Biomechanical Engineering Commons^™

Computational Investigation Of Injectable Treatment Strategies For Myocardial Infarction, Hua Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Heart failure is an important medical disease and impacts millions of people throughout the world. In order to treat this problem, biomaterial injectable treatment injected into the myocardium of the failing LV are currently being developed. Through this treatment, the biomaterial material injections can reduce wall stresses during the cardiac remodeling process. By using computational techniques to analyze the effects of a treatment involving the injection of biomaterial material into the LV after MI, the material parameters of the hydrogel injections can be optimized. The results shows that the hydrogel injections could reduce the global average fiber stress and the …

Estimating Passive Material Properties And Fiber Orientation In A Myocardial Infarction Through An Optimization Scheme Using Mri And Fe Simulation, Dimitri Mojsejenko

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Myocardial infarctions induce a maladaptive ventricular remodeling process that independently contributes to heart failure. In order to develop effective treatments, it is necessary to understand the way and extent to which the heart undergoes remodeling over the course of healing. There have been few studies to produce any data on the in-vivo material properties of infarcts, and much less on the properties over the time course of healing. In this paper, the in-vivo passive material properties of an infarcted porcine model were estimated through a combined use of magnetic resonance imaging, catheterization, finite element modeling, and a genetic algorithm optimization …

Fabrication Of Magnetic Two-Dimensional And Three-Dimensional Microstructures For Microfluidics And Microrobotics Applications, Hui Li

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology has had an increasing impact on industry and our society. A wide range of MEMS devices are used in every aspects of our life, from microaccelerators and microgyroscopes to microscale drug-delivery systems. The increasing complexity of microsystems demands diverse microfabrication methods and actuation strategies to realize. Currently, it is challenging for existing microfabrication methods—particularly 3D microfabrication methods—to integrate multiple materials into the same component. This is a particular challenge for some applications, such as microrobotics and microfluidics, where integration of magnetically-responsive materials would be beneficial, because it enables contact-free actuation. In addition, most existing microfabrication methods …

Ambulatory Extracorporeal Arterioveous Co2 Removal Via Subclavian Vessels, Alejandra Macias, Alvaro Rojas-Pena

McNair Poster Presentations

Lung transplantation is the last recourse for patients with severe respiratory failure. However, transplantable lungs do not keep up with the demand, and 15.4% of patients die awaiting transplant. An alternative therapy is extracorporeal life support (ECLS), which uses a pump and an oxygenator to serve as a bridge to transplant. However, this technology limits ambulation and requires ICU care. This novel study implements pumpless arteriovenous (AV) ECLS technology to remove CO2 via the subclavian vessels, providing respiratory support and hypercapnia (excessive CO2 retention) sympton relief for patients while allowing ambulation.

Measuring Head Impact Contact Pressure In Collegiate Football Games To Correlate Head Kinematics To Brain Kinetics Elucidating Brain Injury Dynamics, Chandrika S. Abhang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Does a brain store thoughts and memories the way a computer saves its files? How can a single hit or a fall erase all those memories? Brain Mapping and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have become widely researched fields today. Many researchers have been studying TBIs caused to adult American football players however youth athletes have been rarely considered for these studies, contradicting to the fact that American football enrolls highest number of collegiate and high-school children than adults. This research is an attempt to contribute to the field of youth TBIs.

Earlier studies have related head kinematics (linear and angular …

Predicting Pressure Distribution Between Transfemoral Prosthetic Socket And Residual Limb Using Finite Element Analysis, Rajesh Surapureddy

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, a non-linear Finite Element (FE) model was created and analyzed to determine the pressure distribution between the residual limb and the prosthetic socket of a transfemoral amputee. This analysis was performed in an attempt to develop a process allowing healthcare providers and engineers to simulate the fit and comfort of transfemoral prosthetics to reduce the number of re-fittings needed for the amputees. The analysis considered the effects of interference due to insertion of the limb into the prosthesis, referred to as donning, and also the effects due to the body weight of the amputee. A non-linear finite …

Cfd Assessment Of Respiratory Drug Delivery Efficiency In Adults And Improvements Using Controlled Condensational Growth, Ross L. Walenga

Theses and Dissertations

Pharmaceutical aerosols provide a number of advantages for treating respiratory diseases that include targeting high doses directly to the lungs and reducing exposure of other organs to the medication, which improve effectiveness and minimize side effects. However, difficulties associated with aerosolized drug delivery to the lungs include drug losses in delivery devices and in the extrathoracic region of human upper airways. Intersubject variability of extrathoracic and thoracic drug deposition is a key issue as well and should be minimized. Improvements to respiratory drug delivery efficiency have been recently proposed by Dr. P. Worth Longest and Dr. Michael Hindle through the …

Development And Validation Of A Human Knee Joint Finite Element Model For Tissue Stress And Strain Predictions During Exercise, Spencer D. Wangerin

Master's Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition of cartilage and is the leading cost of disability in the United States. Motion analysis experiments in combination with knee-joint finite element (FE) analysis may be used to identify exercises that maintain knee-joint osteochondral (OC) loading at safe levels for patients at high-risk for knee OA, individuals with modest OC defects, or patients rehabilitating after surgical interventions. Therefore, a detailed total knee-joint FE model was developed by modifying open-source knee-joint geometries in order to predict OC tissue stress and strain during the stance phase of gait. The model was partially validated for predicting the …

Development And Validation Of A Human Hip Joint Finite Element Model For Tissue Stress And Strain Predictions During Gait, Jeffrey D. Pyle

Master's Theses

Articular cartilage degeneration, called osteoarthritis, in the hip joint is a serious condition that affects millions of individuals yearly, with limited clinical solutions available to prevent or slow progression of damage. Additionally, the effects of high-risk factors (e.g. obesity, soft and hard tissue injuries, abnormal joint alignment, amputations) on the progression of osteoarthritis are not fully understood. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to generate a finite element model for predicting osteochondral tissue stress and strain in the human hip joint during gait, with a future goal of using this model in clinically relevant studies aimed at prevention, treatment, …

Advancement Of Legged Locomotion Models By Including Nonlinear Damping, Ian Abraham, Zhuohua H. Shen, Justin E. Seipel

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Accurately predicting human locomotion has been a goal of various mathematical models. Early canonical models of locomotion were developed to predict the basic features of ground reaction forces (GRF). More recently, modified hip actuated and leg damped locomotion models have been developed to better predict the stability and robustness of human and animal locomotion. Such improvements have resulted in the loss of the characteristic GRF predicted by earlier models. Historically, GRF are among the most common measures to experimentally study human locomotion. Thus, it is important to develop new mathematical models that predict both accurate stability of motion, as well …

Sequential Structural And Fluid Dynamics Analysis Of Balloon-Expandable Coronary Stents., David Martin

Doctoral

As in-stent restenosis following coronary stent deployment has been strongly linked with stent-induced arterial injury and altered vessel hemodynamics, the sequential numerical analysis of the mechanical and hemodynamic impact of stent deployment within a coronary artery is likely to provide an excellent indication of coronary stent performance. Despite this observation, very few numerical studies have considered both the mechanical and hemodynamic impact of stent deployment. In light of this observation, the aim of this research is to develop a robust numerical methodology for investigating the performance of balloon-expandable coronary stents in terms of their mechanical and hemodynamic impact within a …

Micro-Scale Dielectric Spectroscopy Of Biological Cells, Arindam Ghosh

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In recent years microfluidics has become one of the most commonly used tools to investigate cellular biology and to provide a platform for novel biomedical devices. Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) was formulated as a non-invasive and label-fi.ee method to investigate the dielectric and the structural properties of materials. Since the early 20th century, EIS and Dielectric Spectroscopy have been applied to measure the dielectric properties of biological cells and tissues. Information about the cell membrane, cytoplasm and the nucleus can be extracted by dielectric spectroscopy. This thesis focuses on the applicability of the analytical models, in particular the Maxwell-Wagner Interfacial …

Water Removal From Gas Flow Channels Of Fuel Cells, Jeffrey S. Allen

Michigan Tech Patents

An apparatus for water management in a fuel cell. The apparatus includes a fuel cell having a first porous electrode layer, a second porous electrode layer, a proton-conducting membrane positioned between the first electrode and second electrode layers, and a first and second bi-polar distribution plate, wherein the first bi-polar distribution plate is positioned on a top of the first electrode layer and defining a first gas flow channel, and wherein the second bi-polar distribution plate is positioned on a bottom of the second electrode layer and defining a second gas flow channel. The apparatus further includes a mechanism for …

Measurement And Description Of Dynamics Required For In Vivo Surgical Robotics Via Kinematic Methods, Jacob G. Greenburg

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

With the goal of improved recovery times and reduced trauma to the patient there has been a substantial shift in the medical community’s demand for minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques. With the standardization of MIS becoming more commonplace in the medical field there are still many improvements that are desired. Traditional, manual methods of these surgeries require multiple incisions on the abdomen for the tools and instruments to be inserted. The more recent demand has been to localize the incisions into what is being referred to as a Laparoendoscopic Single-Site (LESS) surgery. Furthermore, the manual instruments that are commonly used …

Finite Element Models Of The Knee & Hip Joints: Using Opensim To Predict Muscle Forces, Kevin S. Jones, Spencer D. Wangerin, Jeffrey D. Pyle, Stephen M. Klisch, Scott J. Hazelwood

STAR Program Research Presentations

Quantitative data of stresses and strains in the cartilage of the knee and hip joints are required to design prostheses and can be used to give accurate advice to patients with cartilage damage as to which activities should be avoided. Instrumented hip implants can only give the overall resultant force in the joint, not the stresses and strains throughout the cartilage. Finite Element (FE) models of the Knee and Hip are being constructed in order to obtain the stresses and strains in articular (of the joint) cartilage. Muscle forces and joint contact forces are required as inputs to these FE …

Preliminary Development Of A Subject Specific Finite Element Model Of The Hindfoot, Liang Dong

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The human hindfoot is a complex structure and its medical treatment can vary from patient to patient. If physicians have access to a patient specific computer model, the optimal treatment option can be explored on the model before preforming it on the patient. The purpose of this study was to create a quasi-static finite element model and to show the stress contour in the cartilage between the bones. Ankle joint contact pressure was collected on one cadaver limb with a 40 lbs ( 178 N) axial load applied and tendon loads applied to simulate the ratio of tendon loading during …

Guidance System, Kayaking For The Visually Impaired, D. Ryan Kirtland, Ryan Phife, William Gardner, Amy Johnson

Biomedical Engineering

Quality Life Plus is working with Team River Runner to develop an assistive guidance system for veterans who want to remain active by kayaking, after sustaining an injury that impairs vision. This system allows these veterans to complete a slalom speed race independent of a personal guide in the water. The system incorporates 3 stations that each contain a speaker connected to a microcontroller system covered by a Pelican Case on a custom made buoy. During the slalom race, a kayaker will travel from shore towards buoy #1 as it omits sound from the speaker. As the kayaker moves around …

Evaluation Of Novel High-Density Emg Feedback Parameters On The Spatial Distribution Of Trapezius Muscle Activity, Brecca M. Gaffney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Each year, 17.9% of adults working in a computer-dominated work environment develop an episode of chronic neck and shoulder pain. An effective treatment method for chronic pain is postural correction through therapist. The understanding of the relation between cervicoscapular posture and trapezius muscle activity is not fully understood because the anatomy of the scapula is not accessible for direct observation. Until recently, the spatial distribution of trapezius muscle activity could not be measured due to the limitation in size of detection zone in traditional bipolar electrodes. The primary goal of postural correction when treating cases of chronic neck and shoulder …

Experimental Assessment Of The Impact Of Asymptomatic Gas Emboli On The Vessel Wall, Linxia Gu, Eric L. Cutler

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Quantitative evaluation of shear stress in the vessel wall due to the presence of asymptomatic gas emboli is lacking. The goal of this work was to assess the impact of chronic asymptomatic gas emboli on the risk of atherosclerosis through a custom-built cardiovascular flow simulator. Gas bubbles were created by forced air from a syringe pump. The influences of embolism injection rate, pulse rate, and time-averaged flow rate on the wall mean shear stress were investigated at resting and elevated heart rate conditions. The recorded pressure and volumetric flow rate from 24 experimental settings with four repetitions each were used …

Intuity Sleeve Redesign, Maxwell Arnold, Brittany Kinkade, Dominic Nicoletti

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.