Physics Commons^™

Rheological Characterization Of Blood-Mimicking Fluids For Use In Particle Image Velocimetry, Anorin S. Ali

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Blood-mimicking fluids (BMFs) are often used to investigate blood flow using physical replicas of vessels with cardiovascular disease. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used with silicone poly-dimethyl siloxane (PDMS) vascular models to visualize this flow. The challenge is creating a blood-mimicking fluid that matches the viscosity profile, viscoelasticity, and density of whole blood while also matching the refractive index (RI) of PDMS. Water-glycerol solutions are commonly used with sodium iodide (NaI) added to increase the RI without changing viscosity. However, NaI is expensive, stains easily, and turns fluids from optically clear to yellow in less than a day. Furthermore, without …

Producing And Measuring Oscillatory Shear In A Novel Microfluidic Chip, Sanaz Lordfard, Daniel Lorusso, Tamie L. Poepping, Hristo N Nikolov, Kayla Soon, Stephen Sims, Jeffrey Dixon, David Holdsworth

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Purpose: To demonstrate the effectiveness of a novel microfluidic device mimicking oscillatory blood flow, allowing cell biologists to examine how endothelial cells respond to a range of oscillatory shear stress levels.

Methods: The microfluidic chip consists of a circular-shaped reservoir, leading to a rectangular channel that is examined under a microscope. The plunger is connected to a speaker system and oscilloscope, allowing the plunger to apply a range of frequencies (5-60Hz) and voltages (5-10 V, leading to a variety in oscillation amplitudes) to the reservoir region. 1.1 um fluorescent particles diluted in distilled water were used for tracking. Processing was …

Development Of A Low Field Mri-Based Approach For Observation Of Water Penetration Into Clay: Preliminary Results, Shivam Gupta

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are considered one of the most efficient and non-invasive methods of observing water content in permeable substances. MRI can visualize and quantify the movement of water in real time. In this study, MRI was used to observe the water penetration through clay. Furthermore, MRI can acquire three-dimensional data due to its radio-frequency signals from any orientation. The contrast of the images produced by MRI is a display of the fluid concentration. As such, any change in the contrast intensity is interpreted as a regional change in the concentration of fluid. This report summarizes the preliminary results …

Simulating 129-Xe Hyperpolarization, Jacob F. Abiad

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Hyperpolarized 129-Xe is an important resource in many fields of medical physics and MRI research. The physics of the efficient production of hyperpolarized 129-Xe is therefore equally worth investigation. The main process of hyperpolarizing 129-Xe is Spin Exchange Optical Pumping (SEOP) and is dependent on several physical factors that can be difficult to constantly change in a lab setting. Physical modelling of 129-Xe hyperpolarization allows for the more efficient testing of hyperpolarization physics in a wide array of experimental setups to better determine the optimal values for hyperpolarization. This research project attempted to create a working model for 129-Xe hyperpolarization …

Comparing Semi-Automated Segmentation Of Traditional-Resolution And High-Resolution Hyperpolarized 129xe Mri On Covid-19 Survivors, Tingting Wu

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Hyperpolarized gas MRI using inert gases like Xe is a valuable tool in visualizing lung ventilation in patients, and can be used as a longitudinal monitoring tool for patients with lung diseases. However, use of this method requires segmentation and quantification of parameters such as ventilation defect percentage (VDP), which is often very subjective depending on the observer. This study aimed to determine the accuracy and consistency of VDP calculation using the same MRI scans from COVID-19 patients, but with high resolution and low (traditional) resolution versions. Using a MATLAB script developed previously, it was found that in general, using …