Engineering Commons^™

Assessment And Diagnosis Of Human Colorectal And Ovarian Cancer Using Optical Imaging And Computer-Aided Diagnosis, Yifeng Zeng

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Tissue optical scattering has recently emerged as an important diagnosis parameter associated with early tumor development and progression. To characterize the differences between benign and malignant colorectal tissues, we have created an automated optical scattering coefficient mapping algorithm using an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. A novel feature called the angular spectrum index quantifies the scattering coefficient distribution. In addition to scattering, subsurface morphological changes are also associated with the development of colorectal cancer. We have observed a specific mucosa structure indicating normal human colorectal tissue, and have developed a real-time pattern recognition neural network to localize this specific structure …

Magnetic Resonance-Guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (Mrghifu) Induced Hyperthermia (Ht) For Treatment Of Cervical Cancer, Lifei Zhu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Hyperthermia (HT), which refers to increasing the temperature of the tumor tissue to 40–45°C for an extended period of time, has been reported to be one of the most effective sensitizers for radiation therapy (RT) and/or chemotherapy. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been developed as a non-invasive and non-ionizing tool to induce localized HT. Magnetic resonance thermometry (MR thermometry) is one of the most reliable methods for non-invasively and precisely measuring the in vivo volumetric temperature in real time. The integration of MR thermometry with HIFU has been implemented in commercially available magnetic resonance guided high intensity focused ultrasound …

Effects Of Genipin Crosslinking On The Properties Of Tendon Derived Extracellular Matrix Hydrogels, Alicia Cheyenne Coombs

Theses and Dissertations

Extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogels are a useful biomaterial in the tissue engineering field used for injectables in drug delivery systems, wound dressing, tissue regeneration and many other applications. ECM hydrogels are highly biocompatible, contain proper ratios of biomolecules required for complex bioactivity of tissues and they promote tissue repair. However, ECM hydrogels typically have poor mechanical strength, which leads to hydrogel instability, and a limitation in their ability to be modified for translational applications. In this research, genipin, a natural crosslinker derived from plants, was utilized in an attempt to improve upon the mechanical limitations of ECM hydrogels. Genipin has …

Impact Of Angiogenic And Osteogenic Factors In The Presence Of Biodegradable Piezoelectric Films, Jayla Millender

University Scholar Projects

One of the most common causes of bone graft rejection is lack of a vascular network connecting the graft to the existing native tissue – allowing for nutrient flow. Under current grafting techniques, the existing blood vessel network in the patient slowly invades the implant in order to supply the injured site with its necessary nutrients. The purpose of this research is to determine if a synthetic bone graft with a stable microvascular network can be developed in vitro. I hypothesize that the use of indirect angiogenic factors such as sonic hedgehog homolog and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in combination with the …

Impact Of Angiogenic And Osteogenic Factors In The Presence Of Biodegradable Piezoelectric Films, Jayla Millender

Honors Scholar Theses

One of the most common causes of bone graft rejection is lack of a vascular network connecting the graft to the existing native tissue – allowing for nutrient flow. Under current grafting techniques, the existing blood vessel network in the patient slowly invades the implant in order to supply the injured site with its necessary nutrients. The purpose of this research is to determine if a synthetic bone graft with a stable microvascular network can be developed in vitro. I hypothesize that the use of indirect angiogenic factors such as sonic hedgehog homolog and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in combination with the …

Quantum Chemistry Calculations For Metabolomics, Susanta K. Das, Ricardo M. Borges, Sean M. Colby, Arthur S. Edison, Oliver Fiehn, Tobias Kind, Jesi Lee, Amy T. Merrill, Kenneth M. Merz Jr., Thomas O. Metz, Jamie R. Nunez, Dean J. Tantillo, Lee-Ping Wang, Shunyang Wang, Ryan S. Renslow

Mechanical Engineering Publications

A primary goal of metabolomics studies is to fully characterize the small-molecule composition of complex biological and environmental samples. However, despite advances in analytical technologies over the past two decades, the majority of small molecules in complex samples are not readily identifiable due to the immense structural and chemical diversity present within the metabolome. Current gold-standard identification methods rely on reference libraries built using authentic chemical materials (“standards”), which are not available for most molecules. Computational quantum chemistry methods, which can be used to calculate chemical properties that are then measured by analytical platforms, offer an alternative route for building …

Error Prevention In Sensors And Sensor Systems, Pedro J. Chacon Dominguez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Achievements in all fields of engineering and fabrication methods have led towards optimization and integration of multiple sensing devices into a concise system. These advances have caused significant innovation in various commercial, industrial, and research efforts. Integrations of subsystems have important applications for sensor systems in particular. The need for reporting and real time awareness of a device’s condition and surroundings have led to sensor systems being implemented in a wide variety of fields. From environmental sensors for agriculture, to object characterization and biomedical sensing, the application for sensor systems has impacted all modern facets of innovation. With these innovations, …

Factors Associated With Mutations: Their Matching Rates To Cardiovascular And Neurological Diseases, Hannah B. Lucas, Ian Mcknight, Regan Raines, Abdullah Hijazi, Christoph Hart, Chan Lee, Do-Gyoon Kim, Wei Li, Peter H. U. Lee, Joon W. Shim

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research

Monogenic hypertension is rare and caused by genetic mutations, but whether factors associated with mutations are disease-specific remains uncertain. Given two factors associated with high mutation rates, we tested how many previously known genes match with (i) proximity to telomeres or (ii) high adenine and thymine content in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) related to vascular stiffening. We extracted genomic information using a genome data viewer. In human chromosomes, 64 of 79 genetic loci involving >25 rare mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms satisfied (i) or (ii), resulting in an 81% matching rate. However, this high matching rate was no longer observed as …

Automatic Data Collection System And Video Laryngoscope Database, Gabrielle Hoyer

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The aggregate intubation data collected by a network of video laryngoscopes can be processed to understand the quality of an individual’s or a group of individual’s practice(s). Currently, all data surrounding intubations is self-reported and not understood on an aggregate basis. We are developing a technology which can enable monitoring and benchmarking of intubations across a wide variety of practices.

Tuning Radiation And Microgravity Exposure For Human Brain Organoids, Bailey Mcfarland

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The environment of space, specifically radiation and microgravity, poses a substantial threat to astronauts' brain health. Understanding the damage mechanism and therefore paving the way to finding potential remedies is critical to protect astronauts during space flight. Current models are insufficient at representing the human brain, and insufficient research has been conducted on the effect of radiation and microgravity on the higher structures of the human brain. This ongoing research aims to use brain organoids, a tissue-engineered model that recapitulates the human brain's anatomy and structure and investigate the effects of radiation and microgravity on the brain. At the current …

Predicting Propofol-Induced Burst Suppression Using An Individualized Model-Based Approach Over Repeated Treatments, Jason C. Huang

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Our group is investigating the antidepressant effects of high-dose propofol, but dosing propofol to induce standardized changes in EEG activity (“burst suppression”) is challenging due to limited knowledge of each subject’s pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD). In this paper, we approximated PK-PD models for propofol-induced burst suppression (PIBS), based on multiple subjects over repeated treatments. We then applied these models to predict BSR in each subject’s repeated treatment, then evaluate their predictive performances. We hypothesized that predicting BSR from a greater number of previous treatments would improve performance, but our current results are not conclusive enough to validate the hypothesis. …

Breast Cancer Detection From Histopathology Images Using Machine Learning Techniques: A Bibliometric Analysis, Shubhangi A. Joshi, Anupkumar M. Bongale Dr., Arunkumar M. Bongale Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Computer aided diagnosis has become upcoming area of research over past few years. With the advent of machine learning and especially deep learning techniques, the scenario of work flow management in healthcare sector is changing drastically. Artificial intelligence has shown potential in the field of breast cancer care. With datasets for machine learning frameworks getting eventually richer with time, we can definitely get newer insights in the field of breast cancer care. This will help in narrowing down the treatment range for patients and increasing patient survivability. The purpose of this study was to perform bibliometric analysis of the literature …

Machine Learning Applied To Colloidal Properties Of Perfluorocarbon Nanoemulsions For Imaging In Ards/Ali, Marco Hosfeld

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Acute Respiratory distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Acute Lung Injury (ALI) are inflammatory lung pathologies consisting of non-hydrostatic pulmonary edema leading to hypoxia and impaired gas exchange in the lungs. ARDS/ALI is both difficult to study and treat as it is not in itself a specific pathology but rather a syndrome consisting of many pathologies that vary case by case. It is, however, consistently characterized by an explosive acute inflammatory response in the lung parenchyma leading to hypoxia. Although time has seen to an increase in the understanding of ARDS/ALI, the mortality rate remains in the range of 30-50%. For these …

Is The Walking Pattern Similar Between Slope Walking And Obstacle Negotiation?, Jiani Lu

Theses & Dissertations

Studying biomechanical characteristics of human motion sheds light on the motor control strategies in the central nervous system. Slope walking and obstacle negotiation appear to have some similarities in control strategies based on subjective observation, but these two motions have never been compared objectively in biomechanics literature. This study aimed to investigate the similarities between obstacle negotiation and slope walking in kinematics and muscle activity. The similarities were determined by the correlation of the maximum heel elevation and muscle co-activation index between obstacle negotiation and inclined treadmill walking. The strength of correlation was compared in four different pairs of conditions: …

Detecting A Heterogenous Sample Of Pigmented Melanoma Cell Lines Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Margaret Cappellano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metastatic melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, which is in part, attributed to its rapid aggression and lack of response to typical treatment methods. There are far too often cases where a lymph node biopsy does not detect the severity of the cancer, which in turn causes a lack of diagnosis until a mass can be visually detected on a scan, such as a PET, CT, or MRI. Once visible on a scan, the cancer is too progressive for successful treatment. To avoid this, we investigated how a blood sample can be used to negate a missed diagnosis, …

Diagnosis Of Melanoma Disease State From Patient Blood Samples Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Jacob Salvatore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 1 in 50 Americans develop melanoma in their lifetime. Early detection of melanoma is pivotal to the survival of the patient, with a 99% survival rate for 5 or more years after an early diagnosis. Metastasis, or the spread of cancer, increases the chances of cancerous growth in other parts of the body. In this study, we propose the use of photoacoustic flow cytometry as a diagnostic of patient disease state, by closely monitoring the amount of circulating melanoma cells (CMCs) in a patient’s blood before and after chemotherapy treatments. Using this patient data, we were able to make …

Modal Identification Of Gelatinous Structures Using Visio-Based Vibrometry, Kenneth Nwagu

Honors College Theses

Gelatinous-based materials show promising uses in various fields such as tissue engineering and bioengineering. However, important structural characteristics such as natural frequencies and mode shapes of hydrogels and hydrogel-based objects are difficult to measure with conventional contact or non-contact-based techniques such as accelerometers and laser vibrometers. Solutions have been made by others using 3D laser imaging, x-ray imaging and ultrasound, but these are often expensive and have challenges in scenarios such as with translucent and small gelatinous objects. The goal of this research is to advance the state-of-the-art of characterizing structural properties of gelatinous materials by using vision based vibrometry. …

Water Exchange Rate Across The Blood-Brain Barrier Is Associated With Csf Amyloid-Β 42 In Healthy Older Adults, Brian T. Gold, Xingfeng Shao, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Gregory A. Jicha, Donna M. Wilcock, Elayna R. Seago, Danny J. J. Wang

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: We tested if water exchange across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), estimated with a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, is associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuropsychological function.

METHODS: Forty cognitively normal older adults (67–86 years old) were scanned with diffusion‐prepared, arterial spin labeling (DP‐ASL), which estimates water exchange rate across the BBB (k_w). Participants also underwent CSF draw and neuropsychological testing. Multiple linear regression models were run with kw as a predictor of CSF concentrations and neuropsychological scores.

RESULTS: In multiple brain regions, BBB kw was positively associated with CSF amyloid …

Survival And Proliferation Under Severely Hypoxic Microenvironments Using Cell-Laden Oxygenating Hydrogels, Shabir Hassan, Berivan Cecen, Ramon Peña-Garcia, Fernanda R. Marciano, Amir K. Miri, Ali Fattahi, Christina Karavasili, Shikha Sebastian, Hamza Zaidi, Anderson O. Lobo

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Different strategies have been employed to provide adequate nutrients for engineered living tissues. These have mainly revolved around providing oxygen to alleviate the effects of chronic hypoxia or anoxia that result in necrosis or weak neovascularization, leading to failure of artificial tissue implants and hence poor clinical outcome. While different biomaterials have been used as oxygen generators for in vitro as well as in vivo applications, certain problems have hampered their wide application. Among these are the generation and the rate at which oxygen is produced together with the production of the reaction intermediates in the form of reactive oxygen …

Glial Endothelial Brain Cell Co-Cultures For Testing Signaling Response And Delivery Of Novel Materials Across Blood Brain Barrier, Neela Prajapati

Master's Theses

The brain accounts for 20% of overall energy metabolism in the body though it just comprises 2% of the total body mass but has a limited capacity of storing energy unlike other critical organs in the body such as the heart and liver. This energy along with oxygen and nutrients is supplied by cerebral blood flow (CBF), any interruption of which can cease the brain function within seconds with a potential irreversible neuronal injury, within minutes. Vascular cells along with astrocytes and neurons are a part of a recently developed concept known as the Neurovascular Unit responsible for Neurovascular coupling …

Epi-Mucosa Fixation And Autologous Platelet-Rich Fibrin Treatment In Medication-Related Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw, Antonio Cortese, Antonio Casarella, Candace M. Howard, Pier Paolo Claudio

Faculty and Student Publications

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) frequently affects patients after treatments with bisphosphonates or denosumab, especially with high doses in patients with bone osteoporosis, neoplastic metastases, or possibly anti-angiogenic treatment for cancer. The aim of this article was to show a new treatment planning for stage 2 and stage 3 MRONJ using platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) at the surgical field to enhance healing in association with a new epi-mucosal fixation technique to prevent or treat mandibular fracture. Two cases were treated by epi-mucosa fixation and autologous PRF use for prevention of mandibular fracture risks related to necrotic bone resection or a …

Expanding Image Datasets For Deep Learning By Evaluating Independence Through Coefficient Correlation And Mean-Squared Error, Ayman Yousef

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

With deep learning being leveraged more regularly in the field of image classification, particularly in medical imaging, network optimizations have become a field in and of itself. With open source, comprehensive medical image datasets few and far, computational dataset expansion has become a useful tool for researchers without the ability to further manually collect data. However, with the rich amount of data that imaging modalities like multi-photon microscopy collect at a time, there is potential to expand datasets through proper utilization of this data that often time goes unused. Previous deep learning studies have shown that improper expansion can conflate …

Guide Rnas Preparation For In-Vitro Crispr-Cas9 Complex Delivery Targeting Genes That Affect Wound Healing., Prashant Khatiwada

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

CRISPR-Cas9 technology has widely been used as a viable genome engineering platform to make site-specific insertion, deletion, and breaks. The nuclease dead version of Cas9 or dCas9 can be used for the activation and repression of target gene sites using specific activation or repression domains. In this study, CRISPR guide RNAs were designed for a CRISPR inhibition approach to repress the transcriptional activity of the target genes. An expression plasmid vector composed of a U6 promoter sequence, BbsI restriction sites, and a chimeric gRNA sequence was digested, and the phosphorylated forward and reverse gRNAs were ligated with the plasmid vector. …

Using Deep Learning To Analyze Materials In Medical Images, Carson Molder

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Modern deep learning architectures have become increasingly popular in medicine, especially for analyzing medical images. In some medical applications, deep learning image analysis models have been more accurate at predicting medical conditions than experts. Deep learning has also been effective for material analysis on photographs. We aim to leverage deep learning to perform material analysis on medical images. Because material datasets for medicine are scarce, we first introduce a texture dataset generation algorithm that automatically samples desired textures from annotated or unannotated medical images. Second, we use a novel Siamese neural network called D-CNN to predict patch similarity and build …

Glial Endothelial Brain Cell Co-Cultures For Testing Signaling Response And Delivery Of Novel Materials Across Blood Brain Barrier, Neela Prajapati

Doctoral Dissertations

The brain accounts for 20% of overall energy metabolism in the body though it just comprises 2% of the total body mass but has a limited capacity of storing energy unlike other critical organs in the body such as the heart and liver. This energy along with oxygen and nutrients is supplied by cerebral blood flow (CBF), any interruption of which can cease the brain function within seconds with a potential irreversible neuronal injury, within minutes. Vascular cells along with astrocytes and neurons are a part of a recently developed concept known as the Neurovascular Unit responsible for Neurovascular coupling …

Quantifying Blood Flow Patterns In The Pediatric Heart Using Blood Speckle Imaging, Harrison Dean

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common type of congenital disease worldwide. Echocardiography using Doppler ultrasound is typically used to diagnose and monitor CHD; however, it is angle-dependent in nature and as a result is limited in its ability to accurately evaluate ventricular function. Blood Speckle Imaging (BSI) is a novel, angle-independent imaging modality that provides detailed blood flow information and visualization within a given area using speckle-tracking. In this study, velocity-field information obtained from BSI was used to calculate flow parameters such as kinetic energy (KE) and circulation using a custom created MATLAB program. BSI was performed on …

Biomechanical Studies Of Developing Zebrafish Heart In-Vivo, Nabid Salehin

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

The heart is an electrically controlled mechanical pump that provides the cardiac output required by the body to function properly and flexibly adapts to changing demand and working conditions. In vertebrate embryos, the heart is the first organ that starts functioning and the function is initiated well before structural organogenesis is complete, with its early mechanical function affecting its own development. During development, the heart transforms from a valveless linear peristaltic tube into a multi-chambered pulsatile pump with blood flow regulating valves while continuing to serve the metabolic needs of the embryo. The zebrafish has emerged as a popular model …

Non-Invasive Profiling Of Molecular Markers In Brain Gliomas Using Deep Learning And Magnetic Resonance Images, Chandan Ganesh Bangalore Yogananda

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Gliomas account for the most common malignant primary brain tumors in both pediatric and adult populations. They arise from glial cells and are divided into low grade and high-grade gliomas with significant differences in patient survival. Patients with aggressive high-grade gliomas have life expectancies of less than 2 years. Glioblastoma (GBM) are aggressive brain tumors classified by the world health organization (WHO) as stage IV brain cancer. The overall survival for GBM patients is poor and is in the range of 12 to 15 months. These tumors are typically treated by surgery, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Gliomas often consist …

Metabolic And Electrophysiological Effects Of Transcranial Photobiomodulation (Pbm) And Multi-Wavelength Pbm, Tyrell Byrom Pruitt

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Photobiomodulation (PBM) with near infrared light may become a non-invasive, effective clinical tool after it is understood well for its mechanism of action. In my dissertation research, I have addressed three research questions as three aims to achieve. Aim 1 was to investigate and demonstrate the reproducibility of the effects of transcranial PBM (tPBM) with 1064-nm laser delivered on the right forehead of separate groups of healthy humans measured using different experiment setups in separate sites and years. In Chapter 2, I reported sham-controlled, tPBM-induced concentration increases in oxygenated hemoglobin (∆[HbO]) and oxidized cytochrome c oxidase (∆[oxi-CCO]) in both young …

An In Vitro Model To Study The Role Of Iol: Lens Capsule Interactions In Posterior Capsule Opacification, Arjun Jaitli

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is the most common complication associated with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Unfortunately, current in vitro models cannot be used to assess the potential of PCO due to their failure to simulate posterior curvature of the lens capsule (LC), contradicting observations, different testing conditions and inherent challenges associated with use of human capsular bag models, cells and other tissue substrates. To overcome such a challenge, a new system to study IOL: LC interaction and potentially predict PCO was developed in this effort. It is believed that the interactions between an IOL and the lens capsule (LC) may …