Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Alternative Fixation Of Venous Valves For Bioprosthetic Applications, Makenzie Kapales

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Venous valve failure allows for the retrograde, or backward, flow of blood into the lower extremities, which leads to Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI). CVI infringes upon quality of life through ulceration and can result in death due to Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), or blood clots, causing pulmonary embolism. A successful treatment of CVI restores valve function and prevents retrograde blood flow; however, current bioprosthetic venous valves exhibit low patency and high calcification. To improve upon bioprosthetic venous valves and CVI treatment, the University of Arkansas’s Cardiovascular Biomechanics Lab conducts studies with the purpose of comparing the properties and performance of …

Virtual Reality As An Education Tool In Biomedical Engineering, Megan Wilkerson

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Virtual Reality (VR) has become more accessible in recent years, both to experience and to create. Various studies have shown that incorporating VR in an educational setting can yield positive results. Virtual reality videos created using course-specific content could prove to be a beneficial educational tool. VR videos were implemented in a remote biomolecular engineering laboratory course. 180° VR videos of lab procedures were recorded and viewed by students using a Google Cardboard headset and their smartphones. After viewing all the VR lab videos, students were given a survey to report their experiences. The survey contained questions used to measure …

Sequential Illumination In A Tomographic Microendoscopic Probe For Imaging Tumor Microvasculature, Zachariah Neumeier

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Knowledge of colorectal cancer biology is improving how we approach cancer treatment. Specifically, the tumor microenvironment and abnormal angiogenesis are of particular interest. Optical methods are a prime candidate for research of the tumor microenvironment due to their ability to quantitively assess tissue structure and perfusion in real time. Particularly, the “transport scattering regime” has been identified as a method of obtaining high-resolution images and reflectance spectroscopy data; this light scattering regime has been demonstrated compatible with endoscopic imaging systems. In this study, a proof-of-concept optical imaging system is presented, capable of resolving absorbers within scattering turbid media using a …

Mapping Of Electroencephalogram (Eeg) Responses To Newsvendor Decision Model And Cerebral Hemodynamic Responses To Transcranial Photobiomodulation (Tpbm) In Humans, Cong Dung Nghi Truong

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Decision-making is one of the most critical activities of human beings. Various studies have investigated the brain responses to a variety of decision tasks by deploying the EEG data. The first aim of my dissertation was to investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms and correlations across multiple subjects when people make risky economic decisions. A decision-making task was designed based on the newsvendor problem (NP) with two scenarios: low-profit margins (LM) as the more challenging scenario and high-profit margins (HM) as the less difficult one. The EEG signals were acquired from healthy humans while subjects were performing the task. The Correlated Component …

Engineering Enzymatic Pathways In The Gut Microbiome To Control Dietary Isoflavone Metabolism, Lenaiya Allisen Kydd

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT: Observing how plasmids persist within the gut can help us understand how newly introduced genes are transmitted within the gut microbiome. I sought to determine the persistence of genetic constructs introduced to the murine gut and then develop our own genetic system to be delivered to the gut to engineer the microbiome in its ability to convert certain dietary isoflavones. In my initial experiments, mice were given bacteria containing a genetically engineered plasmid and were examined for the persistence of the plasmid in the gut. I found long-term persistence of the plasmid in the gut for up to 2 …

Novel Nanocomposites For The Treatment Of Lung Infections, Uday Kumar Chintapula

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Lung infections, especially lower respiratory tract infections and their associated pneumonias, are one of the leading causes of death, accounting for more than 4 million fatalities every year worldwide. Bacterial pathogens are involved in many lower respiratory tract infections including emerging antibiotic resistant respiratory pathogens such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Current interventions for MRSA lung infections include systemic antibiotic treatments for an extended period leading to various side effects such as acute kidney injury, nephrotoxicity, and so on. To overcome these limitations, the goal of this dissertation research is to develop a drug delivery system, which includes pathogen-specific drug-loaded …

Development Of Algorithms To Analyze Electrogastrography (Egg) For Neonatal Gastrointestinal Development And Electroencephalography (Eeg) For Effects Of Led-Based Pre-Frontal Light Stimulation, Akhil Mahendra M Chaudhari

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Algorithm development, and biological signal processing are the key components for new applications of successful medical diagnosis that can provide physiological and functional information to better understand human condition for either patients with certain diseases or healthy human beings. Neuroimaging tools, such as functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and electrogastrography (EGG) have been used to investigate the gut maturity in diseased and healthy state; and electroencephalogram (EEG) have been used to investigate brain functions in response to neuromodulated or task-based interventions. Accordingly, my dissertation focused on algorithm development and signal processing for two major topics: (1) to outline EGG response …

Atomic Force Microscopy Based Dna Sensing And Manipulation, Matthew Shubert

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sequencing DNA provides a positive impact for the biomedical community by understanding a wide variety of applications such as human genetics, disease, and pathogens. The reason the Arkansas Micro & Nano Systems lab is involved with research in DNA sequencing is due to the current, leading industry method. Nanopore sequencing was developed by Oxford Nanopore Technology in which its sequencing method separates double stranded DNA to electrically characterize individual nucleotides traveling through a charged nanopore. Unfortunately, nanopore sequencing uses biological materials that require a shelf life and drives high cost. Therefore, the Arkansas Micro & Nano Systems lab has developed …

Machine Learning Approaches For Early Prediction Of Hypertension., Heba Elsayed Mohamed Kandil

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension afflicts one in every three adults and is a leading cause of mortality in 516, 955 patients in USA. The chronic elevation of cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) changes the cerebrovasculature of the brain and disrupts its vasoregulation mechanisms. Reported correlations between changes in smaller cerebrovascular vessels and hypertension may be used to diagnose hypertension in its early stages, 10-15 years before the appearance of symptoms such as cognitive impairment and memory loss. Specifically, recent studies hypothesized that changes in the cerebrovasculature and CPP precede the systemic elevation of blood pressure. Currently, sphygmomanometers are used to measure repeated brachial artery …

The Effects Of Microgravity On Human Endothelial Cells In Relation To Deep Vein Thrombosis, Allie Burgess

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a condition where blood clots form in one or more of the deep veins of the body, causing leg pain and/or swelling, potentially leading to pulmonary embolism and/or stroke. The incidence of DVT among astronauts serving on the International Space Station has been shown to be greater than that of the general population, calling into question the effects of microgravity on human thrombolytic processes. Additionally, microgravity conditions have been shown to cause muscular atrophy and a decrease in muscle strength and mobility. Because collagen composes a large portion of muscle tissue, this study also assessed …

Hydrogel Drug Delivery Platform Integrity And Utilization Analysis, Joshua Carson Adams

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) generally results in permanent sensorimotor dysfunction. This is due to failed axonal regeneration at the site of injury. Recent studies have highlighted the use of stem-cell based therapies embedded in hydrogel to treat SCI. Embedding cell therapies in hydrogel provides a platform that increases the survival of both integrated grafted cells and stem cells/stem cell progeny. There are a variety of drug delivery agents for treating SCI such as neuro-regenerative cells and Schwann cells, however, single agents are not promising for functional regeneration. We propose a combinatorial approach using sciatic nerve (SN) extracellular matrix (ECM), …

Determination Of Tissue-Level Changes In Tumors That Are Indicative Of Metastasis Using Optical Spectroscopy, Sanidhya D. Tripathi

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Breast cancer, accounting for 12% of all new cancer cases, is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. Although patient survival has improved over the years, metastatic spread to other organ sites and not due to the primary tumor is the most common form of tumor recurrence, accounting for 90% deaths. Hypoxia is a common hallmark of solid tumors and is linked with metastasis, therapeutic resistance, and poor patient survival. Defined as a state of decreased oxygen availability, cells under hypoxia have an increased rate of genetic mutation, local invasion, and resistance to treatment such as radiation …

Characterizing The Expression Pattern And Function Of Tartan During Drosophila Development, Alaina Baggett

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The development of complex structures and organs by multicellular organisms relies on the ability of epithelial cells to self-organize. Epithelia are sheets of connected cells, and compartment boundaries are formed between certain epithelial cells to create distinct tissue compartments. Compartment boundaries are specialized cell-cell interfaces that are enriched for the cytoskeletal proteins actin and myosin, leading to straight cell edges under relatively high tension that act as fences keep cells from moving between compartments. In the model organism Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), compartment boundaries in the early embryo are established in response to the non-uniform striped expression of the cell-surface …

Cu And Ni Co-Sputtered Heteroatomic Thin Film For Enhanced Nonenzymatic Glucose Detection, Brianna Barbee, Baleeswaraiah Muchharla, Adetayo Adedeji, Abdennaceur Karoui, Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni, Mizaj Shabil Sha, Aboubakr M. Abdullah4, Gymama Slaughter, Bijandra Kumar

Bioelectrics Publications

In this work, we report a wafer-scale and chemical-free fabrication of nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) heteroatomic Cu–Ni thin films using RF magnetron sputtering technique for non-enzymatic glucose sensing application. The as-prepared wafer-scale Cu–Ni thin films exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation with a 1.86 μM detection limit in the range of 0.01 mM to 20 mM range. The Cu–Ni film shows 1.3- and 5.4-times higher glucose oxidation activity in comparison to the Cu and Ni electrodes, respectively. The improved electrocatalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effect of the bimetallic catalyst and high density of grain boundaries. The …

Evaluation Of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Tumor Matrix, Alejandra Ham

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Sex On Proliferation And Maturation Of Primary Isolated Myoblasts, Elsa M. Bean

Biomedical Engineering

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) is caused by the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque causing restriction in blood flow in tissue, known as ischemia. It affects 8 million people in the United States and can hinder daily life through the onset of symptoms such as intermittent claudication and in extreme cases ulcers and gangrene. Surgical revascularization is not accessible to certain patient populations, such those of advanced age, highlighting a need for alternative therapies. For example, naturally occurring bypass arteries, called collateral blood vessels, can remodel and enlarge to bypass the occlusion. This process, known as arteriogenesis, has been studied as …

Isolation And Production Of Tandem Collagen Binding Domain From Clostridial Collagenase Colg And Developments In C1q Reagent Production For Future Molecule Characterization Work, Stephanie Beitle

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis covers a two part project: the production methods to create a double collagen binding domain molecule with a growth factor for wound healing applications and the development of a new in-house production method for isolating C1q from bovine blood. The wound healing molecule was created using transformation, sonication, and purification before being tested via electrophoresis SDS page and Western blots to confirm the molecule’s presence. The C1q in-house production method utilizes an ultrafiltration flow cell rather than dialysis at a critical point in the process, allowing for researchers to not only be able to use a single small …

Investigating The Effect Of Polymer Hydrogels On The Antimicrobial Properties Of Activated Carbon Through The Utilization Of Bacterial, Viral, And Parasitic Microorganisms, Zoe Gunter

Honors Theses

Activated carbon (AC) has long been utilized in biomedical applications due to its innate antimicrobial characteristics. However, little is understood about the mechanism of action that allows AC to prohibit the propagation of different pathogen species. To further ascertain these characteristics and how they affect the propagation of pathogens, procedures were designed with bacterial, viral, and parasitic agents which were utilized in conjunction with varying concentrations of polymer hydrogels to examine the antimicrobial efficacy of AC. The studies performed for this thesis were conducted employing coconut-based AC and Noveon^® AA-1 Polycarbophil USP or Carbopol^® 974P NF hydrogels which, …

Rheological Behavior Of Dspc-, Dbpc-, And Dppc-Oxygen Microbubbles And Their Effectiveness In Improving Survival In A Rat Model Of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Riaz Ur Rehman Mohammed

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) causes 75,000 deaths in the U.S., annually. It is characterized by hypoxemia and damage to the lung alveoli. ARDS Management strategies involve extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and mechanical ventilation, but none of these methods improve the mortality rates. Oxygen microbubbles (OMBs) consist of a lipid shell with an oxygen core and have potential to augment oxygenation to manage ARDS. Previous studies demonstrated significant improvements in systemic oxygenation and mortality upon administering OMBs.

We replicated an ARDS rat model by intratracheal administration of lipopolysaccharide at a 24 mg/kg dose. After inducing the disease in rats, the …

Comparison Of Cone Mosaic Metrics From Images Acquired With The Spectralis High Magnification Module And Adaptive Optics Scanning Light Ophthalmoscopy, Niamh Wynne, Heather Heitkotter, Erica N. Woertz, Robert F. Cooper, Joseph Carroll

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose: To compare cone mosaic metrics derived from adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) images with those derived from Heidelberg Engineering SPECTRALIS High Magnification Module (HMM) images.

Methods: Participants with contiguous cone mosaics had HMM imaging performed at locations superior and temporal to the fovea. These images were registered and averaged offline and then aligned to split-detection AOSLO images; 200 × 200-µm regions of interest were extracted from both modalities. Cones were semi-automatically identified by two graders to provide estimates of cone density and spacing.

Results: Thirty participants with contiguous cone mosaics were imaged (10 males, 20 females; age range, …