Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Heart-Rate Monitoring Control System Using Photoplethysmography (Ppg), Wesley Nguyen, Ryan Horjus

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Looking Below The Surface Of Breast Tissue During Surgery, A Mahadevan-Jansen, Md Keller, Elizabeth Vargis, B Caldwell, T-Q Nguyen, Ndm Granja, M Sanders, Mc Kelley

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

In this article, we present a method that provides prompt detection of the presence of cancer cells inside the 2-mm margin of tissue surrounding the tumor after excision using spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS). SORS was developed to detect subtle changes in soft tissue spectra in the 100–2000 μm range and tested on excised breast tissues. The results display a very high specificity and sensitivity (100% and 95%, respectively) of classification between positive and negative tumor margins. SORS is a clinically feasible method, suitable for the real-time, intraoperative assessment of tumor margins at the micrometer level.

Seawater/Wastewater Production Of Microalgae-Based Biofuels In Closed Loop Tubular Photobioreactors, Joshua Bradley Lowrey

Master's Theses

The push for alternatives to petroleum fuels has forced researchers to look for highly productive, renewable, non-food resources.  The advantages of using microalgae instead of traditional oil crops for biofuel production include high oil yields, rapid reproductive rates, and versatile growing requirements.  In order to reduce the cost of producing microalgae based biofuels, wastewater has been used as a nutrient source instead of specialized plant nutrients.  The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of different combinations of microalgae strain and dairy wastewater for increasing biomass.  The methods for monitoring growth included optical density, cell counting, biomass …

An Inexpensive Method For Creating Paste To Be Used In Paper-Based Microfluidic Devices, Kirra Marie Sankey

Biomedical Engineering

Microfluidic devices are diagnostic tools that are small, portable, and inexpensive. This makes them ideally suited for resource-limited settings. To construct a 3D device, each layer of patterned paper is stacked using double-sided tape with holes corresponding to the pattern. It is necessary to have a paste to fill the holes in the tape and provide a medium for the fluid to wick through. The powder used to make the paste is very expensive and must be bought in bulk (an estimated $1121 - $1231), so it is not convenient for the Biomedical (BMED) department to use. This project was …

Development Of An In-Vitro Hyperglycemic Tissue Engineered Blood Vessel Mimic, Brian C. Wong

Biomedical Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Pmma Conductivity Pretreatment Microfluidics Device For The Optimization Of Electrokinetic Manipulations, Cameron Paul Purcell

Master's Theses

This project encompasses the design and development of a pretreatment microfluidic device for samples of physiological conductivity, namely a saline solution. The conductivity was reduced through the combination of dilution and ion removal using electric fields to enable downstream electro kinetic manipulations. The two major parts of this project include (1) designing a pretreatment protocol to reduce the conductivity of the sample solution to an acceptable level and (2) designing /fabricating a microchip that will effectively allow aim (1) to be performed on chip.

This project is one of the first to observe the effects of an electric field, used …

Development Of An Open Source Prosthetic Hand Platform, Scott James Garrett

Master's Theses

Development of an Open Source Prosthetic Hand Platform

Scott Garrett

In the field of upper extremity prosthetic devices, advancements in technology drive the design of products which are becoming capable of restoring the lost functions of the native hand. While several dexterous devices have been developed to serve this purpose, they remain prohibitively expensive and thus are not a viable option for many upper extremity amputees. To address this problem a prosthetic hand platform was developed utilizing the open source Arduino microcontroller and off-the-shelf electrical components. Using these resources, a novel finger actuation mechanism was developed to show how …

Studying Milk Coagulation Kinetics With Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy, Image Processing, And Computational Modeling, Richard Joseph Hennessy

Master's Theses

The kinetics of milk coagulation are complex and still not well understood. A deeper understanding of coagulation and the impact of the relevant factors would aid in both cheese manufacturing and also in determining the nutritional benefits of dairy products. A method using confocal microscopy was developed to follow the movement of milk fat globules and the formation of a milk protein network during the enzyme-induced coagulation of milk. Image processing methods were then used to quantify the rate of coagulation. It was found that the texture of the protein network is an indicator of the current status of the …

Characterization And Implementation Of A Decellularized Porcine Vessel As A Biologic Scaffold For A Blood Vessel Mimic, Aubrey N. Smith

Master's Theses

Every 34 seconds, someone in the United States suffers from a heart attack.  Most heart attacks are caused by atherosclerotic build up in the coronary arteries, occluding normal blood flow.  Balloon angioplasty procedures in combination with a metal stent often result in successful restoration of normal blood flow.  However, bare metal stents often lead to restenosis and other complications.  To compensate for this problem, industry has created drug-eluting stents to promote healing of the artery wall post stenting.  These stents are continually advancing toward better drug-eluting designs and methods, resulting in a need for fast and reliable pre-clinical testing modalities. …

Implementation And Assessment Of Hyperglycemic Conditions For The Creation Of A Diabetic Blood Vessel Mimic, Vikramaditya Mediratta

Master's Theses

Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus is a metabolic disorder that affects a person’s ability to either produce insulin (Type I diabetes mellitus) or properly use insulin (Type II diabetes mellitus) in order to maintain adequate blood glucose levels. The most severe diabetic complications arise due to hyperglycemia – a state of extremely high blood glucose levels – such as, coronary artery disease (CAD), in which coronary stent therapy is a popular method of treatment. However, research has shown a high rate of in-stent restenosis in diabetic patients with CAD, most likely due to activation of cellular adhesion molecules on endothelial cells exposed …

A 3-Dimensional Vascularized Cardiac Tri-Culture Model Using Chitosan Nanofiber Scaffolds, Ali Hussain

Dissertations

The development of an in vitro tissue model that can mimic the 3-dimenisonal (3-D) cellular architecture and mosaic of myocardial tissue holds great value for cardiac tissue engineering, modeling, and cardiovascular drug screening applications. The main objective of this project was to develop a 3-D vascularized cardiac tissue model in vitro for improved survival and function.

The cellular mosaic of the myocardial tissue demands the intricate integration of an extracellular matrix-like scaffold, cellular constituents, and biological factors. The first aim of the research was to fabricate and characterize a biodegradable chitosan nanofiber scaffold that would resemble the extracellular matrix (ECM) …

The Effect Of Dynamic Standing On The Bone Mineral Density Of Non-Ambulatory Children: A Pilot Study, Megan Diane Damcott

Theses

In recent decades, research in osteoporosis has expanded to include the effects of prolonged immobilization on the load-bearing bones of non-ambulatory children. One current therapeutic intervention for this population is a passive standing program, in which the body is fully supported and continuous, stationary loading is applied to the bones, leading to the legs being primarily inactive. This research focused upon the effect of passive standing and a new therapeutic intervention of dynamic standing, a standing therapy in which the body is supported but vertical, reciprocal displacements which mimic the walking gait are applied to the feet, causing the muscles …

A Microfluidic Culture For Two Populations Of Dorsal Root Ganglia For Differential Staining, Ishnoor Sidhu

Theses

The goal of this study was to design and fabricate a microfluidic system that can be used to visibly distinguish the two populations of dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) by differential staining. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer, and is particularly known for its wide spread use in microfluidics. Various methods have been employed to pump fluids in these channels for applications ranging from patterning of cells and biomolecules to control of local environment factors such as temperature, which requires external pumping or other applied forces. We demonstrated a pump-free device that exploits the surface energy stored …

A Review Focused On The Psychological Effectiveness Of Tai Chi On Different Populations, Long Zhang, Thomas Lowder, Jian Liu

Computer Sciences and Electrical Engineering Faculty Research

As a popular exercise form, Tai Chi (TC) has been investigated to determine its contributions to an active and healthy lifestyle. There are an increasing number of researchers who focus on exploring the potential physiological and psychological benefits of TC but only a few systematic reviews of these benefits to a variety of populations. The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively evaluate the reported psychological benefits associated with practicing TC. Although many investigators have reported possible psychological benefits of TC for children, young adults, older healthy adults, and for a variety of patient populations, many of the reports suffer …

Control System For Mass Spectrometer, Jian Xu

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a very popular analytical methodology that measures the mass of ions using a mass spectrometer. It is widely used for determining masses of chemicals, the elemental composition of a sample and molecule structure. The process of mass spectrometry normally consists of ionizing chemical compounds to ions and measuring their ratios of mass to charge for analysis.

MS instruments consist of three modules: Ionization, Analysis and detection. A LabVIEW system was developed to control the three modules of a mass spectrometer, giving the required signals in a right sequence. Experiments can be carried out by using the …

The Presentation And Perception Of Virtual Textures Through A Haptic Matrix Display Device, Patrick Headley

Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic, refreshable tactile displays offer a method of displaying graphical information to people who are blind or visually impaired. Texture, which is already used as an effective method to present graphical information in physical tactile diagrams, conceivably constitutes the best way to present graphics through a tactile display. This thesis presents the design of a new low-cost haptic matrix display device capable of displaying graphical information through virtual textures. The perception of virtual textures through the display is examined through three main experiments. The first two experiments examine the perception of square wave gratings through the device. The final experiment …

Development Of Physiologic Contact Models For Articular Surfaces, John Owen

Theses and Dissertations

The superficial tangential zone (STZ) plays a significant role in normal articular cartilage’s ability to support loads and retain fluids. To date, tissue engineering efforts have not replicated normal STZ function in cartilage repairs. Finite element models were developed to examine the STZ’s role in normal and repaired articular surfaces under different contact conditions. Models were developed by incrementally adding improvements which culminated in contact loading of curved models by permeable and impermeable rigid surfaces and a normal cartilage layer. In the normal STZ, permeability was strain-dependent on volumetric strain; tension-compression nonlinearity modeled collagen behavior. Nonlinear geometry accounted for finite …

Near Infrared Imaging System, Barbara Adu-Baffour

Honors Scholar Theses

This senior project is to design and fabricate a near infrared imaging system using laser diodes for imaging biological tissues. The device will have three major sections comprising the signal source, detection and data analysis sections.

In the source signal section, a circuit would be designed and built which will contain two laser diodes with different wavelengths (780nm and 830nm). Each of the two laser diodes will modulated at different frequencies to enable a spatial coding system. The detection section of the device will have an optical detector channel which will be designed to detect signals from all the laser …

Noninvasive Assessment Of Joint Motion Over Long Durations: System Evaluation And Data Analysis Methods, Maria J. Qadri

Master's Theses

The development, progression, and treatment of degenerative musculoskeletal diseases, such as carpal tunnel and shoulder impingement syndromes, may be better characterized when joint motions are assessed over long durations outside clinical, laboratory, or rehabilitation settings that involve standardized assessment, exercise protocols, and/or regimented movements. Assessment methods for human movement capture beyond laboratory or clinical experiments are typically limited to short capture times of less than one hour. Noninvasive, long-duration measurements of joint motion in occupational settings provides more insight into movement patterns and quantitative assessments regarding joint usage, which lead to a better understanding of the cumulative effects associated with …

Finite Element Analysis Of The Effect Of Low-Speed Rear End Collisions On The Medial Meniscus, Daniel J. Tichon

Master's Theses

Low-speed, rear end vehicle collisions can inflict soft tissue damage to the passenger’s knees, especially the medial meniscus, which has been previously unexplained in published literature.  It is difficult to determine if factors such as age or other injury was the primary cause of the injury or if the accident acutely caused the meniscal tear.  Rear end collisions may produce a combination of compressive loading and torque about the knee that will injure the medial meniscus during the initial impact and the rebound phase.  The purpose of this study is to determine if it is possible for rear end low-speed …