Engineering Commons^™

Improving Technologies In Anesthesia, Patrick Kolbay, Joseph Orr

Utah Space Grant Consortium

General anesthesia is well known to offer physicians access to a broad variety of invasive procedures otherwise deemed too risky. Anesthesia machines provides the means for anesthetizing patients safely in the hospital operating room. However, these devices are increasingly unable to meet the demands and needs outside of the hospital. Developing countries struggle to purchase and maintain these costly devices, leading to a 40-fold increase in anesthesia-related deaths compared to developed countries. Small-office practices in the United States experience significantly poorer anesthesia outcomes and increased legal claims versus their larger hospital counterparts, resulting in 60% more anesthesia-related deaths. Environmental impacts …

Mechanical Analysis Of Double Network Hydrogels To Determine Suitability As An Articular Cartilage Substitute, Casey Virginia Young

All Theses

The Center for Disease Control has found that between 2013-2015, 26% of women and 19% of men reported doctor-diagnosed cartilage disease or damage. Currently, there exists a substantial population with cartilage damage or disease needing a solution to increasing pain and decreasing function and mobility. Many of these individuals are young and thus looking for a treatment to delay a total knee replacement. Many others are elderly and thus looking to avoid major surgeries, as the riskiness of these procedures increases with age. As researchers look towards a method of cartilage replacement, hydrogels show measurable potential as a synthetic substitute …

A High Frequency Photoacoustic System For Colorectal Cancer Imaging, Kexin Huang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

While colorectal cancer is the second largest cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, early detection is a key factor in its survival rate. Compared to conventional imaging modalities, photoacoustic imaging offers benefits in providing angiographic images which are valuable for early-stage tumor detection. This thesis presents the design of a 32-channel 80 MHz photoacoustic image system, whose relatively high frequency offers particular advantages. The system comprises several modules, including a laser system, ultrasound probe, AD convertor, microcontroller (FPGA), and a computer. The system requires programs for the FPGA and the data receiver on the computer. The data transportation …

Computational Imaging Methods For Analysis Of Datscan Spect Images, Hae Sol Moon

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

There is an important need to develop biomarkers to improve the diagnosis and assess the severity of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The potential to derive such biomarkers from quantitative dopamine transporter scan (DaT-Scan) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging, in particular the uptake of DaT in the caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus regions, is highly appealing as imaging is non-invasive and DaTScan is already used in the management of patients with PD. However, reliable quantification requires reliable segmentation of these regions in these images. Reliable segmentation is challenging due to the limited spatial resolution and high image noise in SPECT images …

Toward Controlling Cardiac Tissue Pacing Using Modified Mrna, Yicheng Zhao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Arrhythmia is a common heart disease that happens when the heart is beating too fast, too slow, or irregularly. To study the mechanisms and treatments of this disease, it is important to acutely control the beating rate of the model as it will help distinguish the contribution of different potassium currents and drug-induced action potential in cardiomyocytes. The current method of tissue pacing, electrical pacing, causes contamination and corrosive damage to tissues, thus the tissues fail to be used repeatedly or in future studies. In this study, red-shifted channelrhodopsin (ReaChR) is applied as a non-chemical means to control the beating …

Design And Validation Of A Dynamic Pressure-Based Loading Device And 3d Strain Tracking Protocol For Ventral Hernia Modeling, Griffin Kivitz

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

It is estimated that 350,000-500,000 ventral hernia repair surgeries are performed each year in the United States. While the long-term recurrence rate of ventral hernia repairs is not yet known, when tissues are exposed to the trauma of surgery, there is always the chance of recurrence. Commonly used ex vivo testing methods for determining the mechanical properties of the abdominal wall and biomaterials for hernia repair consist primarily of uniaxial and biaxial testing, which are not physiologically relevant loading environments. The need for a testing device that can exert physiologically relevant loads ex vivo to an abdominal wall is crucial …

Transcriptomic Analysis Of Cytokine-Treated Tissue-Engineered Cartilage As An In Vitro Model Of Osteoarthritis, Jiehan Li

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Osteoarthritis (OA), as the most common form of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide, currently has no disease-modifying drugs. Inflammation plays an important role in cartilage degeneration in OA, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β and TNF-α, have been shown to induce degradative changes along with aberrant gene expression in chondrocytes, the only resident cells in cartilage. The goal of this study was to further understand the transcriptomic regulation of tissue-engineered cartilage in response to inflammatory cytokines using an in vitro miPSC model system. We performed RNA sequencing for the IL-1β or TNF-α treated tissue-engineered cartilage derived from murine iPSCs, …

Hydrolytic Degradation Study Of Polyphosphazene-Plga Blends, Riley Blumenfield

Honors Scholar Theses

The synthesis and in vitro degradation analysis of thin films of poly[(glycineethylglycinato)₇₅(phenylphenoxy)₂₅phosphazene]
(PNGEG₇₅PhPh₂₅) and poly[(ethylphenylalanato)₂₅(glycine-
ethylglycinato)₇₅phosphazene] (PNEPA₂₅GEG₇₅) blended with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was conducted to determine the blends’ potential for use as scaffolding materials for tissue regeneration applications. The samples were synthesized with glycylglycine ethyl ester (GEG) acting as the primary substituent side group, with cosubstitution by phenylphenol (PhPh) and phenylalanine ethyl ester (EPA) to make the final product [1]. Blends of 25% polyphosphazene, 75% PLGA and 50% polyphosphazene, 50% PLGA were …

Cell Line-Specific Differences In Guided Differentiation Of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Towards Smooth Muscle Cells, Sherly Makar

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a population of stromal cells found traditionally in the bone marrow and adipose tissues. They can also be found in other tissues including fallopian tube, core blood, peripheral blood, fetal liver, and lungs. Mesenchymal stem cells have profound effects in regenerative engineering, tissue repair and drug discovery owing to the excellent properties such as proliferation, self-renewal, and multipotency generating multiple cell types including adipocytes, osteocytes, cardiomyocytes (CMs), pericytes (PCs), and chondrocytes. MSCs are used as immunomodulators in generating progenitor cells to be used for transplantation, creating engineered organs, and preventing graft vs. host disease (GVHD). …

Characterization Of Oxone Mediated Tempo-Oxidized Nano Cellulose Mixed-Matrix Membranes During Ultrafiltration And Hemodialysis, Kristyn Robling

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The ninth leading cause of death in the United States is kidney disease, and hemodialysis is the process most commonly prescribed for treatment. It utilizes a selectively permeable membrane filter to remove toxins such as urea from the blood and retain necessary protein levels. However, traditional filters, such as cellulose triacetate, used during dialysis can be inefficient in terms of separation performance and reduction of fouling. Recent exploration of nanoparticles has resulted in the creation of Oxone Mediated TEMPO-Oxidized Nano Cellulose which has properties that are believed to increase hydrophilicity, increase tensile capacity, decrease membrane resistance and lower fouling, making …

Comparative Genomics Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells And Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Samia Ismail

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As of 2017, vascular diseases contributed to 23.1% of all deaths in America. To address the need for more effective and sustainable treatment options for these ailments, stem cell differentiation and implantation has emerged as a viable alternative to standard bypass and graft insertions. A completely autologous treatment can be achieved by extracting adult stem cells, differentiating them into vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and then reimplanting these cells at the affected tissue site. This study aims to investigate the efficiency of the VSMC differentiation from human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) by comparing 4 cell lines of untreated hMSCs with …

Probing Nanoelectroporation And Resealing Of The Cell Membrane By The Entry Of Ca2+ And Ba2+ Ions, Wenfei Bo, Mantas Silkunas, Uma Mangalanathan, Vitalij Novickij, Maura Casciola, Iurii Semenov, Shu Xiao, Olga N. Pakhomova, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

The principal bioeffect of the nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) is a lasting cell membrane permeabilization, which is often attributed to the formation of nanometer-sized pores. Such pores may be too small for detection by the uptake of fluorescent dyes. We tested if Ca²⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Ba²⁺ ions can be used as nanoporation markers. Time-lapse imaging was performed in CHO, BPAE, and HEK cells loaded with Fluo-4, Calbryte, or Fluo-8 dyes. Ca²⁺ and Ba²⁺ did not change fluorescence in intact cells, whereas their entry after nsPEF increased fluorescence within <1 ms. The threshold for one 300-ns pulse was at 1.5–2 kV/cm, much lower than >7 …

Modified Stent Design For A Coronary Bifurcation Lesion, Abigail Nowell

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Currently, 18.2 million adults aged 20 and older are diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) (Benjamin et al., 2019). Stenosis is the most common intervention. However, when a patient has a bifurcated artery, treatment becomes more difficult and is often unsuccessful. This project created a new stent and balloon complex that was tested in vitro using a gel phantom artery model. Two separate prototypes have been created and tested so far, with improvements made upon each. Testing is still underway with Prototype 2.

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 …

Design Of A Deep Flow Technique Hydroponic System And An Elementary Education Module For Tri Cycle Farms, Cady Rosenbaum

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydroponics is an agricultural technique in which plants are grown without soil and are instead grown in water systems that include nutrients and other growth-supporting media. Hydroponic systems typically reside inside, so that the system can be fully controlled by the grower by manipulating the temperature and amount of light the plants receive. The benefits of growing plants using hydroponics include: the amount of water used is reduced, it is less labor to grow organic produce with an indoor system, less space used, and it allows for growing food anywhere. Tri Cycle Farms is planning for the construction of a …

Comparing Economics Of Traditional Carbonation Method And A Novel Carbonation Invention For Craft Beer, Kira Simonson

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The traditional method for the carbonation of beer includes bubbling CO₂ through a pressurized brite tank until the desired level of carbonation concentration is reached. The gas either dissolves in the liquid volume or passes through the beer into the gas headspace above the bulk volume of beer. The gas that passes through the liquid can strip the beer of flavors, and this undissolved gas is vented to the atmosphere. To reduce the gas lost to the atmosphere, the CO₂ is dissolved into the beer slowly over a long period of time, which increases gas-use efficiency but sacrifices …

Quantification Of Nocturnal Blood Pressure Oscillations In Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients, Yao Shun Chuang

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

An approach to quantifying and analysis of nocturnal blood pressure (BP) variations that are elicited by sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is presented. A sample-by-sample aggregation of the dynamic BP variations during normal breathing and BP oscillations prompted by apnea episodes is performed. This approach facilitates the visualization and analysis of BP oscillations. Nocturnal BP oscillations reflect the cardiovascular stresses that SDB mediates and may be of clinical significance. Preliminary results from an analysis of full night study of 10 SDB subjects (8 Male 2 Female, 53±5.7 yrs., Body Mass Index 34.5±7.8 kg/m2, Apnea-Hypopnea Index 63.5±28.7) are presented. Aggregate trajectory and quantitative …

Opendrop Elisa: Surface Development For Digital Microfluidic Elisa Testing, Michaela Q. Mead, Madeline G. Jackson, Jacob G. Taylor

Biomedical Engineering

This project aimed to develop a process to create a hydrophobic coating with capture antibodies attached. This process was developed in an attempt to create a digital microfluidic platform upon which an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) could be run, indicated for clinicians and educators in low-resource settings. Four requirements dictated the course of the design process: 1) the contact angle with water of the hydrophobic layer must be greater than 90º, 2) the colorimetric response of a positive ELISA result on our platform must be at least 85% of that run on polystyrene with the same result, 3) the platform …

Investigating Novel Biomarkers Associated With Aki Diagnosis And Risk, Lars Lofgren, Natalie Silverton

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication associated with cardiac surgery. Those patients who develop AKI have increased hospital costs, hospital LOS and odds of death. The current diagnostic criteria rely on serum creatinine measurements and urine output data. Serum creatinine is not renal specific. It is known that there are other factors that influence serum creatine concentrations other than renal injury. Serum creatinine levels are measured as concentrations which means large changes in fluid balance may alter the serum creatinine measurement. Urine output is not a reliable measurement of renal injury either. During surgery it is common to …

A Reinforcement Learning Based Control Approach For Propofol-Induced Burst Suppression, Jason C. Huang, Scott C. Tadler, Brian J. Mickey, Keith Jones

Utah Space Grant Consortium

High-dose propofol is being investigated for its potential antidepressant effect. Propofol is titrated to induce burst suppression, a specific EEG pattern. However, propofol is difficult to dose due to uncertainty in each patient’s pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD), and the lack of a commercially available monitor of propofol concentration. Clinicians currently infer the proper drug dose after observing the EEG response to the given dose. In this report we share our development of an automated controller to optimally administer propofol-induced burst suppression. We designed a deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) algorithm, which includes two deep neural networks and relates a …

Advanced Video Laryngoscope And Automatic Data Collection System, Gabrielle Hoyer, Sean Runnels, Samer Merchant

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Advanced Video Laryngoscope is designed to address the high stress situation of an inexperienced healthcare provider performing an intubation on a patient. The technology is superior to current video laryngoscopes in that it utilizes machine learning techniques to guide the healthcare provider in real-time, providing augmented reality cues to anatomical features, feedback to prevent critical levels of deoxygenation of the patient, and an automated system to assess the difficulty of airway and call on the assistance of other physicians if first-pass intubation is not successful. By providing real-time assistance to the operator, this device will increase the success rate …

Evaluation Of Tracing Techniques In The Rat Spinal Cord Using A Custom Matlab Application., Rachel M. Zalla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research project is to evaluate the efficiency of traditional chemical tracing compared to dual-viral tracing for labeling long ascending propriospinal neurons (LAPNs) in the uninjured rat spinal cord, and to develop a MATLAB program which will accurately quantify this labeling.

To evaluate chemical tracing, Fluoro-Ruby (FR) was injected at the level of the axon terminals, and the number of ipsilateral labeled cell bodies at lumbar level was quantified. Similarly, two dual-viral systems were evaluated, by either injecting retro-AAV-Cre or HiRet-Lenti-Cre unilaterally in combination with a Cre-dependent adeno-associated virus. The HiRet-Lenti and FR groups labeled significantly greater …

Mathematical Characterization Of A Microfluidic Ultrasound Driven Transfection Device., Chris J. Holton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to develop a mathematical model characterizing the behavior of a microfluidic sonoporation device in order to understand how standing wave conditions influence molecular delivery to cells and determine whether the model predicts device performance. A prior model based on an ultrasonic separation cell that uses standing waves to separate particles is adapted for translation to the microfluidic device. This study generates data on acoustic pressure profiles across the cell as well as identifying optimal driving frequencies. This model is validated and the equations and methods for developing this model are translated to the microfluidic …

Evaluating The Effects Of Muscle Force Production Strategies And Anterior Cruciate Ligament Forces (Strain) On Gait Patterns During Running, Amanda Astrologo

Honors Scholar Theses

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are among the most common injuries experienced by athletes in the United States. Even after reconstruction surgery individuals have been known to develop complications much later in life, including long-term or permanent alterations to their gait, which may lead to early-onset knee osteoarthritis. This thesis work sought to define these alterations as they pertain specifically to running. Using results and parameters from previous studies, the goal of this study is to compare muscle force production strategies, as they relate to ACL force and strain, of injured and non-injured individuals. These values, muscle forces and ACL …

Development Of Fully Balanced Ssfp And Computer Vision Applications For Mri-Assisted Radiosurgery (Mars), Jeremiah Sanders

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the second-leading cause of cancer death in men. Brachytherapy is a highly effective treatment option for prostate cancer, and is the most cost-effective initial treatment among all other therapeutic options for low to intermediate risk patients of prostate cancer. In low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy, verifying the location of the radioactive seeds within the prostate and in relation to critical normal structures after seed implantation is essential to ensuring positive treatment outcomes.

One current gap in knowledge is how to simultaneously image the prostate, surrounding anatomy, and radioactive seeds within the …

Artifact Identification For Blood Pressure And Photoplethysmography Signals In An Unsupervised Environment, Pooi Khoon Lim

Student Works (2020-2029)

Physiological signals play a significant role in clinical diagnosis, it always acts as a major input of a decision support system. However, the physiological signal is easily corrupted by different factors especially motion artifacts. Several research works have been tried to recover the underlying physiological signal by suppressing the artifact. However, not much attention has been paid to situation where the artifact is too extreme and the artifact suppression is not possible. In this situation, physiological signal quality must be evaluated before any further assessment. In this study, an automated artifact detection algorithm was developed for Blood Pressure and PPG …

Characterization Of Rhodopseudomonas Palustris Strains For The Production Of Fixed Nitrogen Fertilizer For Mars, Andrew James Walters

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to characterize the potential of various strains of purple non-sulfur bacteria for the production of fixed nitrogen fertilizers for the manned Mars missions. Six strains of Rhodopseudomonas palustris (CGA009, CGA010, TIE-1, NifA*, and PB23) were all investigated. Through initial growth trial experiments, R. palustris NifA* and PB23 were selected for their engineered nitrogen fixation and rapid growth respectively. Growth curves and ammonium concentrations were collected over time in pilot scale batch photobioreactors (200 mL). Biomass production was then scaled up to benchtop photobioreactors (1.5 L). Fourteen liters of both NifA* and PB23 were then …

Dose Response Effect Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis-Derived Lipomannan In Raw 264.7 Murine Macrophages, Cassandra Robertson

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Tuberculosis is a debilitating respiratory disease caused by the bacterial species Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which acts by infecting the host’s macrophages and evading their immune responses. The purpose of the study was to determine if RAW 264.7 murine macrophage activity could be facilitated and intensified by stimulation with LAM from M. smegmatis. Stimulation with bacterial LAM, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a positive control, yields functional endpoints: nitric oxide (NO) production measured by nitrites (NO2) in the culture supernatant and expression of proteins, such as tumor necrosis factor-α and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). RAW 264.7 cells were stimulated dose-responsively with LAM …

Low Intensity Vibrations Restore Nuclear Yap Levels And Acute Yap Nuclear Shuttling In Mesenchymal Stem Cells Subjected To Simulated Microgravity, Matt Thompson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The bone deterioration that astronauts experience in microgravity environments is known to occur in response to the lack of gravity-based tissue stress. Mechanical forces are crucial to maintain healthy bone mass by regulating the function of bone-making osteoblasts as well as the proliferation and differentiation of their progenitors, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) which replenish osteoblastic cells. Regulation of proliferative function of MSCs in response to mechanical force is in part controlled by the “mechanotransducer” protein YAP (Yes-associated protein) which is shuttled into the nucleus in response to mechanical challenge to induce gene expression necessary for cell proliferation. Our group had …