Engineering Commons^™

Validation Of A 1d Algorithm That Measures Pulse Wave Velocity To Estimate Compliance In Blood Vessels, James Leung

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to determine if it is possible to validate the new 1D method for measuring pulse wave velocity in the aorta in vivo and estimate compliance. Arterial pressure and blood flow characterize the traveling of blood from the heart to the arterial system and have played a significant role in the evaluation of cardiovascular diseases. Blood vessel distensibility can give some information on the evolution of cardiovascular disease. A patient’s aorta cannot be explanted to measure compliance; therefore we are using a flow phantom model to validate the 1D pulse wave velocity technique to estimate …

Posterior Cervical Spine Crisscross Fixation: Biomechanical Evaluation, Joseph F. Cusick, Frank A. Pintar, Joseph S. Cheng, Jason I. Lifshutz, Narayan Yoganandan

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Biomechanical/anatomic limitations may limit the successful implantation, maintenance, and risk acceptance of posterior cervical plate/rod fixation for one stage decompression-fusion. A method of posterior fixation (crisscross) that resolves biomechanical deficiencies of previous facet wiring techniques and not reliant upon screw implantation has been devised. The biomechanical performance of the new method of facet fixation was compared to the traditional lateral mass plate/screw fixation method.

Methods

Thirteen human cadaver spine segments (C2-T1) were tested under flexion-compression loading and four were evaluated additionally under pure-moment load. Preparations were evaluated in a sequence of surgical alterations with intact, laminectomy, lateral mass plate/screw …

Comparative Analysis Of Physiological Measurements And Environmental Metrics On Predicting Heat Stress Related Events, Mckenzie Lee Barlow

Master's Theses

Exposure to high heat and humidity can lead to serious health risks, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and heat index have historically been used to predict heat stress events, but individualized factors are not included in the measurement. It has been shown that there is a relationship between cardiovascular measurements and heat stress, which could be used to measure heat stress risk on an individual level. Research has been done to find relationships between cardiovascular metrics in a workplace environment, however the study did not include the use of a controlled environment as a …

A 3d Simulation Of Leukocyte Adhesion In Blood Flow, Tai-Hsien Wu

Dissertations

It has been widely acknowledged that further understanding about the dynamics between blood cells and blood flow can help us gain more knowledge about the causes of diseases and discover more effective treatments. Examples of such dynamics include red blood cell (RBC, or erythrocyte) aggregation, white blood cell (WBC, or leukocyte) margination, and WBC extravasation. WBC extravasation is an important multiple-step process in the inflammatory response and therefore has drawn considerable attention over the past two decades. In this multiple-step process, a WBC undergoes at least four steps, including capture, rolling, firm adhesion, and transmigration, and each step is influenced …

Intercellular Sodium Nanodomain Signaling Regulates Repolarization In Cardiac Tissue, Madison Nowak, Seth Weinberg Ph.D.

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Chemotherapeutic Drug Cytotoxicity Measurement With A 3d Biomimetic Microfluidic Device And Computational Fluid Dynamics Model, Maryam Moarefian, Caroline Jones, Luke Achenie, Danesh Tafti

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Investigating Smoke Exposure And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd) With A Calibrated Agent Based Model (Abm) Of In Vitro Fibroblast Wound Healing., J Alex Ratti, Angela Reynolds, Rebecca L. Heise

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Quantifying Effects Of Neutrophil Memory On Migration Patterns Using Microfluidic Platforms And Ode Modeling Of The Mechanistic Molecular Pathways, Brittany P. Boribong, Mark J. Lenzi, Mirjam Sarah Kadelka, Stanca Ciupe, Liwu Li, Caroline N. Jonea

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Prediction Of Forelimb Muscle Activities And Movement Phases Using Corticospinal Signals In The Rat, Sinan Gok

Dissertations

The targeted population for this project is primarily patients with high level spinal cord injury (SCI) and individuals with motor neuron diseases (MND). In both SCI and MND cases motor control is interrupted due to lack of communication between the brain and the musculature, although both sides are otherwise functional. The approach in this project is to use neural engineering techniques to restore the motor function that was lost because of an injury or disease.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) attempt to extract the volitional signals from the cortex when the brain's normal outputs to the musculoskeletal system are impaired. However, BCIs …

Submandibular Mechanical Stimulation Of Upper Airway Muscles To Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Ferhat Erdogan

Dissertations

The extrinsic tongue muscles are activated in coordination with pharyngeal muscles to keep a patent airway during respiration in wakefulness and sleep. The activity of genioglossus, the primary tongue-protruding muscle playing an important role in this coordination, is known to be modulated by several reflex pathways mediated through the mechanoreceptors of the upper airways. The main objective is to investigate the effectiveness of activating these reflex pathways with mechanical stimulations, for the long-term goal of improving the upper airway patency during disordered breathing in sleep. The genioglossus response is examined during mandibular and sub-mandibular mechanical stimulations in healthy subjects during …

Fluorescent Probes And Functionalized Nanoparticles For Bioimaging: Synthesis, Photophysical Properties And Applications, Xinglei Liu

Dissertations

The development of new organic molecular probes with excellent photophysical properties and high fluorescence quantum yields is of considerable interest to many research areas including one- and two-photon fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence-based sensing methodologies, and cancer therapy. Series of organic linear-/non-linear optical molecules including squaraine derivatives, and fluorene derivatives as well as other bioconjugates are designed and synthesized during the doctoral study for the aim of ion detection (Chapter 5), photo dynamic therapy, and deep-tissue imaging (Chapter 4). These optical probes are capable of absorbing light in the near infrared (NIR) window and thus have deeper penetration and cause less photodamage …

Head Impacts In The A7fl, Stephen Mcgeever

Theses

The American 7s Football League (A7FL) is a semi professional football league that does not use helmets or pads. The theory is that the game is safer without helmets and pads because players feel more vulnerable and use a different tackling technique to protect themselves. Rather than lowering and leading with their head when the players tackle, as many helmeted football players do, A7FL players primarily use their arms to wrap the opponent up. A7FL players were given Vector mouth guards designed by Athlete Intelligence to wear. These mouth guards have built in tri-axial accelerometers to record impact data, which …

A Biodegradable Piezoelectric Composite Scaffold Containing Zinc Oxide For Cartilage Repair Applications, Ateka Mohd Arabi Khader

Dissertations

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 27 million adults in the United States. OA causes degeneration of articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Articular cartilage has limited ability to regenerate and repair. Bone and cartilage tissues have known piezoelectric properties, which means they can generate electrical activity in response to mechanical deformation. Using a biomimetic approach, zinc oxide (ZnO), which has known piezoelectric properties, is fabricated into a flexible three-dimensional fibrous scaffold by embedding ZnO nanoparticles into slow degrading polycaprolactone (PCL). Zinc ions can be released from the fibrous scaffold over time, which also may be beneficial for cell function since zinc has well-known …

Modeling Pharmaceutical Inhibition Of Glucose-Stimulated Renin-Angiotensin System In Kidneys, Ashlee N. Ford Versypt, Minu R. Pilvankar, Hui Ling Yong

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Application Of Composite Hydrogels To Control Physical Properties In Tissue Engineering And Regenerative Medicine, Cassidy Sheffield, Kaylee Meyers, Emil Johnson, Rupak Rajachar

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The development of biomaterials for the restoration of the normal tissue structure–function relationship in pathological conditions as well as acute and chronic injury is an area of intense investigation. More recently, the use of tailored or composite hydrogels for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has sought to bridge the gap between natural tissues and applied biomaterials more clearly. By applying traditional concepts in engineering composites, these hydrogels represent hierarchical structured materials that translate more closely the key guiding principles required for improved recovery of tissue architecture and functional behavior, including physical, mass transport, and biological properties. For tissue-engineering scaffolds in …

Cortical Statistical Correlation Tomography Of Eeg Resting State Networks, Chuang Li, Han Yuan, Guofa Shou, Yoon-Hee Cha, Sridhar Sunderam, Walter Besio, Lei Ding

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Resting state networks (RSNs) have been found in human brains during awake resting states. RSNs are composed of spatially distributed regions in which spontaneous activity fluctuations are temporally and dynamically correlated. A new computational framework for reconstructing RSNs with human EEG data has been developed in the present study. The proposed framework utilizes independent component analysis (ICA) on short-time Fourier transformed inverse source maps imaged from EEG data and statistical correlation analysis to generate cortical tomography of electrophysiological RSNs. The proposed framework was evaluated on three sets of resting-state EEG data obtained in the comparison of two conditions: (1) healthy …

Promoting Global Clinical Care And Research For Children With Orthopaedic Disabilities Through Motion Analysis Technology, Jacob R. Rammer, Joycie Eulah Abiera, Monica Arroyo, Luis Fernando Caicedo, Karl Canseco, Christopher Constantino, Filipe Haces Garcia, Jorge Gomez, Nikhil T. Kurapati, Mariano Gonzalez Lugo, Terence Miller, Wilfredo Agredo Rodriguez, Carlo Emmanuel Sumpaico, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Human motion analysis is a tool used to understand orthopaedic disabilities in children and to plan and monitor treatment strategies. It enables clinicians to quantitatively describe rehabilitative progress, plan surgeries, and conduct research. While this technology is prevalent in major academic medical centers, access is lacking in many regions throughout the world. This paper presents a novel approach to offer more accessible technology at greatly reduced cost. Current applications are underway in the Philippines, Mexico, and Colombia. Through international partnerships, improvements in clinical care, medical education, and research have been observed.

Hydrotreating Of Guaiacol: A Comparative Study Of Red Mud-Supported Nickel And Commercial Ni/Sio2-Al2o3 Catalysts, Hossein Jahromi, Foster Agblevor

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Upgrading of bio-oil through catalytic hydrotreating was investigated with guaiacol as a model compound. A nickel supported on red mud (Ni/RM) hydrotreating catalyst was developed and compared to the standard Ni/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ catalysts under similar experimental conditions. The Ni/RM catalyst was characterized by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), BET specific surface area, and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The effects of reaction temperature (300, 350, 400 °C) and initial hydrogen pressure (4.83 MPa (700 psi), 5.52 MPa (800 psi), and 6.21 MPa (900 psi)) on products distribution …

New Insights Into The Glycosylation Steps In The Biosynthesis Of Sch47554 And Sch47555, Ozkan Fidan, Riming Yan, Gabrielle Gladstone, Tong Zhou, Du Zhu, Jixun Zhan

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Sch47554 and Sch47555 are antifungal compounds from Streptomyces sp. SCC‐2136. The availability of the biosynthetic gene cluster made it possible to track genes that encode biosynthetic enzymes responsible for the structural features of these two angucyclines. Sugar moieties play important roles in the biological activities of many natural products. An investigation into glycosyltransferases (GTs) might potentially help to diversify pharmaceutically significant drugs through combinatorial biosynthesis. Sequence analysis indicates that SchS7 is a putative C‐GT, whereas SchS9 and SchS10 are proposed to be O‐GTs. In this study, the roles of these three GTs in the biosynthesis of Sch47554 and Sch47555 are …

A Metabolomic Approach To Diagnosing Prosthetic Joint Infection, Victor Borza, Christian A. Rees, Douglas W. Van Citters, Jane E. Hill

Wetterhahn Science Symposium Posters 2018

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments In Tough Hydrogels For Biomedical Applications, Yuan Liu, Weilue He, Zhongtian Zhang, Bruce P. Lee

Department of Biomedical Engineering Publications

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional polymer network with high water content and has been attractive for many biomedical applications due to its excellent biocompatibility. However, classic hydrogels are mechanically weak and unsuitable for most physiological load-bearing situations. Thus, the development of tough hydrogels used in the biomedical field becomes critical. This work reviews various strategies to fabricate tough hydrogels with the introduction of non-covalent bonds and the construction of stretchable polymer networks and interpenetrated networks, such as the so-called double-network hydrogel. Additionally, the design of tough hydrogels for tissue adhesive, tissue engineering, and soft actuators is reviewed.

Kinematic Analysis Of Spinal Cord Injury Animals Treated With A Neurotrophin-Infused Scaffold And Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training, Alexander Herman

Theses and Dissertations

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a condition that affects around 250,000 Americans with no cure. Existing treatments rely on physical therapies such as body weight support treadmill training (BWSTT). Treatments currently being researched include the use of implantable cells and biomaterials. Our study investigated the changes in locomotive gait and range of motion via a combinational treatment using a bioengineered scaffold [poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) polyethylene glycol (PNIPAAm-g-PEG) with BDNF and NT-3] and rehabilitation training using BWSTT in a clinically relevant contusion SCI animal model. Five different groups of animals (Sham, Injury, BWSTT, Implant, and Combinational) were tested on a treadmill …

Soft-Microrobotics: The Manipulation Of Alginate Artificial Cells, Samuel Sheckman

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

In this work, the approach to the manipulation of alginate artificial cell soft-microrobots, both individually and in swarms is shown. Fabrication of these artificial cells were completed through centrifugation, producing large volumes of artificial cells, encapsulated with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles; these artificial cells can be then externally stimulated by an applied magnetic field. The construction of a Permeant Magnet Stage (PMS) was produced to manipulate the artificial cells individually and in swarms. The stage functionalizes the permanent magnet in the 2D xy-plane. Once the PMS was completed, Parallel self-assembly (Object Particle Computation) using swarms of artificial cells in complex …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Computational Theories For Human Stereo Vision, Han Gao

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Binocular stereopsis refers to the ability to perceive depth, which has always been a central problem in perception since the time of da Vinci. The foremost theoretical difficulty that arises when attempting to understand how the visual system computes disparity is known as the correspondence or matching problem. Decades of research upon macaque primary visual cortex has shown that in each layer of the primary visual cortex (V1) long-range horizontal connections among striate cortex cells exist which integrate information from different parts of the visual field. Inspired by long-range horizontal connections in V1 and the Jeffress model, a time-delay neural …

The Road Towards Image-Computable Models Of Human Visual Grasp Planning, Guido Maiello, Lina K. Klein, Vivian C. Paulun, Katherine R. Storrs, Roland W. Fleming

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

A Feature-Based Model Of Visually Perceiving Deformable Objects, Vivian C. Paulun, Filipp Schmidt, Roland W. Fleming

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Chronic Nerve Interfacing Utilizing Graft-Embedded Regenerative Macro-Sieve Electrodes, Amrita Nishtala

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Custom-designed macro-sieve electrodes represent a novel means of facilitating chronic high specificity nerve stimulation needed to control distal nerve musculature and restore sensorimotor function. Implantation of these electrodes requires the transection of the nerve, which has shown to disrupt muscle fiber distribution. This present study assesses the feasibility of implementing these electrodes in an end-to-side nerve graft. The macro-sieve electrodes were fabricated and micro-surgically implanted into 3.2 cm nerve autografts harvested from the sciatic nerve of 12 male Lewis rats. Electrode-enabled nerve grafts were micro-surgically implanted in an end-to-side manner into donor rat sciatic nerves without the need for a …

An Active Efficient Coding Model Of The Development Of Amblyopia, Samuel Eckmann, Lukas Klimmasch, Bertram Shi, Jochen Triesch

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Design Of A Distributed Real-Time E-Health Cyber Ecosystem With Collective Actions: Diagnosis, Dynamic Queueing, And Decision Making, Yanlin Zhou

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this thesis, we develop a framework for E-health Cyber Ecosystems, and look into different involved actors. The three interested parties in the ecosystem including patients, doctors, and healthcare providers are discussed in 3 different phases. In Phase 1, machine-learning based modeling and simulation analysis is performed to remotely predict a patient's risk level of having heart diseases in real time. In Phase 2, an online dynamic queueing model is devised to pair doctors with patients having high risk levels (diagnosed in Phase 1) to confirm the risk, and provide help. In Phase 3, a decision making paradigm is proposed …