Engineering Commons^™

Designing A Week-Long Biomedical Engineering Summer Camp To Increase Young Students’ Interest And Self-Efficacy In Stem, Kayla Ney

Honors Theses

In order to combat the negative feelings many young students have towards STEM, I designed a week-long summer camp that teaches students about biomedical engineering as well as collaboration, communication, and confidence with STEM subjects. This work includes a literature review outlining what STEM is and current issues in STEM education, including disinterest in STEM and attrition in STEM degree programs. The literature review outlines current methods and ideas being utilized to combat these issues, namely, inclusive pedagogical strategies, and how some of these concepts can be applied to the summer camp. The curriculum document included outlines each activity, its …

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

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

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 …

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 …

Redesigned Endoscopic Bite Block For Geriatric Patients, Kayla Fisher, Katherine Gregory, Owen Corey

Honors Theses

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is an examination of the interior of the esophagus, stomach, and beginning of the small intestine. Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopies are used to diagnose ulcers, cancers, and gastrointestinal tract diseases, as well as to collect biopsy samples. In 2008, over 55 million procedures were performed with GI endoscopic devices [1]. In order to keep the mouth propped open during this procedure, a bite block is used. This bite block ensures that the patient will not bite down on the endoscope during the procedure. Geriatric patients are more likely to have poor dental health due to medications they take, …

Heel Down And Toe-Off Time Measured With Ultrasonic Doppler System And Force Plate Sensor, Sabin Timsina

Honors Theses

Collie Box is a medical device that measures the gait parameters of the person walk- ing in front of it. This device uses the Ultrasonic Doppler system to extract the heel-contact and toe-off times of a person walking within the range of 2-10 meters. These times are used to determine the leg’s swing phase and double stance times. The ultrasonic transducer of 10mm diameter is driven at 40kHz. At the time of the heel-contact and toe-off, foot velocity is zero while the torso part of the human body is still in motion. The wide directivity of 10mm diameter ultrasonic transducer …

Implementation Of A Computer-Vision System As A Supportive Diagnostic Tool For Parkinson’S Disease, Diego Machado Reyes

Honors Theses

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting nearly 1 million people in the US and it is predicted that the number will keep increasing. Parkinson’s disease is difficult to diagnose due to its similarity with other diseases that share the parkinsonian symptoms and the subjectivity of its assessment, thus increasing the probabilities of misdiagnosis. Therefore, it is relevant to develop diagnostic tools that are quantitatively based and monitoring tools to improve the patient’s quality of life. Computer-based assessment systems have shown to be successful in this field through diverse approaches that can be classified into two main …

A Comparison Of Neural Activity For Peripersonal And Extrapersonal Viewing In Real And Virtual Environments, Olivia Eustice

Honors Theses

This study involved a series of tests comparing the similarities and differences in neural activity at a subject’s peripheral and extrapersonal space in the real environment and virtual reality. We hypothesized that there would be similar brain activity at each of these environments depending on the focal distance of an object from the participant. Peripheral space is the visual space that is a reachable distance from a person. It has an overall neural pattern in the dorsal stream of the brain. Extrapersonal space is the visual space that does not directly surround a person and cannot be directly acted on. …

Investigatin Actin-Myosin Mechanics To Model Heart Disease Using Fluorescence Microscopy And Optical Trapping, Justin Edward Reynolds

Honors Theses

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a hereditary disease in which the myocardium becomes hypertrophied, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood. HCM is commonly caused by a mutation in the β-cardiac myosin II heavy chain. Myosin is a motor protein that facilitates muscle contraction by converting chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis into mechanical work and concomitantly moving along actin filaments. Optical tweezers have been used previously to analyze single myosin biophysical properties; however, myosin does not work as a single unit within the heart. Multiple myosin interacts to displace actin filaments and do not have the same properties …

Designing An Antibiotic Eluting Trauma Screw To Reduce Short Term Infection In Bone Fractures, Dominic Lincoln

Honors Theses

Orthopedic infection in the United States is one of the most common and severe health risks faced by trauma patients. The most prevalent infection is orthopedic and trauma device-related infection (ORDI) and often occurs in long bones at the fracture site. The purpose of this paper is to explore this infection, its causes, and solutions currently on the market while providing novel solutions to the problem. The designs proposed will be evaluated for their effectiveness and value, while attempting to keep costs low for all stakeholders. The feasibility of patenting these ideas will also be considered, as will the testing …

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 …