Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Manipulation And Patterning Of Mammalian Cells Using Vibrations And Acoustic Forces, Joel Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, there has been a surge in researchers and scientists investigating different methods which move, manipulate, and pattern biological cells. Multiple different mechanisms can be used for cellular manipulation, microfluidics, biochemical queues, and even optics, just to name a few. However, all techniques have their downsides. A majority of these methods require expensive equipment or reagents and can only manipulate a small number of cells at a time.

Some of the most common cell manipulation devices utilize acoustic pressure waves to move the cells to desired locations. Currently, it is unknown what level of force from these types of devices …

Ece Senior Design Project - Cost-Effective Diy Electrometer, Benjamin Hahn

Honors Theses

An electrometer is a critical electrophysiology instrument used to generate minuscule currents for intracellular stimulation of biological neurons. An electrometer also enables simultaneous measurement of the neuron membrane voltage response. This device is necessary to perform accurate stimulation of neurons. However, the cost of commercial electrometers, around $5000, is prohibitive to many researchers, particularly at the high-school or introductory college level. A recent Western Michigan University graduate student, Lucas Essenburg, designed a basic electrometer for $210. His thesis proved that quality electrometers can be constructed for a fraction of the price of commercial-grade equipment.

This project focused on the improvement …

Walking Kinematics In Young Children With Limb Loss Using Early Versus Traditional Prosthetic Knee Prescription Protocols, Mark Daniel Geil, Zahra Safaeepour, Brian Giavedoni, Colleen Coulter

Faculty Articles

The traditional treatment protocol for young children with congenital or acquired amputations at or proximal to the knee prescribes a prosthesis without a working knee joint, based in part on the assumption that a child learning to walk cannot properly utilize a passively flexing prosthetic knee component. An alternative to this Traditional Knee (TK) protocol is an “Early Knee” (EK) protocol, which prescribes an articulating prosthetic knee in the child’s first prosthesis, during development of crawling and transitioning into and out of upright positions. To date, no study has compared samples of children with limb loss at or proximal to …

The Natural Historian’S Guide To The Ct Galaxy: Step-By-Step Instructions For Preparing And Analyzing Computed Tomographic (Ct) Data Using Cross-Platform, Open Access Software, T. J. Buser, O. F. Boyd, A. Cortés, Cassandra M. Donatelli, M. A. Kolmann, J. L. Luparell, J. A. Pfeiffenberger, B. L. Sidlauskas, A. P. Summers

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

The decreasing cost of acquiring computed tomographic (CT) data has fueled a global effort to digitize the anatomy of museum specimens. This effort has produced a wealth of open access digital three-dimensional (3D) models of anatomy available to anyone with access to the Internet. The potential applications of these data are broad, ranging from 3D printing for purely educational purposes to the development of highly advanced biomechanical models of anatomical structures. However, while virtually anyone can access these digital data, relatively few have the training to easily derive a desirable product (e.g., a 3D visualization of an anatomical structure) from …

Study Of The Therapeutic Effects Of Synchronization-Modulation Of The Na/K Pump On Muscle Fatigue, Jason E. Mast

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It has been shown that by applying a specially designed oscillating external electric field to a cell membrane that the membrane's sodium/potassium pumps can be synchronized to all work at the same rate. Then by slowly increasing the electric field's frequency the pumps' turnover rate can also be increased. By increasing the pumps' turnover rate, the sodium and potassium concentration gradients can be increased, this type of stimulation is called synchronization-modulation. There are three generations of the synchronization-modulation waveform each with different utilities. In particular, the third generation of synchronization-modulation has the ability to use the energy of the external …

Hybrid Electro-Plasmonic Stimulation Of Primary Neurons, Ratka Damnjanovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biomedical prosthetics utilizing electrical stimulation have limited, effective spatial resolution due to spread of electrical currents to surrounding tissue, causing nonselective stimulation. So, precise spatial resolution is not possible for traditional neural prosthetic devices, such as cochlear implants. More recently, alternative methods utilize optical stimulation, mainly infrared, sometimes paired with nanotechnology for stimulating action potentials, which has its own drawbacks, as it may heat surrounding tissue. Recently, we employed plasmonic stimulation methods utilizing gold nanoparticle-coated nanoelectrodes to convert visible light pulses into localized surface plasmon resonance transduction for stimulation of electrically excitable cells, which had limited success. Here, we report …

Engineering A Switchable Nanosystem For Customizable Therapeutics, David Diebold, Hanzhe Chen

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Exosomes are nanovesicles that are naturally secreted by mammalian cells in vivo for intercellular communications. Due to their inherent targeting ability, exosomes have a potential for therapeutic applications. However, due to their physiological derivation, the isolation of engineered exosomes has been a major obstacle to their therapeutic application, and successful disease-targeting has been difficult to control. Recently, we have developed an exosome technology that borrows from switchable Chimeric Antigen Receptor (sCAR) T-Cell Therapy and Strep-tag engineering to overcome these obstacles. Here, we describe the development of a de novo method to produce genetically modified exosomes with switchable targeting ability and …

Predicting Depression Progression Rates In Radiotherapy Patients, Ardella Phoa, Joshua Vincent, Shani Williams

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Cancer is a highly prevalent disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In addition to the physiological effects of the disease, cancer patients are more likely to be diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Unfortunately, prior research has shown that MDD can also decrease the efficacy of radiotherapy cancer treatments. Currently, there is no way to predict, prevent, or mitigate this comorbidity, preventing physicians from administering supplemental therapies. In this paper, we propose a low-cost and efficient computational tool that can be utilized to quantify a patient’s likelihood of developing depression. To do so, we used PET images and a …

In Vivo Non-Ribosomal Protein Synthesis In Mammalian Cells, Akhil Choppa

Bioengineering Master's Theses

The mechanism of Sortase A substrate specificity has been widely studied and applied to many approaches to bioconjugation. Current research includes transpeptidation between peptide nucleotide acids, polypeptides, viruses, or antibodies. These applications help improve drug targeting and delivery. Scientists have performed Sortase A-mediated protein ligation in vitro. This project proposes an in vivo protein ligation method with Sortase A. In this design, Sortase A acts as a catalyst to initiate bioconjugation between the LPETG motif and pentaglycine (Gly5) chain to express GFP. This technique bypasses the ribosome and offers an alternative way to synthesize protein in mammalian cells. Three recombinant …

Computational Approach To Correcting Joint Instability In Patients With Recurrent Patellar Dislocation, Oliver Alvarez, Robert N. Steensen, Paul J. Rullkoetter, Clare K. Fitzpatrick

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Patellar dislocation is a debilitating injury common in active adolescents and young adults. Conservative treatment after initial dislocation is often recommended, but almost half of these patients continue to suffer from recurrent dislocation. The objective of this study was to compare preoperative patellofemoral joint stability with stability after a series of simulated procedures, including restorative surgery to correct to pre-injury state, generic tibial tubercle osteotomy, patient-specific reconstructive surgery to correct anatomic abnormality, less invasive patient-specific surgery, and equivalent healthy controls. Three-dimensional, subject-specific finite element models of the patellofemoral joint were developed for 28 patients with recurrent patellar dislocation. A …

Microfluidic Liquid Biopsy For Cancer Prognosis, Brendan Heap, Anthony Ramirez Guerrero, Sam Nichols

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Leukemia is a deadly and common cancer, especially in children and adolescents. The misdiagnosis and unexpected complications during the treatment are some factors that increase the mortality rate of leukemia. The goal of our project was to create a device that would quickly and accurately assess these complications. While there are existing tests that can perform a single test for either metastasis or sepsis, there are none that can test for both simultaneously and rapidly. We propose to modify and combine some of these existing microfluidic designs as well as create a new component to perform a combinatorial assessment. While …

“Gobabygo!” Rehab Engineering To Make Children Mobile, Connor Albin, Chase M. Pfeifer

UCARE: Research Products

GoBabyGo! is a project to give children with movement difficulties a chance to move on their own. GoBabyGo! conducts community builds of modified ride-on-cars for these children and grants them mobility. Once issue is that once children have cars, there is no feedback to improve future builds. This project "“GoBabyGo!” – Rehab Engineering to Make Children Mobile," wishes to collect quantifiable data on how these cars are being used and how they can be improved. This project aims to do this by collecting surveys from caretakers and through a programmed module to be installed in cars. The installed car module …

Mechanobiology Of Breast Cancer Cells, Shea Thompson

UCARE: Research Products

Mechanobiology Cells response to mechanical loading Mechanical loading includes Shear flow, Stretching, Compression

How does shear flow effect breast cancer cell migration in a three dimensional space?

By going through the engineering cycle, I was able to successfully convert the Parallel Flow Chamber into a Three Dimensional Flow Chamber. At this point, I have no results due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Future Research Understanding how breast cancer migrates is essential to preventing the spread of cancer. While other chemical means have been investigated, mechanotransduction is relatively unexplored. Next step: Mechanobiology of breast cancer cells moving through a maze Cells have …

Deep Cellular Recurrent Neural Architecture For Efficient Multidimensional Time-Series Data Processing, Lasitha S. Vidyaratne

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Efficient processing of time series data is a fundamental yet challenging problem in pattern recognition. Though recent developments in machine learning and deep learning have enabled remarkable improvements in processing large scale datasets in many application domains, most are designed and regulated to handle inputs that are static in time. Many real-world data, such as in biomedical, surveillance and security, financial, manufacturing and engineering applications, are rarely static in time, and demand models able to recognize patterns in both space and time. Current machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) models adapted for time series processing tend to grow in …

How Do Surgeon Preferences And Technique Variances Affect Outcome?, Anastasia Axiopoulou, Caroline G. L. Cao, Katherine Lin Md, Keith Watson Md

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

The goal of the research project is to create a blue-print of a robot-assisted hysterectomy procedure to support design and evaluation of technology to enhance system performance. To create this blue-print, we will conduct a task analysis, model the cognitive task flow and decision making, and develop a simulation of the hysterectomy procedure. The surgical simulation will be used as a platform to train surgeons on robotic-assisted hysterectomies, as well as to assess learning and performance. Additionally, it will be used to design and develop techniques and novel technology to support surgeons in their performance of the surgery. Current research …

Nanoparticle Treatment To Counter Reactive Oxygen Species After Traumatic Brain Injury, Brandon Mcdonald, Forrest Kievit

UCARE: Research Products

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as damage to the brain, resulting from an external mechanical force, such as an impact to the head (Kievit et. al, 2016).There are several examples that could result in a potential TBI; such as falling with contact to the head, car accidents and even physical activities including football, wrestling, and boxing. Because of the several different scenarios that an individual could impact their head, TBI’s have become an all too common aspect of everyday life. TBI is currently the leading cause of death and disability in children and adults under the age of 45, …

Reaching Performance In Heathy Individuals And Stroke Survivors Improves After Practice With Vibrotactile State Feedback, Valay A. Shah

Dissertations (1934 -)

Stroke causes deficits of cognition, motor, and/or somatosensory functions. These deficits degrade the capability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). Many research investigations have focused on mitigating the motor deficits of stroke through motor rehabilitation. However, somatosensory deficits are common and may contribute importantly to impairments in the control of functional arm movement. This dissertation advances the goal of promoting functional motor recovery after stroke by investigating the use of a vibrotactile feedback (VTF) body-machine interface (BMI). The VTF BMI is intended to improve control of the contralesional arm of stroke survivors by delivering supplemental limb-state feedback to the …

Patient-Specific Modeling Of Altered Coronary Artery Hemodynamics To Predict Morbidity In Patients With Anomalous Origin Of A Coronary Artery, Atefeh Razavi

Dissertations (1934 -)

Anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA) is a condition where a coronary artery arises from the opposite aortic sinus, often with acute angle of origin (AO). AAOCA is associated with ischemia.1 This is especially concerning when the anomalous coronary artery takes an intramural course within the aortic wall, creating the potential for distortion or compression. Unroofing surgery replaces a restrictive ostium and intramural segment with a large ostium from the appropriate sinus and aims to create a less acute AO. Although these anatomical features may alter coronary artery blood flow patterns, hemodynamic indices such as time averaged wall …

Eeg Characterization Of Sensorimotor Networks: Implications In Stroke, Dylan Blake Snyder

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of this dissertation was to use electroencephalography (EEG) to characterize sensorimotor networks and examine the effects of stroke on sensorimotor networks. Sensorimotor networks play an essential role in completion of everyday tasks, and when damaged, as in stroke survivors, the successful completion of seemingly simple motor tasks becomes fantasy. When sensorimotor networks are impaired as a result of stroke, varying degrees of sensorimotor deficits emerge, most often including loss of sensation and difficulty generating upper extremity movements. Although sensory therapies, such as the application of tendon vibration, have been shown to reduce the sensorimotor deficits after stroke, the …

Characterization Of Neuroimage Coupling Between Eeg And Fmri Using Within-Subject Joint Independent Component Analysis, Nicholas Heugel

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of this dissertation was to apply joint independent component analysis (jICA) to electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize the neuroimage coupling between the two modalities. EEG and fMRI are complimentary imaging techniques which have been used in conjunction to investigate neural activity. Understanding how these two imaging modalities relate to each other not only enables better multimodal analysis, but also has clinical implications as well. In particular, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, hypertension, and ischemic stroke are all known to impact the cerebral blood flow, and by extension alter the relationship between EEG and fMRI. By characterizing …