

Master's Theses

ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries of the knee joint alter biomechanics and may cause abnormal loading conditions that place patients at a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis (OA). There are multiple types of ACL reconstruction (ACLR), but all types aim to restore anterior tibial translation and internal tibial rotation following surgery. Analyzing knee joint contact loads provide insight into the loading conditions following ACLR that may contribute to the long-term development of OA. Ten ACLR subjects, who underwent the same reconstruction, performed gait and cycling experiments while kinematic and kinetic data were collected. Inverse dynamic analyses were performed on processed …

Epithelial Sheet Response To External Stimuli, Yashar Bashirzadeh

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Mechanical communication of adherent cells with their micro-environment is mediated by cytoskeletal and adhesion proteins. These mechanical links aid tissues in maintaining their coherence in the context of the surrounding extra cellular matrix (ECM). Epithelial tissues exert force on the ECM through integrin-based junctions and maintain their coherency through E-cadherin-based cell-cell junctions while dynamically undergoing collective migration. Such a complex network of communication involving the cell cytoskeleton and adhesion proteins modulates the tissue's response to external cues. Two distinct forms of such external stimuli are those of electrical and mechanical origin.

Epithelial tissues quickly respond to physiologically relevant electric fields …

The Development Of A Temporomandibular Force Simulator To Study Craniofacial Strain In-Vitro, Kenneth Kc Ip

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

An in-vitro musculoskeletal loading simulator was developed to replicate the internal forces of mastication, and then employed in a comparison of clinically relevant facial fracture repairs. Muscle forces are simulated by pneumatic pistons via 3D printed mounts that are reverse-engineered from CT scan to match muscle attachment sites, which are adhered to bone in order to simulate native stress distributions. Bite force and bone strain pattern of the craniofacial structure under load were measured using a force sensor and strain gauges respectively. In a series of five fresh-frozen cadaveric heads, it was found that strain patterns of the craniofacial structure …

Compensation For Inertial And Gravity Effects In A Moving Force Platform, Sandra K. Hnat, Ben J.H. Van Basten, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Force plates for human movement analysis provide accurate measurements when mounted rigidly on an inertial reference frame. Large measurement errors occur, however, when the force plate is accelerated, or tilted relative to gravity. This prohibits the use of force plates in human perturbation studies with controlled surface movements, or in conditions where the foundation is moving or not sufficiently rigid. Here we present a linear model to predict the inertial and gravitational artifacts using accelerometer signals. The model is first calibrated with data collected from random movements of the unloaded system and then used to compensate for the errors in …

Distribution And Localization Of Novel Iodine Nanoparticles In The Human Glioma 1242 Growing In The Brains Of Mice, Benjamin Billings

Honors Scholar Theses

Observing and designing the in vivo distribution and localization of therapeutic nanoparticles is an essential aspect of developing and understanding novel nanoparticle- based medical treatments. This study investigates novel PEGylated Iodine-based nanoparticles (INPs), an alternate composition to the more widely researched gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which may help avoid adverse effects associated with AuNPs, such as potential toxicity and skin discoloration, when used in similar applications. Determining the localization of the novel INPs within murine brains containing human glioma U-1242MG cells is critical in assisting the development of radiation dose enhancement therapy for this aggressive cancer. Radiation dose enhancement utilizes the …

Characterization Of Arterial Flow For Junctional Bleeding Control, Nick Bosio

Master's Theses

This study investigated reducing volumetric flowrate under steady flow conditions by varying lengths of compression with constant cross-sectional area and varying cross-sectional area reduction with constant length in order to better understand how to control junctional hemorrhaging. The hypotheses of this study were that length reduction will have little effect on volumetric flowrate and that cross-sectional area reduction would need to be approximately 80 percent in order to obtain bleeding control. The study found that length reduction has little effect on changing the flowrate. However, in order to obtain at least 80 percent reduction in flow, the area needs to …

Detection Method Of Subclinical Atherosclerosis Of The Carotid Artery With A Hemodynamics Modeling Approach, Marisa Peressini

Master's Theses

Subclinical atherosclerosis is an important area of research to evaluate stroke risk and predict localization of plaque. The current methods for detecting atherosclerosis risk are insufficient because it is based on The Framingham Risk Score and carotid intima media thickness, therefore an engineering detection model based on quantifiable data is needed. Laminar and turbulent flow, dictated by Reynolds number and relative roughness, was modeled through the carotid artery bifurcation to compare shear stress and shear rate. Computer-aided design and fluid flow software were used to model hemodynamics through the carotid artery. Data from the model was derived from governing equations …

Soft-Microrobotics: The Manipulation Of Alginate Artificial Cells, Samuel Sheckman

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

In this work, the approach to the manipulation of alginate artificial cell soft-microrobots, both individually and in swarms is shown. Fabrication of these artificial cells were completed through centrifugation, producing large volumes of artificial cells, encapsulated with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles; these artificial cells can be then externally stimulated by an applied magnetic field. The construction of a Permeant Magnet Stage (PMS) was produced to manipulate the artificial cells individually and in swarms. The stage functionalizes the permanent magnet in the 2D xy-plane. Once the PMS was completed, Parallel self-assembly (Object Particle Computation) using swarms of artificial cells in complex …

Analyzing Memcapacitive Capabilities Of Lipid And Polymer Bilayers For Use In Smart Materials, Megan Pitz

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Neuromorphic engineering involves designing artificial neural systems that mimic the way neuron circuits in the brain process information and make computations. It took the fourth most powerful computer in the world (with 705,024 processor cores and 1.4 million GB of RAM) 40 minutes to simulate just one second of human brain activity. This shows a clear difference of energy use in the human brain versus modern computers; neuromorphic engineering could be how we mimic the computing power of the brain to create energy-efficient, neuron-based computers. Memristors and memcapacitors are proposed circuit elements with memory components. Memristors have been extensively studied …

Investigating The Likelihood Of Pediatric Femur Fracture Due To Falls Through Finite Element Analysis., Keyonna Mckinsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bone fracture is the second most common injury of child abuse. Studies have generally reported that femur fractures are more likely due to abuse than accidental causes in cases where the child is non-ambulatory. They have also found that household falls are commonly offered as the cause of injury in cases of abuse. In this study, a finite element (FE) pediatric femur model will be developed and used to evaluate likelihood of fracture in common household fall scenarios (bed falls and feet first falls). This will provide greater biomechanical evidence as to the likelihood of femur fracture due to common …

Effects Of Hydration And Mineralization On The Mechanical Behavior Of Collagen Fibrils, Marco Fielder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bone is a composite biomaterial with a structural load-bearing function. Understanding the biomechanics of bone is important for characterizing factors such as age, trauma, or disease, and in the development of scaffolds for tissue engineering and bioinspired materials. At the nanoscale, bone is primarily composed of collagen protein, apatite crystals, and water. Though several studies have characterized nanoscale bone mechanics as the mineral content changes, the effect of water, mineral, and carbon nanotube (CNT) content and distribution in fibril gap and overlap regions is unexplored. This study used molecular dynamics to investigate the change in collagen fibril deformation mechanisms as …

Novel Methodology For Emboli Analog Production And In-Vitro Simulation Of Acute Ischemic Stroke, Anne Preut

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stroke is the leading cause of disability and a primary cause of mortality, resulting in an estimated $33 billion dollars spent on healthcare, rehabilitation and lost productivity in the United States each year. The most prevalent cause of stroke incidents are acute ischemic events, manifested as blood clots in the vasculature supplying the brain. Current gold standard treatments have improved since 2006 with the introduction of mechanical stent retrievers; however, several issues with the current treatments to acute ischemic stroke remain. Thrombolysis of the clot with a tissue plasminogen activator may lead to weakening the vessel wall and consequently, hemorrhaging. …

Extraction And Analysis Of Vector Flow Imaging Data In A Pediatric Population, Bailey Stinnett

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Vector flow imaging (VFI) is a new ultrasound technology that provides real time, angle-independent visualization of flow velocities in the heart and great vessels. Thus far, VFI has been used for superficial applications due to the limited penetration depth of available transducer probes; however, this depth in smaller pediatric patients enables adequate aortic views. In this project, VFI was used to study pediatric aortic stenosis (PAS)—a congenital heart defect that results in the narrowing of the aorta and/or aortic valve. The decision to refer PAS patients for surgical or catheter-based intervention is initially based on Doppler ultrasound. VFI is potentially …

The Effect Of Elastin Degradation On The Biomechanical Properties Of Porcine Aortic Tissue, Caleb Nissen

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is currently the 13^th leading cause of death in the United States [1]. AAA is characterized, in part, by an increase in presence of proteolytic enzymes which degrade the structural proteins collagen and elastin [6]. The goal of this study was to examine the effect that elastin degradation has on the biomechanical properties of aortic tissue. For this experiment, porcine aortic tissue was cut in the circumferential and longitudinal directions. These specimens were exposed to an elastase solution for varying time-intervals and then underwent uniaxial tensile testing. Elastase-treated tissue tested in the …

3d Printed Force Transducers For In-Vitro Mitral Valve Chordae Tendineae Force Measurements, Hayley Chandler

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mitral valve surgery is incredibly prevalent in the United States with more than 40,000 mitral valve surgical procedures annually. Improving the imaging techniques used to diagnose these cases requires validation of 3D models through experimental data such as mechanical properties of the tissue. An essential part of this process for the mitral valve is measuring the force experienced by chordae tendineae. This has been achieved with brass force transducers but using a 3D printed design can have many benefits. In this study, 3D printed miniature c-shaped force transducers comparable to previous metal models were designed and created using Solidworks 2016. …

Effects Of Stride Length On Lower Limb Stiffness When Running With Body Borne Load, Nick Lobb

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: During military activities, soldiers are often required to run at a fixed cadence with body borne load, but these loads purportedly increase leg stiffness, leading to increased risk of musculoskeletal injury. Yet, to date, it is unknown how altering stride length when running with body borne load affects lower limb stiffness for males and females. Purpose: To quantify leg stiffness, and lower limb joint (hip, knee and ankle) stiffness for males and females using different stride lengths to run with body borne loads of 20 kg, 25 kg, 30 kg, and 35 kg. Methods: Twenty-seven (17 males and 10 …

Sex Differences In Lower Limb Biomechanics During A Single-Leg Cut With Body Borne Load, Auralea Carylon Fain

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Musculoskeletal injuries are ever-increasing in military personnel, particularly females. These musculoskeletal injuries are attributed to adaptations in lower limb biomechanics while performing routine military tasks, such as a single-leg cut, with the addition of body borne load. However, it is unknown if females and males exhibit similar lower limb biomechanics with the addition of body borne load during these tasks. This study sought to compare the lower limb biomechanical adaptations exhibited by females and males performing a single-leg cut with body borne load. Methods: Eleven females and 17 males had lower limb biomechanics quantified during a single-leg cut with …

A Numerical Investigation Of Human Cough Jet Development And Droplet Dispersion, Ran Bi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As part of the Western Cold and Flu aerosol (WeCoF) studies, the present study provides Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling of human cough flow. The cough flow is characterized in two different aspects, the flow field and the droplets. In the study of the flow field of coughing, various dynamic characteristics, including the velocity variation, streamwise penetration and power spectral density, are examined. CFD simulations using two different approaches, the unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) and the large eddy simulation (LES), are performed for comparison purposes. The numerical results are validated by the experimental data obtained from the measurements by …

Integration Of A Sensory Driven Model For Hand Grasp Function In 3d Printed Prostheses, Austin T. Hetherington

Senior Theses

My Honors Thesis was completed through the Biomedical Engineering senior design project I worked on. Our project took a mechanically operated 3D printed prosthetic hand and automated the process by which it makes a grasp. The purpose of this project was to provide an affordable, automatic prosthetic hand to those either capable and incapable of wrist flexion. The current 3D printed prosthetic models require users to bend their wrist to initiate a simple grasp. However, our design took an alternative approach by using an EMG sensor placed on the ventral side of the forearm to record muscle activity, which, upon …

Increasing Drug Delivery Efficacy Of Drug-Coated Balloons, Alexander Galan, Eric Bidinger, Franco Godoy, Shrusti Patel

Senior Theses

Peripheral artery disease (PAD), the narrowing of peripheral arteries located in areas such as the arms and legs, is a common disease that affects 12% to 20% of people over 65. Numerous therapies have been developed to treat PAD, the most recent technology being drug-coated balloons. Drug-coated balloons release drugs, such as Paclitaxel (PTX), into the arterial wall during balloon angioplasty to locally treat PAD. Current levels of drug transfer from the balloon to the vascular endothelium are at a low 10%-18%. Our Biomedical Engineering Senior Design project aims to increase drug delivery of drug-coated balloons by manipulating the clinically-controllable …

Can The Presence Of A 1/F Structure In Stride-To-Stride Variability Enable Us To Withstand Falls?, Jenny A. Kent, Andreas Skiadopoulos, Jordan Wickstrom, Nikolaos Stergiou

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Falls are a persistent threat to longevity and quality of life, affecting 1/3 of older adults living in the community each year. There is strong evidence suggesting that a particular pattern within our walking reflects an ability to adapt to a continually changing environment. Specifically, the stride-to-stride patterns of healthy walking have a 1/f frequency spectrum. This has been observed to degrade to varying extents with aging and pathology. The aim of this study was to determine whether the presence of this structure of variability is related to an increased ability to withstand perturbations. We hypothesized that individuals who demonstrated …