Detecting A Heterogenous Sample Of Pigmented Melanoma Cell Lines Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Margaret Cappellano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metastatic melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, which is in part, attributed to its rapid aggression and lack of response to typical treatment methods. There are far too often cases where a lymph node biopsy does not detect the severity of the cancer, which in turn causes a lack of diagnosis until a mass can be visually detected on a scan, such as a PET, CT, or MRI. Once visible on a scan, the cancer is too progressive for successful treatment. To avoid this, we investigated how a blood sample can be used to negate a missed diagnosis, …

Diagnosis Of Melanoma Disease State From Patient Blood Samples Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Jacob Salvatore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 1 in 50 Americans develop melanoma in their lifetime. Early detection of melanoma is pivotal to the survival of the patient, with a 99% survival rate for 5 or more years after an early diagnosis. Metastasis, or the spread of cancer, increases the chances of cancerous growth in other parts of the body. In this study, we propose the use of photoacoustic flow cytometry as a diagnostic of patient disease state, by closely monitoring the amount of circulating melanoma cells (CMCs) in a patient’s blood before and after chemotherapy treatments. Using this patient data, we were able to make …

Water Exchange Rate Across The Blood-Brain Barrier Is Associated With Csf Amyloid-Β 42 In Healthy Older Adults, Brian T. Gold, Xingfeng Shao, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Gregory A. Jicha, Donna M. Wilcock, Elayna R. Seago, Danny J. J. Wang

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: We tested if water exchange across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), estimated with a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, is associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuropsychological function.

METHODS: Forty cognitively normal older adults (67–86 years old) were scanned with diffusion‐prepared, arterial spin labeling (DP‐ASL), which estimates water exchange rate across the BBB (k_w). Participants also underwent CSF draw and neuropsychological testing. Multiple linear regression models were run with kw as a predictor of CSF concentrations and neuropsychological scores.

RESULTS: In multiple brain regions, BBB kw was positively associated with CSF amyloid …

Metabolic Profiling Of Radiation Resistance In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Natalie Curry

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for HNSCC, however, many patients do not respond to radiation therapy. Currently, it takes about a month for clinicians to definitively determine whether a tumor is responsive to radiation therapy. Current studies have identified that the prevention of mitochondrial oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species can prevent DNA damage and lead to a decrease in apoptosis in radiation resistant cells Measuring the oxygen consumption rate through Seahorse metabolic assays allows us to quantify basal respiration, maximal …

Using Deep Learning To Analyze Materials In Medical Images, Carson Molder

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Modern deep learning architectures have become increasingly popular in medicine, especially for analyzing medical images. In some medical applications, deep learning image analysis models have been more accurate at predicting medical conditions than experts. Deep learning has also been effective for material analysis on photographs. We aim to leverage deep learning to perform material analysis on medical images. Because material datasets for medicine are scarce, we first introduce a texture dataset generation algorithm that automatically samples desired textures from annotated or unannotated medical images. Second, we use a novel Siamese neural network called D-CNN to predict patch similarity and build …

Quantifying Blood Flow Patterns In The Pediatric Heart Using Blood Speckle Imaging, Harrison Dean

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common type of congenital disease worldwide. Echocardiography using Doppler ultrasound is typically used to diagnose and monitor CHD; however, it is angle-dependent in nature and as a result is limited in its ability to accurately evaluate ventricular function. Blood Speckle Imaging (BSI) is a novel, angle-independent imaging modality that provides detailed blood flow information and visualization within a given area using speckle-tracking. In this study, velocity-field information obtained from BSI was used to calculate flow parameters such as kinetic energy (KE) and circulation using a custom created MATLAB program. BSI was performed on …

Quantifying Mucosal Hemodynamics In A Murine Model Of Ulcerative Colitis With Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy, Elizabeth A. Bullard, Ariel I. Mundo, Shelby N. Bess, Kathryn P. Miller

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a gastrointestinal, autoimmune disease that causes ulceration and inflammation of the colon with an incidence 10 out of every 100,000 people in North America and Western Europe. Though the exact etiology is uncertain, a number of studies have shown that inflammatory cells along with environmental factors, genetics, and lifestyle habits can contribute to the sustained inflammatory response. In order to determine the cellular mechanism behind relapse and remission of UC, researchers have frequently employed immunohistochemistry, western blotting and gene sequencing, but these destructive analysis methods require the removal of a sample, necessarily limiting these methods to …

Quantification Of Superoxide Production In Cells Treated With L-Buthionine Sulfoximine, Rebekah Townsley

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydroxyl radicals, superoxides, and hydrogen peroxides are common reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are produced by the mitochondria during cellular respiration [1]. Signal transduction pathways in the mitochondria are used to maintain the balance of ROS. However, when these mechanisms fail to regulate ROS properly, it causes oxidative damage and can lead to the development of various diseases such as cancer, respiratory, neurodegenerative, and cardiovascular diseases. L-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) has been used previously to induce oxidative stress by inhibiting the γ-GCS enzyme used to synthesize glutathione, an antioxidant used to convert ROS to water [3]. BSO reduces glutathione production, thus …

Monitoring Fgf1-Treated Skin Wounds With Label-Free Multiphoton Microscopy, Gianna Busch

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chronic skin wounds pose a significant threat to public health, affecting as many as 5.5 million people in the United States every year and costing the healthcare system $10 billion annually^1,2. These wounds are associated with prolonged inflammation, poor vascularization, increased infection risk, and high mortality rates^3,4. There is significant interest in developing and testing a variety of biologics to promote wound healing. However, quantitative evaluations of healing are typically limited to measurements of wound size, and there is a critical need to develop quantitative biomarkers sensitive to different aspects of the healing process. Label-free multiphoton …

Developing Aligned Nerve Scaffolds In A 3d Type-I Collagen Gel, Gabriel David

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Despite significant progress in the field of peripheral nerve repair, clinical success is still limited, leaving millions to suffer from peripheral neuropathy with billions spent every year for treatment. Nerve repair methods that are capable of maximizing the regenerative properties of peripheral nerves are greatly desired in the field of medical science. This research aims to fill the gap between modern methods and the future of nerve repair by creating type-I collagen scaffolds with aligned degradation pores that will assist and nurture nerves growing through them. This is achieved by incorporating adipose stem cells into type-I collagen hydrogels and aligning …

Development Of Quantitative Ultrasound-Mediated Molecular Imaging Of The Tumor Microenvironment, Trevor Mitcham

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

While conventional diagnostic imaging modalities provide anatomical information to clinicians, these techniques are not sensitive to critical physiological processes. In order to properly classify cancer, it is necessary to investigate noninvasive methods which can provide insight into these processes, allowing clinicians to determine personalized therapeutic options. Therefore, molecular imaging is focused on visualization and characterization of biomarkers within the tumor microenvironment (TME), which can then be combined with the anatomical information provided from diagnostic imaging.

Two such biomarkers of interest are blood oxygen saturation (SO₂) and cell receptor expression. SO₂ is a measure of the fraction of …

Statistical Machine Learning For Breast Cancer Detection With Terahertz Imaging, Tanny Andrea Chavez Esparza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast conserving surgery (BCS) is a common breast cancer treatment option, in which the cancerous tissue is excised while leaving most of the healthy breast tissue intact. The lack of in-situ margin evaluation unfortunately results in a re-excision rate of 20-30% for this type of procedure. This study aims to design statistical and machine learning segmentation algorithms for the detection of breast cancer in BCS by using terahertz (THz) imaging. Given the material characterization properties of the non-ionizing radiation in the THz range, we intend to employ the responses from the THz system to identify healthy and cancerous breast tissue …

Biomedical Applications And Syntheses Of Selected Anthraquinone Dyes, Richard Sirard

Senior Honors Theses

Anthraquinones are aromatic organic compounds that have multiple applications in the biomedical field. Some anthraquinone-based compounds are used as fluorophores to contrast cell nuclei while others act as chemotherapeutic agents. However, there are not many fluorescent anthraquinone cell stains currently available. In this study, commercially available anthraquinone dyes, in addition to other dye families and compounds, were reviewed for their unique properties, advantages, and drawbacks. The development and characterization of three novel anthraquinone fluorophores revealed promising photophysical characteristics, like large Stokes shifts. One of the compounds, RBS3, was chosen for fixed and live cell staining and exhibited desirable biomedical properties. …

A Brief Bibliometric Survey Of Explainable Ai In Medical Field, Nilkanth Mukund Deshpande, Shilpa Shailesh Gite

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

_{^{Background: This study aims to analyze the work done in the field of explainability related to artificial intelligence, especially in the medical field from 2004 onwards using the bibliometric methods.}}

_{^{Methods: different articles based on the topic leukemia detection were retrieved using one of the most popular database- Scopus. The articles are considered from 2004 onwards. Scopus analyzer is used for different types of analysis including documents by year, source, county and so on. There are other different analysis tools such as VOSviewer Version 1.6.15. This is used for the analysis of different units such as co-authorship, co-occurrences, citation analysis …}}

Preclinical Development Of Single Walled Carbon Nanotube-Based Optical Biosensors, Eric M. Hofferber

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

High resolution, long-term monitoring of key biological analytes would improve patient outcomes by providing earlier detection of disease states and improved efficacy of treatment. One class of biosensors that have gained much attention in recent years are optical biosensors. Optical probes are attractive biosensors due to their noninvasive nature of detection, as certain light can pass through tissue, water, and blood. Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) are a specific type of optical biosensor that fluoresce in the near infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum and offer unparalleled spatial and temporal resolution. SWNT have been applied as biosensors in vitro, …

Nanoanalytical Analysis Of Bisphosphonate-Driven Alterations Of Microcalcifications Using A 3d Hydrogel System And In Vivo Mouse Model, Jessica L. Ruiz, Joshua D. Hutcheson, Luis Cardoso, Amirala Bakhshian Nik, Alexandra Condado De Abreu, Tan Pham, Fabrizio Buffolo, Sara Busatto, Stefania Frederici, Andrea Ridolfi, Masanori Aikawa, Sergio Bertazzo, Paolo Bergese, Sheldon Weinbaum, Elena Aikawa

Publications and Research

Vascular calcification predicts atherosclerotic plaque rupture and cardiovascular events. Retrospective studies of women taking bisphosphonates (BiPs), a proposed therapy for vascular calcification, showed that BiPs paradoxically increased morbidity in patients with prior acute cardiovascular events but decreased mortality in event-free patients. Calcifying extracellular vesicles (EVs), released by cells within atherosclerotic plaques, aggregate and nucleate calcification. We hypothesized that BiPs block EV aggregation and modify existing mineral growth, potentially altering microcalcification morphology and the risk of plaque rupture. Three-dimensional (3D) collagen hydrogels incubated with calcifying EVs were used to mimic fibrous cap calcification in vitro, while an ApoE−/− mouse was used …

Computational Modelling Enables Robust Multidimensional Nanoscopy, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

The following sections are included:

• Present State of Computational Modelling in Fluorescence Nanoscopy

• Recent Contributions to Computational Modelling in Fluorescence Nanoscopy

• Outlook on Computational Modelling in Fluorescence Nanoscopy

• Acknowledgments

• References

Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Drug Delivery To The Brainstem, Dezhuang Ye

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Brainstem gliomas are tumors that occur in the brainstem, the brain region that connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls vital body functions. The critical anatomic location of the brainstem precludes surgical intervention and limits the use of invasive therapeutic techniques. Moreover, the frequently intact blood-brain barrier (BBB) of most brainstem gliomas prevents therapeutic agents from reaching the diseased site. The currently available techniques for brain drug delivery are either invasive (e.g., convection-enhanced delivery) or lack targeting to the diseased site (e.g., intranasal brain drug delivery). Novel techniques that can noninvasively overcome the BBB are critically needed for …

Characterization & Calibration Of Foresight Ice, Hareem Nisar, Terry M Peters, Elvis C.S. Chen

Robarts Imaging Publications

No abstract provided.

Development Of Light Actuated Chemical Delivery Platform On A 2-D Array Of Micropore Structure, Hojjat Rostami Azmand, Hojjat Rostami Azmand

Dissertations and Theses

Localized chemical delivery plays an essential role in the fundamental information transfers within biological systems. Thus, the ability to mimic the natural chemical signal modulation would provide significant contributions to understand the functional signaling pathway of biological cells and develop new prosthetic devices for neurological disorders. In this paper, we demonstrate a light-controlled hydrogel platform that can be used for localized chemical delivery in a high spatial resolution. By utilizing the photothermal behavior of graphene-hydrogel composites confined within micron-sized fluidic channels, patterned light illumination creates the parallel and independent actuation of chemical release in a group of fluidic ports. The …