Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Sustainable Cement-Blast Furnace Slag Mortar, Richa Jain, Harshit Jain, Ashish Nim

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

New building materials that required and produced less energy are need of today's infrastructure development. The ability of such building materials to promote sustainable development always puts its demand in active mode. With huge consumption of naturally occurring materials in building construction, the problem related to environment degradation is now common for world. Along with this, world is also facing the problem of reuse, recover and scientifically approved disposal of non-biodegradable wastes. Blast furnace slag (BFS) is one of those steel industry wastes that are abundantly available and their disposal arises as prime challenge for industries. This research work makes …

Polymer Microstructures For Advanced Biomanufacturing, Tongyao Wu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the continued growth of the biopharmaceutical industry, the demand for scalable, robust, and resource-efficient platforms for large-scale mammalian cell culture is amplified. Recent developments in microfluidic technology, such as precise control of the microenvironment, showed the potential to improve the performance of cell culture systems. However, constrained by scalability and operational efficiency, applying such approaches to large-scale cell culture and biopharmaceutical production presents challenges. This dissertation addresses these challenges through three independent but conceptually related technological developments. First, a roll-to-roll (R2R) fabrication process was developed for the scalable production of hollow microcarriers (HMCs). HMCs provide three-dimensional microenvironments suitable for …

Bicuspid Valve Closure And Backflow Prevention: Role Of Leaflet Geometry, Badr Kauoi, A Bou Orm, P Navet, James W. Baish, Lance Munn

Faculty Journal Articles

Bicuspid valves with crescent-shaped leaflets are found in lymphatic vessels and veins, where their primary function is to prevent reflux and ensure unidirectional flow toward the heart. These valves are passive, and their functionality emerges spontaneously from a complex interplay between the properties of the valve leaflets and the flow patterns developing within the vessel sinus region surrounding the valve. The main function of the valves is to limit retrograde flow, or reflux, but the optimal valve structure has not been well characterized. Here we investigate numerically how the length of the leaflets affects the valve efficiency in preventing reflux. …

Development And Preliminary Pressure Control Validation Of Woundwatch: Npwt System With Remote Monitoring Capabilities, Swetha Senthil Nathan

The Cardinal Edge

Chronic wounds, including diabetic foot ulcers, pressure sores, and venous leg ulcers, affect over 40 million individuals worldwide and are often complicated by delayed healing due to limited access to continuous monitoring. Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) is an established treatment that promotes wound healing through controlled sub-atmospheric pressure. However, conventional NPWT systems lack real-time physiological feedback and require frequent in-person follow-ups, limiting their effectiveness in remote or low-resource settings. This study presents WoundWatch, a portable, low-cost NPWT device that integrates real-time temperature, humidity, and pressure sensing with wireless data transmission via an IoT platform. The system includes a vacuum …

The Developing Role Of Ai In Modern Engineering Research, Rianna Pais

The Cardinal Edge

No abstract provided.

Targeting Glioblastoma: Mechanistic And Clinical Perspectives From Uofl Research, Swetha Senthil Nathan

The Cardinal Edge

Glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant brain tumors, with median survival lingering at 12–15 months despite surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. This article explores cutting-edge research and clinical efforts at the University of Louisville aimed at improving GBM treatment outcomes. Dr. Joseph Chen investigates the tumor microenvironment, revealing how physical properties such as stiffness and porosity drive GBM cell proliferation, migration, and resistance to apoptosis. His lab’s findings suggest that porosity, rather than stiffness alone, may be a more accurate predictor of tumor invasion and progression-free survival. Additionally, his research highlights the role of hyaluronic acid and …

Ionic Liquid Pilocarpine Serves As Therapeutic Cosolvent And Permeation Enhancer For Glaucoma Medication, Ashish Trital, Lei Xu, Burhan Ates, Tzu Chen Wang, Vimalin Mani, Hu Yang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The efficacy of hydrophobic ocular drugs is significantly hindered by their low bioavailability, for which poor water solubility is a major contributing factor. In this work, we synthesized pilocarpine-derived ionic liquid [Pilo-OEG] Cl (PO) and evaluated its cosolvent properties for the codelivery of the hydrophobic antiglaucoma drug brimonidine (BM) for glaucoma therapy. Pilocarpine was quaternized with 2-[2-(2-chloroethoxy) ethoxy] ethanol in a one-pot reaction to yield PO, and its structure was confirmed using ¹H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy methods and further characterized for its rheological property and thermal stability. The HET-CAM assay and cell viability study showed that PO was …

Impact Of Glass Powder As A Sustainable Material On The Workability, Strength, And Durability Properties In High-Performance Basalt Fiber Reinforced Concrete: A Statistical Analysis, Ahmed Fathi Mohamed Salih

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

The global construction sector is increasingly challenged to balance environmental sustainability with the growing demand for durable, high-performance materials. As cement production continues to be a major source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, the incorporation of alternative, low-impact binders has become a key strategy for reducing the environmental footprint of concrete. In this context, glass powder (GP)—a finely ground industrial by-product rich in amorphous silica—has emerged as a promising partial replacement for Portland cement. Its pozzolanic reactivity contributes to improved hydration and matrix densification, while its use also supports circular economy principles by diverting waste glass from landfills. At the same …

Etv2 Mediated Differentiation Of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Results In Functional Endothelial Cells For Engineering Advanced Vascularized Microphysiological Models, Shun Zhang, Zhengpeng Wan, Lei Wang, Caihong Wu, Junkai Zhang, Sarah Spitz, Xun Wang, Marie A. Floryan, Mark F. Coughlin, Francesca M. Pramotton, Liling Xu, Ron Weiss, Roger D. Kamm

Michigan Tech Publications

Patient-specific microphysiological models have become a valuable tool for broad applications, revolutionizing biomedical research. However, limitations persist, with functional vasculature being a significant challenge. With the discovery of ETV2's determinant role in specifying EC lineages during differentiation, researchers have adopted techniques involving ETV2 overexpression to produce h-iECs more efficiently and consistently. Here, we generated multiple h-iPSC lines with inducible ETV2 expression, and subsequently differentiated them into h-iECs, which were validated functionally and by key endothelial markers and RNA-seq analysis. These cells are capable of reproducibly self-organizing into stable microvascular networks (MVNs) in a microfluidic chip, forming lumenized and functional vessels …

Electrochemical Deactivation Of High-Strength, Catechol-Based Adhesives Incorporated With Anhydrous Proton And Electron Conducting Elements, Han Peng, Zhongtian Zhang, Vedika Khare, Abhilash Arjan Das, Fatemeh Razaviamri, Kan Wang, Bruce P Lee

Michigan Tech Publications

Catechol offers switchable adhesion in response to electrochemical redox reaction. However, electrochemistry requires water for effective proton transport, but water weakens adhesive performance. Here, we incorporate proton and electron conducting elements (sulfonic acid-containing monomer and multiwalled carbon nanotube, respectively) into a water-free catechol-based adhesive to create a high-strength adhesive that is also susceptible to electrochemical control. These additions increase the proton and electrical conductivity by over 100-fold. The adhesive also exhibits elevated lap shear adhesion strength (4.6 MPa) to metal substrates and outperforms a commercial epoxy glue. Under mild electrical stimulation (9 V), the adhesive strength decreases by over 90%. …

The Development And Validation Of A Portable Monitoring System For Real-World Prosthetic And Orthotic Performance Assessment, Emily Wyatt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Laboratory-based motion capture systems are widely used for gait analysis but are limited by high cost, infrastructure requirements, and restricted external validity. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) offer a portable and low-cost alternative for assessing gait in both controlled and real-world environments; however, their accuracy and clinical utility require validation. The purpose of this thesis was to develop and evaluate a portable monitoring system using IMUs to quantify spatiotemporal gait parameters and gait asymmetry in both laboratory and community settings, with a focus on prosthetic and orthotic users.

Phase 1 of this study evaluated the agreement between IMU-derived gait metrics and …

Translating Graduate Level Engineering Methods For K12 Students, Ahmad Bshennaty, Joey Marano, Hoda Hatoum

Michigan Tech Publications

Purpose

Advanced engineering tools such as particle image velocimetry (PIV) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are rarely introduced in K12 education despite their relevance in modeling engineering systems. This study evaluates whether K12 students can meaningfully engage with these traditional graduate-level methods when applied to cardiovascular flows and delivered through structured modules.

Methods

A 5-day full-time summer class was designed and enrolled 13 secondary students (grades 9–11) to introduce them to 3D printing, coding, PIV, medical image segmentation, and CFD modeling. Students participated in both experimental and computational activities and completed two evaluation forms assessing learning outcomes, instructional methods, challenges, …

Three-Dimensional Printing Of The Epineurium For Peripheral Nerve Repair: A Comprehensive Review Of Novel Scaffolds For Nerve Conduits, Alynah J. Adams, Iulianna C. Taritsa, Kaavian Shariati, Aaron Dadzie, Jose A. Foppiani, Maria Jose Escobar-Domingo, Daniela Lee, Angelica Hernandez-Alvarez, Kirsten Schuster, Helen Xun

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Nerve conduits are used to bridge peripheral nerve defects caused by trauma, iatrogenic injury, or oncologic disruption. Three-dimensional (3D) biomimetic scaffolds for peripheral nerve regeneration have advanced significantly in recent years, driven by improvements in printing technology and neuronal seeding techniques. We report on published designer conduits that can recreate the epineurium, a critical yet challenging-to-manufacture feature of nerve tissue.

Methods: A medical librarian conducted a literature search for our systematic review on EMBASE, Web of Science, and PUBMED, following PRISMA guidelines, for articles from January 2010 to January 2026 for the systematic review. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed …

Advancing Computational Analysis Of Fluorescence Imaging For Head And Neck Cancer Surgical Guidance, Yao Chen

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The main goal of surgery for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is to remove the tumor completely while preserving as much healthy tissue as possible to enhance patient survival and reduce complications. However, achieving clear surgical margins is difficult due to the complex anatomy of the head and neck and the reliance on a surgeon’s visual and tactile assessments. Recently, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence molecular imaging has shown potential for better tumor visualization during surgery, using targeted imaging agents like epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) probes. This has led to the development of fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS), which helps surgeons …

Fiber Optic Polarimetric Stress Sensor Improvements, Maxwell R. Richter, Max Randall, Mark C. Harrison

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

The progression of diseases such as cancer has been correlated with tissue stiffness. For example, breast cancer tissue has been found to be stiffer than healthy mammary tissue. At present, stiffness measurement devices are not suitable for nondestructive, high-resolution measurements on small, delicate samples. We report a compact, portable, and sensitive fiber optic stress sensor that overcomes many of these limitations and is suitable for soft materials such as tissue. We demonstrate several improvements to a previous fiber stress sensor in physical hardware, software, and data analysis. We have designed and fabricated a custom enclosure to shield the sensitive setup …

Sensing Negative-Cone Rotational Diffusion Of Dipole-Like Emitters, Yuanxin Qiu, Kaizhi A. Nie, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

Fluorescence anisotropy and single-molecule orientation-localization microscopy (SMOLM) are powerful techniques that quantify the rotational diffusion of dipole-like emitters, which is important for sensing molecular interactions and chemical environments at the nanoscale. Numerous theoretical and experimental studies have thoroughly characterized single-molecule rotations even when those rotations are much faster than the detector integration time. Here, we extend the theory of measuring rotational diffusion to situations where a single dipole rotates uniformly everywhere outside of an isotropic cone of a certain size, termed a negative cone. This scenario corresponds to negative fluorescence anisotropy 𝑟 and has been observed in emitters exhibiting strong …

Pid Control For Lower Limb Exoskeletons: A Framework Evaluation, Javlonbek Rakhmatillaev, Vytautas Bučinskas

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

This research provides a detailed guideline for implementing and evaluating Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control frameworks in lower limb rehabilitation exoskeleton robotics. It examines the role of control systems within rehabilitation robotics, outlines the principles of PID control, describes exoskeleton architecture, explores applications of PID control, reviews optimization strategies, presents experimental validations, and considers future developments in the field. The proposed control framework incorporates aspects of mechanical design, actuator and sensor selection, and PID-based control algorithms, thereby promoting safe, accurate, and individualized rehabilitation support. Recommendations and effective guidance for future work are also presented.

Investigating Confounding Factors In Shear Wave Speed Measurements Of Fibrotic Liver Tissues: A Computer Simulation Study, Emily J. Miller, Yongmei Jin, Jingfeng Jiang

Michigan Tech Publications

Screening patients with liver fibrosis and identifying those at risk of developing advanced liver fibrosis is of clinical interest. Shear wave elastography (SWE), a promising non-invasive screening tool used to distinguish healthy tissue from diseased tissue, measures tissue shear wave speed (SWS) to describe tissue stiffness and identify liver fibrosis. However, considerable variations in the reported results have been found. We propose that the heterogeneity of the liver tissue background, such as the presence of fatty liver tissue and the preferred local orientation of the scarred fibrotic liver tissues embedded into the liver parenchyma, may contribute to the uncertainty in …

The Impact Of Human Myoblasts On Macrophage Polarization In A Coculture Model, Elisabeth Ann Stodola

Biomedical Engineering

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is characterized by the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque in the lower extremities that occludes blood flow, and affects over 200 million people worldwide. Without effective treatment, PAD can lead to claudication, ischemia, ulcers, and gangrene. PAD causes more amputations in the United States than any other condition, and for severe cases that require revascularization, procedures benefit fewer than 50% of patients. This demonstrates a clear need for alternative therapies. Potential therapies for PAD target expansion of collateral blood vessels around the area of occlusion – a process called arteriogenesis to compensate for loss of blood flow …

Design And Validation Of A Wearable Respiratory Protection System For Wildland Firefighters, Oliver Pilon

Master's Theses

Wildland and Wildland–Urban Interface firefighters are routinely exposed to hazardous smoke with fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and other toxic combustion products. Existing protective gear has significant limitations and shortcomings for these conditions. Respirators with tight-fitting facepieces make it difficult to breathe and speak. On the other hand, self-contained breathing apparatuses are too heavy, have a limited duration of use, and do not work well with long wildland fire scenes, while smaller protective equipment like N-95’s and gaiters provide very little protection. These constraints contribute to low adoption rates and prolonged occupational exposure.

This thesis presents the …