Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Modulation Of Physiologic Responses Of Insulin Secreting Cells Using Electrical And Photostimulation, Caleb Nathaniel Liebman

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Islet transplantation is a surgical procedure aimed at providing insulin independence to those suffering with Type I diabetes. Prior to implantation, a therapeutic window exists ex vivo where the cells can be treated in order to improve the procedure’s efficacy. It is well established that physical stimuli are able to affect cellular functionality. Thus the work herein is designed to elucidate the effects and mechanisms by which the insulin secreting β-cells respond to non-invasive electric field stimulation and photobiomodulation. Insulin secreting β-cells are an electrically active cell type and utilize their calcium dynamics to control insulin secretion. The calcium dynamics …

Nanoparticle-Based Approaches In Cardiovascular Diseases, Aneetta E. Kuriakose

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) such as balloon angioplasty and stent placement are commonly employed for myocardial revascularization. These strategies, however, injure the arterial wall initiating a cascade of inflammatory responses that culminates in restenosis. Attempts are currently being made to improve the stents/balloon designs such that they suppress the inflammatory responses and support/enhance in situ reendothelialization. But the healing of the injured artery remains a major challenge. Therefore, in this work, we propose to characterize and identify a suitable fluorescent nanoparticle system that has potential to be used as vascular drug carriers. We also developed nanoparticles (NPs) that could enhance …

Novel Quantification Of Neurovascular Coupling (Nvc) To Predict Brain Injury In Neonates With Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, Yudhajit Das

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Birth asphyxia is a global burden in clinical neonatal care. It results from deprivation of oxygen to a newborn infant that lasts too long during the birth causing physical harm to the brain. The asphyxia insult impairs fetal cerebral blood flow and results in a distinctive neonatal encephalopathy (NE). Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) accounts for a significant proportion of encephalopathic newborns. Currently there is no reliable quantitative metric is available to predict outcome of neurological injury in neonates with HIE at the bedside in the first day of life. My dissertation targets on this gap by developing novel quantification methods of …

Whole-Head Functional Brain Imaging Of Economic Risk Decision Making And Transcranial Photobiomodulation With Fnirs And Eeg, Hashini I. Wanniarachchi Kankanamalage

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) are two non-invasive brain imaging or mapping modalities that allow us to measure cerebral hemodynamic and electrophysiological changes in the human brain, respectively. LABNIRS is a cutting-edge, whole-head, optical brain mapping system with 40 pairs of light sources (at 780 nm830 nm) and 40 detectors, forming up to 133 detection channels. In my study, whole-head LABNIRS and 64-channel EEG were utilized to investigate respective alterations in response to risk decision- making under business context and to non-invasive photobiomodulation. As the first part of my study, I utilized fNIRS (i.e., LABNIRS) as a tool …

Changes In Neural Network Connectivity Of Normal Young Adults In Response To Power Wheelchair Trainer Using Eeg Coherence, Ruby Phung

Masters Theses

The ability to move and explore their surrounding environment plays a critical role in the development of cognitive function in children, especially during early childhood. The lack of independent and autonomous mobility is, therefore, a clear disadvantage for the overall development of children with multiple, severe disabilities. Limited number of studies have been conducted on the impact of power mobility device on this specific population. Previous exploratory and pilot studies showed promising results regarding quantifiable and consistent changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) of children with multiple, severe disabilities when provided with power mobility training. This study aimed to further extend …

Analysis Of Center Of Pressure And Center Of Mass To Determine Patterns Of Postural Stability In Neurotypical Subjects, Natalie Tipton

Masters Theses

The body’s postural control mechanism is responsible for responding to perturbations of balance and keeping the body upright. One of the main ways that this is completed during quiet standing, where both feet are planted on the ground, is through center of pressure oscillations. In these oscillations, the center of pressure circles around the center of mass, constantly counteracting any lean that exists in the body. These oscillations can be recorded with floorembedded force plates and center of mass can be recorded with a motion capture system. In this research, these signals were recorded for stances with feet together and …

Decellularization Of Porcine Cartilage Promotes Chondrogenic Differentiation Of Human Chondrocytes, Roxanne Nicole Stone

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Knee osteoarthritis (knee OA) is the most common type of osteoarthritis (OA) and accounts for 70% of arthritis-related hospital admissions and 23% of clinical visits. Major limitations in both the current non-surgical and surgical methods are that they only relieve pain and show no evidence for restoring natural tissue anatomy. Leaders in the field propose that a stem cell treatment approach holds promise for the regeneration of a greater proportion of hyaline-like tissue at the repair site. (Cross et al., 2014; Escobar Ivirico, Bhattacharjee, Kuyinu, Nair, & Laurencin, 2017; Helmick et al., 2008; Toh, Foldager, Pei, & Hui, 2014).

It …

Novel Three-Dimensional Scaffold For Skeletal Muscle Tissue, Matthew H. Clegg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cells are traditionally grown on a flat, plastic surface that has been optimized for cell attachment. While this is appropriate for growing and maintaining cells, this two-dimensional cell culture model is not an adequate representation of a three-dimensional body. Creating three-dimensional lab models is an important step to model diseases and damage to the skeletal muscle system.

To create this three-dimensional environment, a plastic frame was designed to support silkworm fibers. Skeletal muscle cells were then grown along the silkworm fibers and the growth of these cells in a three-dimensional environment was compared to cells grown on a flat, two-dimensional …

Characterization Of Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Performance With Pentanoic Acid And N-Acetyl Cysteine Treatment, Joseph Camire

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To improve the cost of producing protein therapeutics manufacturers can attempt to increase the amount of protein produced per unit volume. Some small fatty-acids have shown the ability to increase protein concentrations in some manufacturing systems. An example system is in the industrially important cell line derived from a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO). A drawback of adding these fatty-acids is they can increase the rate of cell death.

A potential way to minimize the cell death rate, caused by adding fatty-acids, is to also add additional anti-oxidants. Through a series of studies, we demonstrate production with different fatty-acids, butanoic acid …

Protecting Crops From Abiotic Stress: Copper Oxide Nanoparticle Effects On Wheat And A Beneficial Rhizobacterium, Matthew Potter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nanoparticles (NPs) are defined as particles less than 100 nm in at least one dimension. CuO NPs have possible applications in agriculture as micronutrient sources, pesticides, and enhancers of crop stress tolerance. Here, three aspects of CuO NP agricultural applications are studied: 1) the potential of CuO NPs to prevent wheat lodging-when crops irreversibly fall over; 2) CuO NP-induced drought tolerance in wheat seedlings; and 3) the effects of CuO NPs on outer membrane vesicle (OMV) production by Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6 (PcO6), a plant-health promoting bacterium.

Wheat grown 7 d exposed to CuO NPs in the growth matrix …

Using Natural Language Processing And Sentiment Analysis To Augment Traditional User-Centered Design: Development And Usability Study, Curtis L. Petersen, Ryan Halter, David Kotz, Lorie Loeb, Summer B. Cook, Dawna M. Pidgeon, Brock Christensen, John A. Batsis

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Sarcopenia, defined as the age-associated loss of muscle mass and strength, can be effectively mitigated through resistance-based physical activity. With compliance at approximately 40% for home-based exercise prescriptions, implementing a remote sensing system would help patients and clinicians to better understand treatment progress and increase compliance. The inclusion of end users in the development of mobile apps for remote-sensing systems can ensure that they are both user friendly and facilitate compliance. With advancements in natural language processing (NLP), there is potential for these methods to be used with data collected through the user-centered design process.

Objective: This study aims …

A Computational Framework To Model Mesenchymal Stem Cell Nucleus Mechanics Using Confocal Microscopy, Zeke Kennedy

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The mechanical properties of the cell nucleus are emerging as a key component in genetic transcription. It has been shown that the stiffness of the nucleus in part regulates the transcription of genes in response to external mechanical stimuli. The stiffness has been shown to change as a result of both disease and changes to the external environment. While the mechanical structure of the nucleus can be visually documented using a confocal microscope, it is currently impossible to test the stiffness of the nucleus without a mechanical testing apparatus such as an atomic force microscope. This is problematic in that …

Three-Dimensional (3d) Reconstruction Of Computed Tomography (Ct) Abdominal Images Using Visualization Toolkit (Vtk), Mat Saad Afifah Husna

Student Works (2020-2029)

A computerized tomography (CT) or computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan combines data from several X-raysito produce a detailed image of structures inside the body. CT scans produce 2D of a “slice” or section of the abdomen but the data can also be used to construct 3-dimensional images. However, CT scan unable to accurately represent the internal structure of soft tissues and soft-tissue lesions. Therefore, using the program in Visualization Tool Kit (VTK) is needed to construct a much more clearer 3D image. To reconstruct 3D images from 2D images of a “slice” or section of abdomen which will be resulting …

Detection Of Standing And Sitting Variations Based On In-Socket Piezoelectric Sensors For Transfemoral Amputees, Alnusairi Tawfik Yahya

Student Works (2020-2029)

A transfemoral prosthesis is required to assist amputees to perform activities of daily living (ADL). The purely mechanical or passive prosthesis has some drawbacks such as consumption of high metabolic energy and limitations in mimicking normal dynamics and kinematics of gait pattern. In contrast, the active prosthesis offers better performance and consumes less metabolic energy. However, recent active prosthesis uses surface electromyography as its sensory system which requires massive preparation work, causes sores to the patient by its electrodes and requires a lot of computation to extract meaningful features. This thesis focuses on developing signal conditioning circuitry to classify six …

Biomechanical Investigation Of Individual With Over-Pronation And Over-Supination Foot During Walking, Ghani Nur Saibah

Student Works (2020-2029)

Over-pronation and over-supination foot conditions are foot deformity that can lead to unstable ankle and subtalar joint during walking. They are define as condition where the foot roll in and out excessively from its neutral line and can lead to misalignment of the foot and leg in human in which can create abnormal gait cycle. Therefore, the purposes of this study are to analyze the foot-ankle joint biomechanical behavior including the range of motion, joint moment, joint power and GRF in a complete gait cycle for all subjects in this study and to compare the foot-ankle biomechanical behavior between normal …

3-Dimensional Carbon Micro-Electro Mechanical System (Mems) Electrode For Potential Dielectrophoretic Hepatic Cell Patterning Application, Wan Yahya Wan Nurlina

Student Works (2020-2029)

The maintenance of liver tissue unique pattern remains a great challenge in the generation of functional engineered liver tissue in vitro. This thesis presents a carbon dielectrophoresis (DEP) based cell patterning for generating hepatic cell constructs, mimicking biological hepatic lobule. A new design of electrode named interdigitated radiating-strips electrode (IRSE) was simulated and optimized using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2a. The simulation result proved that IRSE is capable to provide uniform distribution of electric field for generating three-dimensional (3D) DEP force. The use of carbon electrodes has been an alternative to traditional metal electrodes and insulator structures for DEP applications since more …

Modeling, Fabrication And Characterization Of Coated Calcium Phosphate Scaffolds Produced By 3d-Printing For Tissue Engineering Application, Touri Maria

Student Works (2020-2029)

A fully interconnected 3-dimensional scaffold with pre-determined dimensions and porosity can be attained by design-dependent rapid prototyping techniques which possess precise control over the internal and external architecture of the scaffolds thus they can overcome the problems associated with the process-dependent classical approaches. Interruption of vascular flow with fracture or surgical osteotomy results in a transient hypoxic gradient within the wound and subsequent tissue necrosis. Tissue engineering scaffolds with oxygen generating elements have shown to be able to increase the level of oxygen and cell survivability. In this study, biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffolds with the composition of 60% hydroxyapatite …

Enhancement Of Graphene Biocompatibility As A Potential Nano-Carrier For Drug Delivery Applications Using Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent, Zainal Abidin Mohamad Hamdi

Student Works (2020-2029)

Graphene has attracted massive interest in numerous biomedical applications such as anti-cancer therapy, drug delivery, bio-imaging and gene delivery. Therefore, it is important to ensure that graphene is nontoxic, and that its cellular biological behavior is safe and biocompatible. Herein, a new route was used to enhance the biocompatibility of graphene as a nano-carrier for potential drug delivery applications, using different compositions of natural deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as functionalizing agents, owing to their capability to introduce various functional groups and surface modifications. To meet this end, eight different combinations of binary and ternary DESs were synthesized using choline chloride …

Three-Dimensional (3d) Reconstruction Of Ultrasound Foetal Images Using Visualisation Toolkit (Vtk), Henry Dusim Grace Anabela

Student Works (2020-2029)

Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound images has been used for easier analysing of anatomy related to abnormalities. 3D image reconstruction is required as it helps doctors interpret results and assess any defects quickly. Not only does it improve the accuracy of diagnosis, but it also saves a lot of time. In this thesis, 295 slices of 2D ultrasound images of a foetal are used to do 3D reconstruction using surface rendering, volume rendering, and multiplanar rendering technique. A similar software known as 3D Slicer is also used to reconstruct the ultrasound image for comparison purpose. VTK can easily …

Cytomegalovirus Inhibition By Pluronic-Encapsulated Quercetin And Synergy With Ganciclovir, Ian Wadsworth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the leading viral cause of birth defects worldwide and leads to a variety of complications. Ganciclovir is the most common anti-CMV drug used but often causes severe side effects. Quercetin, a plant pigment, shows anti-CMV activity that may provide a less toxic alternative to ganciclovir, or when co-administered, reduce ganciclovir treatments. However, a drug carrier is needed to deliver quercetin for CMV treatment. In this study, three Pluronic polymers (P123, F127, and F68) were investigated as a quercetin drug delivery system (DDS) for CMV treatment.

All selected Pluronics successfully encapsulated quercetin at varying degrees of efficacy. …