Biomechanical Engineering Commons^™

Borophene And Graphene For Non-Enzymatic Biosensor- Ab-Initio Study, Omar A. Ismail

Theses and Dissertations

Non-enzymatic glucose sensing holds promise to overcome limitations associated with glucose oxidase, such as oxygen dependence and short shelf life. This study explores the potential sensing capabilities of borophene and graphene through direct interaction with various compounds, including β-glucose, uric acid, ascorbic acid, fructose, and acetaminophen. Using Density Functional Theory (DFT), we calculated binding energies and the respective Density of States (DOS) for these adsorbates on both graphene and borophene surfaces. Preliminary results suggest that borophene might exhibit nearly twice the affinity for β-glucose compared to graphene. Moreover, the calculated Density of States reveals distinct distortions in the electronic states …

Understanding Real-World And Laboratory Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi) Using The Computational Model With Brain Functional Regions, Kewei Bian

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), including mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion, is a severe health concern. Many symptoms, such as headache, dizziness, and working memory deficits, are reported to be related to the dysfunction of brain functional regions, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Hence, further developing tools and analyses to understand brain dysfunction for better TBI prevention are important. Additionally, such analyses should be conducted for both real-world TBI cases and laboratory studies, as TBI data can only be collected from the real world, and prevention measures, such as helmets, are developed and evaluated in the lab. Accordingly, …

Development And Biomechanical Analysis Toward A Mechanically Passive Wearable Shoulder Exoskeleton, Seyyed Morteza Asgari

Doctoral Dissertations

Shoulder disability is a prevalent health issue associated with various orthopedic and neurological conditions, like rotator cuff tear and peripheral nerve injury. Many individuals with shoulder disability experience mild to moderate impairment and struggle with elevating the shoulder or holding the arm against gravity. To address this clinical need, I have focused my research on developing wearable passive exoskeletons that provide continuous at-home movement assistance. Through a combination of experiments and computational tools, I aim to optimize the design of these exoskeletons.

In pursuit of this goal, I have designed, fabricated, and preliminarily evaluated a wearable, passive, cam-driven shoulder exoskeleton …

Computational Modeling Using A Novel Continuum Approach Coupled With Pathway-Informed Neural Networks To Optimize Dynein-Mediated Centrosome Positioning In Polarized Cells, Arkaprovo Ghosal, Padmanabhan Seshaiyar Dr., Adriana Dawes Dr., General Genomics Inc.

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Exoskeletons - Designing For Social Justice, Grace Cd Murphy

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Many engineering professionals believe that discussions surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and social justice do not belong in engineering because engineering is supposed to be a neutral or objective field. Through an extensive review of the literature and a survey sent out to potential users, the need for DEI in engineering was examined. Many current engineering projects do not take into consideration social justice principles which leaves certain groups further marginalized and disempowered while empowering a select few. Engineering has the opportunity to be a field of service, but first risks and benefits must be weighed and the outcome …

Analysis Of Gait Parameters And Knee Angles In Ultimate Frisbee Players: Implications For Balance And Injury, Ethan Nikcevich

Master's Theses

Biomechanics research investigating gait and balance of ultimate frisbee players is an unexplored topic. Ultimate requires a wide range of motions that could improve balance and is also a sport prone to frequent injury. This study explores the impact of playing ultimate on gait parameters associated with balance and knee angles associated with joint injury. Gait trials were conducted on 8 ultimate players and 8 control participants between the ages of 18 and 23 to obtain total double support time, stance phase time, single support time, load response time, abduction-adduction (AA) angles, internal-external (IE) rotation angles, and flexion angles of …

Modeling The Moisture Content And Drying Rate Of Zucchini (Cucurbita Pepo L.) In A Solar Hybrid Dryer Using Ann And Anfis Methods, Halil Nusret Bulus, Aytac Moralar, Soner Celen

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Estimating product drying kinetics is critical to obtain the best drying process without compromising product quality and necessitates the development of numerical drying models. This research aims to compare the prediction models developed using artificial neural network (ANN) and adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), two popular machine learning approaches in the recent years. Zucchini slices were chosen as samples and dried in a solar-assisted microwave belt dryer at 0.245 m/min belt speed and microwave powers of 0.7, 1, and 1.4 kW. On the data set obtained by computing the moisture content and drying rate values, prediction models were developed …

Quantifying Balance: Computational And Learning Frameworks For The Characterization Of Balance In Bipedal Systems, Kubra Akbas

Dissertations

In clinical practice and general healthcare settings, the lack of reliable and objective balance and stability assessment metrics hinders the tracking of patient performance progression during rehabilitation; the assessment of bipedal balance plays a crucial role in understanding stability and falls in humans and other bipeds, while providing clinicians important information regarding rehabilitation outcomes. Bipedal balance has often been examined through kinematic or kinetic quantities, such as the Zero Moment Point and Center of Pressure; however, analyzing balance specifically through the body's Center of Mass (COM) state offers a holistic and easily comprehensible view of balance and stability.

Building upon …

Improving Irrigant Flow Characteristics For Enhanced Root Canal Therapy: A Numerical Study, Bibek Banjaday

Masters Theses

This numerical study investigates the flow characteristics within a root canal during a manual endodontic treatment. To underscore the difference in root canal geometry, a simplified root canal (frustum of a cone) and a more complex (realistic) root canal geometry were considered. The needle utilized in all simulations is a side-vented 30G KerrHaweIrrigation Probe, KerrHawe SA, Bioggio, Switzerland. For both root canal geometries, the effect of variation of fluid inlet velocity, needle insertion depth, and needle tilt angle on flow characteristics was examined via velocity contours, turbulent intensity, wall shear stress, and streamline and vector plots. The fluid was Sodium …

Enhancing Human Key Point Identification: A Comparative Study Of High-Resolution Vicon Dataset And Coco Dataset Using Bpnet, Bibash Lama

Masters Theses

Accurately identifying human key points is crucial for various applications, including activity recognition, pose estimation, and gait analysis. This study presents a high-resolution dataset created using the VICON motion capture system and three differently oriented 2D cameras, that can be used to train different neural networks for estimating the 2D key joint positions of the person from the 2D images or videos. The participants in the study included 25 healthy adults (17 males and 8 females) performing normal gait movements for about 2 to 3 seconds. The VICON system captured 3D ground truth data, while the three 2D cameras collected …

Hierarchical Based Classifcation Method Based On Fusion Ofgaussian Map Descriptors Foralzheimer Diagnosis Using T1‑Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Nourhan Zayed, Shereen E. Morsy, Inas A. Yassine

Mechanical Engineering

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is considered one of the most spouting elderly diseases. In 2015, AD is reported the US’s sixth cause of death. Substantially, non-invasive imaging is widely employed to provide biomarkers supporting AD screening, diagnosis, and progression. In this study, Gaussian descriptors-based features are proposed to be efcient new biomarkers using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) T1-weighted images to diferentiate between Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and Normal controls (NC). Several Gaussian map-based features are extracted such as Gaussian shape operator, Gaussian curvature, and mean curvature. The aforementioned features are then introduced to the Support Vector Machine (SVM). …

Development Of A Soft Robotic Approach For An Intra-Abdominal Wireless Laparoscopic Camera, Hui Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

In Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS), the Magnetic Anchoring and Guidance System (MAGS) arises as a promising technique to provide larger workspaces and field of vision for the laparoscopes, relief space for other instruments, and require fewer incisions. Inspired by MAGS, many concept designs related to fully insertable magnetically driven laparoscopes are developed and tested on the transabdominal operation. However, ignoring the tissue interaction and insertion procedure, most of the designs adopt rigid structures, which not only damage the patients' tissue with excess stress concentration and sliding motion but also require complicated operation for the insertion. Meanwhile, lacking state tracking of …

Biomat (Biomechanics Multiactivity Transformer) Model, Mohsen Sharifi Renani

BioMAT (Biomechanics Multiactivity Transformer)

No abstract provided.

Mechanical Response Of The Craniofacial Skeleton To Subfracture Impacts In The Time And Frequency Domains, Paige Merko

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Resonant frequencies have been suggested as a mechanism of brain injury since these vibrations can transfer energy into the brain. Study of the vibrational response of the craniofacial skeleton to impact is limited in literature. In this research, four cadaver specimens were impacted at five locations on the craniofacial skeleton. The mechanical response to each impact was compared in the time and frequency domains. Impacts to the maxilla and its associated soft tissues tended to be attenuated, while impacts to the cranial vault, specifically to the occipital, produced the most severe response. Results suggest that the facial skeleton and its …

Biomechanical Knee Joint For Exoskeleton, Gabriel Ireton Ahern, Calloway Miller, Christianna Altamura, Eric Mailes

Mechanical Engineering

Our senior design project consisted of designing and manufacturing a biomechanically accurate, actuated knee joint to be integrated into an exoskeleton being developed by the Lower Limb Exoskeleton Assist Project (LLEAP), a part of the EMPOWER student association at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. As the human knee flexes and extends throughout gait motion, the center of rotation changes. Currently marketed exoskeletons have one point of rotation, which over constrains the knee and causes misalignment between the user and the suit [1]. Our goal was to mimic natural knee joint motion by changing the center or rotation, thus reducing misalignment …

Bespoke Bicycle Enclosure, Thomas Link, Kyle Mcafee, Marc Monier, Hunter Walden

Mechanical Engineering

Brian Higgins is an American veteran with retinitis pigmentosa who relies on cycling for transportation. The motivation for this project is to design and manufacture a refined prototype bicycle attachment to support him while biking in the rain and cold. The attachment will serve to enclose him for optimal protection from inclement weather, while maintaining sufficient mobility for daily cycling. Mr. Higgins’ bicycle is equipped with an attached sensor system which assists his visual impairment by using an ultrasonic sensor. Therefore, the attachment cannot adversely affect the function of the sensor system. The project timeline is set at approximately 7 …

Patient Movement Monitoring Based On Imu And Deep Learning, Mohsen Sharifi Renani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of disability among the aging population in the United States and is frequently treated by replacing deteriorated joints with metal and plastic components. Developing better quantitative measures of movement quality to track patients longitudinally in their own homes would enable personalized treatment plans and hasten the advancement of promising new interventions. Wearable sensors and machine learning used to quantify patient movement could revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. The purpose of this dissertation was to overcome technical challenges associated with the use of wearable sensors, specifically Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), as a …

Flexible Magnetic Skin Sensor Array For Torsion Perception, Lucja Stawikowska, Erik D. Engeberg

36th Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics

Prosthetic hands help upper limb amputees and people who were born without hands. Currently, these prostheses are rather rudimentary and do not provide adequate sensing capabilities compared to a human hand. People use their natural hands to perceive complex tactile phenomena such as shear and torsion using thousands of mechanoreceptors in their fingertips. The capability to detect torsional loads at the fingertips is a notable gap in prosthetic hand sensation. Flexible tactile sensors are a promising new technology that would be ideal for prosthetic hands since they allow for stretching and movement like human skin without damage to the sensor. …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Steam Gasification Of Biochar To Produce Hydrogen-Rich Syngas, Nnamdi Ofuani

Honors College Theses

A key greenhouse gas (GHG) emission contributing to climate change is carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission. This emission is largely due to the use of fossil fuel as a major energy source. Biomass is an alternative energy source. Biochar, a byproduct of the pyrolysis process (of biomass), could be gasified to produce syngas (a mixture of CO and H₂). This syngas can further be used to produce different kinds of fuels like biodiesel, bio-gasoline, bioethanol, etc. In the steam gasification of biochar, the quality and yield of syngas is dependent on parameters such as temperature, particle size, …