Engineering Commons^™

Cycloidal-Drive Joint Design For Wearable Exoskeletons, Abhi J. Rawal

Theses

This thesis's scope was to construct a highly back drivable and compact joint design that can be used for wearable exoskeletons specifically designed to assist with rehabilitation. A compact cycloidal gear transmission was designed to satisfy the compactness requirement while ensuring the minimum torque is required for backdriving the mechanism. The joint was designed based on the compact cycloidal drive specifications, and the backdrivability test was performed to measure the minimum torque required (1.20 Nm) to backdrive. The joint design incorporates various important features such as rotation lock feature to prevent hyperextension, a housing design that offers the benefit of …

Feasibility Of Twisted Coiled Polymer Actuators For Use In Upper Limb Wearable Rehabilitation Devices, Brandon P.R. Edmonds

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Throughout your lifetime, it is nearly impossible to avoid at least one musculoskeletal condition that requires rehabilitation, and for a world containing billions of people, the costs associated with these conditions have become a huge economic burden. Nevertheless, the scientific community has become increasingly aware of the growing potential for wearable mechatronic systems to assist with upper-limb musculoskeletal rehabilitation; however, one limiting factor to their clinical acceptance lies in the development of actuation solutions. Conventional actuators are rigid and cylindrical in nature, requiring additional features to provide the proper forces, torques, and motion direction, required for human interaction. Another type …

Analysis And Enhancement Of Human Cognitive Control Using Noninvasive Brain-Computer Interfaces, Soheil Borhani

Doctoral Dissertations

Cognitive control including attention and working memory are crucial to human daily life. Whether a civilian who walks across a street or a military service member who is responsible for navigating a mission, cognitive control is involved, entirely. This ability is subject to impairment. People with attention disorder are easily disposed to distraction and lacks the ability to maintain the focus to a task. Multiple treatment strategies have been suggested which most of them has been pharmaceutical. Evidently, the medical treatment has side effects for long-term use. Moreover, it has a risk of drug misuse. Another line of treatment is …

Technology Aiding In Neonatal Lung Developmental Care, Megan Kirk

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this paper, old as well as new technological findings to decrease premature infant mortality are reviewed. This paper discusses fetal development throughout pregnancy from conception to full-term status as well as fetal lung development specifically from conception until full-term status. Several ideas to rapidly develop and mature fetal lungs are discussed such as mothers ingesting artificial surfactant supplements, either independently or coupled with antenatal corticosteroids, as well as intra-amniotic instillation prior to 28 weeks gestational. Drawbacks regarding these two are mentioned as well such as the fetus’s lungs not being mature enough to use the artificial surfactant leading into …

Automated Intelligent Cueing Device To Improve Ambient Gait Behaviors For Patients With Parkinson's Disease, Nader Naghavi

Doctoral Dissertations

Freezing of gait (FoG) is a common motor dysfunction in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). FoG impairs walking and is associated with increased fall risk. Although pharmacological treatments have shown promise during ON-medication periods, FoG remains difficult to treat during medication OFF state and in advanced stages of the disease. External cueing therapy in the forms of visual, auditory, and vibrotactile, has been effective in treating gait deviations. Intelligent (or on-demand) cueing devices are novel systems that analyze gait patterns in real-time and activate cues only at moments when specific gait alterations are detected. In this study we developed methods …

Development Of A Pediatric Cardiac Assist Maglev Pump For Use With A Universal Driver System., Landon Heath Tompkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heart failure (HF) remains the leading cause of death, affecting 26 million adults worldwide and 6.5 million adults in the United States. Pediatric HF patients have been a historically underserved population with few options for mechanical circulatory support (MCS) therapy, a leading treatment as an alternative to heart transplantation. To address this clinical need, the Inspired Universal MagLev System is being developed; a low cost, universal magnetically levitated extracorporeal MCS system with interchangeable single-use pumps that will ultimately provide adult and pediatric patients ventricular and respiratory assist therapies. The Inspired Pediatric VAD is the first single-use pump application for this …

Camera-Based Remote Photoplethysmography For Estimation Of Heart Rate Using Single Board Computers, Benjamin Sweely

Masters Theses

The objective of this project was to develop a wireless, noncontact monitoring system that measures multiple physiological parameters in human faces from a distance using a camera. Compared to traditional sensors, this monitoring system does not use wires or adhesives, providing a safer, more user-friendly application. The goal of the monitoring systems was to estimate heart rate (HR). The current practices of measuring HR involve collecting electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from adhesive electrodes placed on various parts of the body and using a pulse oximeter (PO) typically placed on the ear lobe or finger. We were able to successfully create 2 …

Imparting 3d Representations To Artificial Intelligence For A Full Assessment Of Pressure Injuries., Sofia Zahia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During recent decades, researches have shown great interest to machine learning techniques in order to extract meaningful information from the large amount of data being collected each day. Especially in the medical field, images play a significant role in the detection of several health issues. Hence, medical image analysis remarkably participates in the diagnosis process and it is considered a suitable environment to interact with the technology of intelligent systems. Deep Learning (DL) has recently captured the interest of researchers as it has proven to be efficient in detecting underlying features in the data and outperformed the classical machine learning …

A Novel Method To Commercialize Medical Devices Initially Developed At California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, Christina Grigorian

Master's Theses

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is a university that encourages students to approach learning hands-on. As such, there is cutting-edge technology being developed by students in all departments on campus. Being that the university possesses an outstanding biomedical engineering department, there are groundbreaking medical devices that students are creating at Cal Poly SLO. These are devices that can better the lives of individuals suffering from ailments or fulfill needs in the medical industry. Subsequently, it is vital that these devices make it out of campus laboratories and into the hands of consumers. In order to move a product …

Analysis Of Electroanatomic Mapping System Accuracy Using X-Ray Reconstruction Of Electrode Locations In A Porcine Animal Model, Hana Boudlali

Master's Theses

Fluoroscopy is considered the gold standard for locating catheters during cardiac electrophysiology (EP) procedures. However, fluoroscopy emits ionizing radiation which can lead to adverse health effects when exposed to in high doses (World Health Organization, 2016). Electroanatomic mapping (EAM) systems display the three-dimensional location of EP catheters and measure the local electrical activity of the heart. They can minimize a physician’s reliance on fluoroscopy and can help reduce radiation exposure during a case (Casella, 2011).

EAM systems are diagnostic medical devices that inform the placement of ablation therapy and must accurately locate catheters to be deemed safe. Test methods to …

Multiphoton Microscopy And Deep Learning Neural Networks For The Automated Quantification Of In Vivo, Label-Free Optical Biomarkers Of Skin Wound Healing, Jake D. Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Non-healing ulcerative wounds that occur frequently in diseases such as diabetes are challenging to diagnose and treat due to numerous possible etiologies and the variable efficacy of wound care products. With advanced age, skin wound healing is often delayed, leaving elderly patients at high risk for developing these chronic injuries. As it is challenging to discriminate age-related delays from disease-related chronicity, there is a critical need to develop new quantitative biomarkers that are sensitive to wound status. Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) techniques are well-suited for 3D imaging of epithelia and are capable of non-invasively detecting metabolic cofactors (NADH and FAD) without …

Biomechanical Comparison Of The Validity Of Two Configurations Of Simulators For Body-Powered Hand Prostheses, Camille Bennett, Amanuel Matias, Brendan Smith, Jenevieve Roper, Stephen Estelle

Honors Thesis

Simulators are often used in prosthesis research to evaluate new devices or characterize aspects of prosthesis use, so as to recruit participants without amputations. Simulators, in general, must locate the prosthesis somewhere other than where the intact biological limb exists. In this study, we compared two configurations of simulators for hand prostheses to determine which leads to more natural elbow and shoulder kinematics, and in turn, which is the more valid simulator. One configuration located the prosthesis in-line with the forearm, beyond the biological hand; the other located it beside the hand. We measured the kinematics of 12 non-amputee participants …

An Exercise Device Used To Achieve Bone Formation Metrics For The Strengthening Of The Proximal Femur., Sean P. Coyle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lateral falls often lead to hip fracture particularly in the elderly who have low bone mineral density. These fractures frequently lead to indirect mortality soon after injury. Normal use over the course over a lifetime leads to optimized adaptation of the bone in the proximal femur according to normal loading. A lateral fall generates non-normal, lateral loading at the proximal hip where the bone has not adapted to withstand such loading. The resulting fracture is generated by reversed strains on the bone tissue in the femoral neck in the hip in contrast to vertical, quotidian loading. Modern practices for preventing …

Lanthanide Nanoparticles As Contrast Agents For In Vivo Dual Energy Microcomputed Tomography Of The Mouse Vasculature, Charmainne Cruje

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Dual energy (DE) computed tomography (CT) has the capability to influence medicine and pre-clinical research by providing quantitative information that can detect nascent lesions, identify perfusion restoration or inhomogeneities within tissues, and recognize the presence of calcium deposits. A wide variety of instrumentation techniques and scan protocols have been developed for DE CT, with a common goal of acquiring a pair of images that reports the attenuation of a given volume to two different x-ray distributions. While DE image acquisition has benefitted from technical advancements in CT, the contrast agents that are used are still predominantly composed of iodinated small …

Bacteria Analysis By Using A Supervised Machine Learning Algorithm Based On Droplet Microfluidics, Yulder Daniel Angarita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sepsis is a major medical problem and massive resources have been invested in developing and evaluating alternative treatments. Statistics indicate that sepsis causes between one third and one half of all hospital deaths in the United States. Sepsis has a high impact on health care in the US, with direct sepsis costs in 2009 exceeding $15.4 billion. A research study found that a 1-hour delay in appropriate antimicrobial care resulted in a 7% - 10% rise in mortality. Several professional societies seek to reduce sepsis mortality by targeting the timely use of diagnostic tests and antimicrobial therapy. The diagnostic instruments …

Fabrication Of Silicon Microneedles For Dermal Interstitial Fluid Extraction In Human Subjects, Caleb A. Berry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project is to design and develop a fabrication process for silicon microneedle arrays to extract dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) from human skin. ISF is a cell- free, living tissue medium that is known to contain many of the same, clinical biomarkers of general health, stress response and immune status as in blood. However, a significant barrier to adoption of ISF as a diagnostic matrix is the lack of a rapid, minimally invasive method of access and collection for analysis. Microfabricated chips containing arrays of microneedles that can rapidly and painlessly access and collect dermal ISF for …

Development Of An Active Infection Monitoring Knee Spacer For Two-Stage Revision, Michael K. Lavdas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Infections requiring surgical revision occur in ~3% of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures. The standard treatment for TKA infection in North America is referred to as the two-stage revision process. Unfortunately, the success rate of the two-stage revision is low, at roughly 85%. There are indications that the two-stage revision may fail to clear the infection due to unsatisfactory diagnostic tools. This thesis depicts the development and evaluation of a novel telemetric sensing package designed for integration into the two-stage revision process. Studies within evaluate its performance through sensor validation, thermal insulation testing, radio frequency penetration evaluation, a cadaveric loading …

How Does Robotic Surgery Influence Communication, Leadership, And Team Outcomes? A Multimethod Examination., Jordan E. Rogers

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The practice of delivering surgical care has evolved to be less invasive to the patients undergoing surgery. Minimally-invasive surgery can be practiced through traditional laparoscopic methods as well as with robotic technology that displaces the surgeon from the operating table. Robotic surgery has been cited to be safer and more effective than traditional laparoscopic surgery; however, little research has endeavored to investigate the role of surgical modality upon aspects of teamwork. This dissertation contributes to the human factors and teamwork literature by evaluating how surgical modality may influence communication, shared leadership, and team outcomes. Multiple methods were employed to study …

Sandy Feet, Garrett E. Herbst, Jacqueline Chuang, Jerin T. Brust, Parker S. Duncan

General Engineering

Sgt. Brady is a former armed forces member with a transtibial amputation. He walks on sand frequently for work and leisure, but experiences severe pain and inconvenience because his current prosthesis is not meant for use on sand. Sand Foot V2 is a prosthesis that allows Sgt. Brady to walk on sand for long periods of time without issue.

Sol Retractor: Rapidly Deployable Film-Based C-Section Retractor, Casey Lee, Silas Cleveland, Jose Dolores Valdivieso, Joseph Perks

Honors Theses

Cesarean Sections (C-sections), a surgery conducted for baby delivery, can be divided into four distinct categories; Category 1 and 2 are considered emergency c-sections, and Category 3 and 4 are scheduled c-sections [2]. A comparative study from 2016 analyzed the difference of need for postoperative treatment between the Collins or the Alexis O retractor ( n = 100). The Alexis O C-Section retractor resulted in 19% of women requiring postoperative treatment, including medication, monitoring, and an extended stay at the hospital. The Collins resulted in 43% of the patients requiring postoperative treatment (p = 0.001) [5]. In emergency C-sections, surgical …

A Novel Device To Remove Kidney Stone Fragments From The Ureter, Madeline Feinberg, Christina Pavlovsky, John Kasel

Honors Theses

Every year kidney stones affect 654,000 Americans and 25% of these cases require a ureteroscopy which is performed on patients with kidney stones greater than 4 mm in the ureter. A holmium laser is used to rupture the kidney stone resulting in fragmentation of the stone. If not removed, these residual fragments can cause pain and may require a secondary procedure to remove them. The most common method for removing stone fragments is inserting a basket device through a port on the ureteroscope, encapsulating individual stone fragments, and manually removing the device. This device requires multiple insertions to remove the …

Breathe Easy: A More Efficient Way To Avoid Tracheostomy Airway Blockages, Olivia Zimmerman, Kathleen Swanson, Katelynn Russ

Honors Theses

ZIMMERMAN, OLIVIA Breathe Easy: A More Efficient Way to Avoid Tracheostomy Airway Blockages

Department of Biomedical Engineering, June 2020.

ADVISOR: Professor Cotter and Professor Khetan

A Revolutionary Approach To Transsphenoidal Surgery: The Pedg, Paidamoyo Ewing, Lavonia Duncan, Giselle Perkowski, Erendira Garcia Pallares

Honors Theses

Approximately 1500 pituitary tumors diagnosed each year are tough textured microadenomas found mainly in patients aging from 55-80 [1]. Tough textured tumors in the pituitary gland can cause hormonal imbalances and vision changes. For our Capstone Project, we focused on designing an endonasal device, the Pituitary Endonasal Deep Grasper (PEDG), that improves the efficiency of tough textured pituitary tumor removal by improving upon various mechanisms in Transsphenoidal Surgery including rotation, tip grasping, suction, and handle control. Our device contains a comfortable handle that allows for better control and precision during the procedure. We designed a grasping mechanism that is strong …

Breathe Easy: A More Efficient Way To Avoid Tracheostomy Airway Blockages, Katelynn Russ, Kathleen Swanson, Olivia Zimmerman

Honors Theses

Over 100,000 people receive tracheostomies each year in the United States when mechanical ventilation is needed for longer than 48 hours, a patient has a chronically obstructed airway, or the patient is unable to protect their airway from aspiration. A tracheostomy is inserted into a patient’s trachea in order to modify their airway through a tracheotomy procedure. A tracheostomy tube alters the natural lining of an airway which normally has a 5-50 μm thick layer of mucus. An airway with a tracheostomy tube produces more mucus than the average airway of a healthy person, and it also limits the patient’s …

Breathe Easy: A More Efficient Way To Avoid Tracheostomy Airway Blockages, Kathleen Swanson, Katelynn Russ, Olivia Zimmerman

Honors Theses

Over 100,000 people receive tracheostomies each year in the United States when mechanical ventilation is needed for longer than 48 hours, a patient has a chronically obstructed airway, or the patient is unable to protect their airway from aspiration. A tracheostomy is inserted into a patient’s trachea in order to modify their airway through a tracheotomy procedure. A tracheostomy tube alters the natural lining of an airway which normally has a 5-50 μm thick layer of mucus. An airway with a tracheostomy tube produces more mucus than the average airway of a healthy person, and it also limits the patient’s …

An Improved Method For Hospital Acquired Pressure Ulcer (Hapu) Prevention, Megan Morrissey, Jillian Yeager, Julia Beekman

Honors Theses

Hospital acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs), also called bedsores, are damage to the skin and/or underlying tissue caused by prolonged pressure on the bony areas of the body, with around 20% of pressure ulcers occurring in the heel region. Currently, the most common practice for HAPU prevention is arbitrary manual repositioning of patients by nurses every 1-2 hours. The goal of our project was to address HAPUs in the heel region of low mobility patients through an ulceration risk sensing system. Our team has created a wearable ulceration risk assessment system that combines individual patient risk data with real time pressure …

Virtual Stethoscope - Otoscope, Ermen J. Elenes-Cazares, Ceasar A. Hurtado, Thomas M. Margolle

Biomedical Engineering

The purpose of this report was to develop a working prototype for a virtual stethoscope and otoscope. Sponsored by Courtney Farr, the virtual diagnostic care system – HouseCalls Mobile digital stethoscope/otoscope is meant for use by medical professionals and non – medical professionals for preliminary medical exams while physically not in a medical setting. The HouseCalls Mobile device is to characterize key biometric parameters such as breathing patterns, heart irregularities, and visual clinical evaluation of the inner ear. This device is intended for pediatric use.

Concussion Detection Device, Jenna C. Sussex, Mark B. Edin, Bianca X. Aleman

Biomedical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Alternative Epinephrine Auto-Injector, Joshua Wong, Uriel Nieves-Cruz, Tara Howard

Biomedical Engineering

Project: Alternative Epinephrine Injector started as a solution for Bianca Aleman’s little brother however the scope has evolved to include the many millions of individuals across the world who struggle with a life-threatening allergen. The stakeholders of this project are Cal Poly and Dr. Michael D. Whitt. Our goals are the following:

● Develop a foolproof method of injection that consistently delivers a dosage of epinephrine

● Be equal or less than the current size of an EpiPen (6 in)

● Be easy to transport or store when not-in-use

● Create an isolated environment where the epinephrine will not be …

Non-Invasive Peripheral Venous And Arterial Line Air Detector For Embolization Prevention, Alexandria Kwong, Kevin Shu, Dylan Meinster

Biomedical Engineering

The scope of this project includes designing a non-invasive bubble detector for peripheral venous and arterial lines. For minimally invasive cardiac procedures, arterial and venous access is necessary for these procedures as is constant flow through the tubing to prevent clotting and to administer drugs. Air bubbles are common in these lines and can be consequential if enough air is introduced into the human system. Air embolisms are the most common and relevant issues during these procedures. The goal of this device is to create an attachable detector for air bubbles in saline that can also terminate flow and alert …