Engineering Commons^™

Validation Of Novel Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment With Silicone Gel Experimental Models, Dustin Walter Burd

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Predictive modeling to increase treatment success rates for surgical procedures is becoming more common in the scientific community. For obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), modeling has been predominately performed using computers as opposed to experimental models. Computer simulation saves time by eliminating the need to fabricate complex experimental models but comes at the expense of insight gained through physical observations made in real time. Experimental models for studying OSA are needed to validate computational work, provide perspective on anatomical scale and demonstrate complex deformations in real time. This work addresses prior hurdles in experimental model fabrication with a novel process using …

3d Parametric Hand To Improve Prosthetic Hand Functionality, Maria C. Gerardi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The use of prosthetics can significantly enhance an individual’s standard of living, not only offering functional advantages but psychological advantages as well. Unfortunately for children with upper limb reduction, options are limited and rejection rates are high due to a multitude of reasons including discomfort and poor functionality. This study proposes a new parametric 3D design model (Parametric Hand) with an adjustable thumb that can be easily manipulated to the uniqueness of an individual. The Parametric Hand was evaluated, both qualitatively and quantitatively, against the Flexy-Hand 2, a commonly used prosthetic hand. The results showed insignificant differences in all testing …

3-D Silk Fibroin Porous Particles Created By The Ouzo Effect For Biomedical Applications, Ashley Nicole Lamb

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Due to its high biocompatibility and biodegradability, silk fibroin – produced from

Bombyx mori (B. mori) cocoons – has been at the forefront of research for many

biomedical application formats: hydrogels, films, microspheres, and porous

sponges/scaffolding, to name a few. For drug delivery, in particular, porous particles are

desirable for their large surface area, uniform and tunable pore structure, and high

porosity. This thesis focuses on the fabrication of porous particles from silk fibroin by the

very interesting Ouzo effect. The Ouzo effect, so named because of the Greek

beverage ouzo, describes the phenomenon of an ethanol + anethole oil …