Engineering Commons^™

Electrophoretic Screen And Functionalized Microspheres As Antigen Assays, Alejandra Hernandez, Julio Rincon, Thomas Boland

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

Immunoassays are used for medical diagnosis of infectious diseases. People in developing countries usually do not have access to this type of technologies, which makes infectious diseases the main cause of death in these countries. Immunoassay techniques assist the medical field with diagnosing, prognosis and monitoring of analytes present in the human body. This project will develop a portable antigen detection assay built using an electrophoretic screen with functionalized microspheres. A portable electrophoretic immunoassay will permit the reduction of lab materials and the independence of lab installations making it more accessible. This project involves two main steps: The screen modification …

Molecular Imprinting Of Silica Microspheres On Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, Paulina Almada, Julio E. Rincon, Thomas Boland

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

The technique of molecule imprinting prepares polymers with specific binding sites for a target molecule. Monomers are polymerized with a template present, arranging into a polymer matrix that can rebind the template once removed and creates the potential use of the polymers as artificial antibodies. The same process can be used to synthesize silica microspheres .The aim of this study was to test the ability of silica microspheres to bind human chorionic gonadotropin and be used as antibodies. 26.4 ml of tetraethoxysilane, 4.7 ml of water, 6.6 ml of 0.12 M hydrochloric acid, and 11.5 ml of 70% ethanol were …

Toward A Gpu-Accelerated Immersed Boundary Method For Wind Forecasting Over Complex Terrain, Rey Deleon, Kyle Felzien, Inanc Senocak

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A short-term wind power forecasting capability can be a valuable tool in the renewable energy industry to address load-balancing issues that arise from intermittent wind fields. Although numerical weather prediction models have been used to forecast winds, their applicability to micro-scale atmospheric boundary layer flows and ability to predict wind speeds at turbine hub height with a desired accuracy is not clear. To address this issue, we develop a multi-GPU parallel flow solver to forecast winds over complex terrain at the micro-scale, where computational domain size can range from meters to several kilometers. In the solver, we adopt the immersed …

Summer 2012 Biomedical Engineering Newsletter, Department Of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Department of Biomedical Engineering Newsletters

Table of Contents

• Dr. Jeremy Goldman wins a Fulbright Scholarship
• Research updates
• Hal Holmes named Goldwater Scholar
• Top honors at the Undergraduate Expo

Propagation Of Ultrasound Through Freshly Excised Human Calvarium, Armando Garcia Noguera

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The propagation of ultrasound through complex biological media, such as the human calvarium, poses a great challenge for modern medicine. Several ultrasonic techniques commonly used for treatment and diagnosis in most of the human body are still difficult to apply to the human brain, in part, because of the properties of the skull. Moreover, an understanding of the biomechanics of transcranial ultrasound may provide needed insight into the problem of blast wave induced traumatic brain injury (TBI). In the present study, the spatial variability of ultrasonic properties was evaluated for relevant frequencies of 0.5, 1, and 2.25 MHz. A total …

Weightlifting Performance Is Related To Kinematic And Kinetic Patterns Of The Hip And Knee Joints, Kristof Kipp, Josh Redden, Michelle B. Sabick, Chad Harris

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study was to investigate correlations between biomechanical outcome measures and weightlifting performance. Joint kinematics and kinetics of the hip, knee, and ankle were calculated while ten subjects performed a clean at 85% of 1-RM. Kinematic and kinetic time-series patterns were extracted with principal components analysis. Discrete scores for each time-series pattern were calculated and used to determine how each pattern was related to body-mass normalized 1-RM. Two hip kinematic and two knee kinetic patterns were significantly correlated with relative 1-RM. The kinematic patterns captured hip and trunk motions during the first pull and hip joint motion …

Tissue Engineering A Blood Vessel Mimic While Monitoring Contamination Through Sterility Assurance Testing, Navid Djassemi

Master's Theses

Tissue Engineering A Blood Vessel Mimic While Monitoring Contamination Through Sterility Assurance Testing

Navid Djassemi

Tissue engineering blood vessel mimics has been proposed as a method to analyze the endothelial cell response to intravascular devices that are used in today’s clinical settings for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Thus, the development of in vitro blood vessel mimics (BVMs) in Cal Poly’s Tissue Engineering Lab has introduced the possibility of assessing the characteristics of cellular response to past, present, and future intravascular devices that aim at treating coronary artery disease.

This thesis aimed at improving the methods and procedures utilized in …

Kinematic And Kinetic Synergies Of The Lower Extremities During The Pull In Olympic Weightlifting, Kristof Kipp, Josh Redden, Michelle Sabick, Chad Harris

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study was to identify multijoint lower extremity kinematic and kinetic synergies in weightlifting and compare these synergies between joints and across different external loads. Subjects completed sets of the clean exercise at loads equal to 65, 75, and 85% of their estimated 1-RM. Functional data analysis was used to extract principal component functions (PCF's) for hip, knee, and ankle joint angles and moments of force during the pull phase of the clean at all loads. The PCF scores were then compared between joints and across loads to determine how much of each PCF was present at …

Identification Of Hemodynamically Optimal Coronary Stent Designs Based On Vessel Caliber, Timothy J. Gundert, Alison L. Marsden, Weiguang Yang, David S. Marks, John F. Ladisa

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Coronary stent design influences local patterns of wall shear stress (WSS) that are associated with neointimal growth, restenosis, and the endothelialization of stent struts. The number of circumferentially repeating crowns N_C for a given stent de- sign is often modified depending on the target vessel caliber, but the hemodynamic implications of altering N_C have not previously been studied. In this investigation, we analyzed the relationship between vessel diameter and the hemodynamically optimal N_C using a derivative-free optimization algorithm coupled with computational fluid dynamics. The algorithm computed the optimal vessel diameter, defined as minimizing the area of stent-induced …

Adaptive Optics Scanning Ophthalmoscopy With Annular Pupils, Yusufu N. Sulai, Alfredo Dubra

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Annular apodization of the illumination and/or imaging pupils of an adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) for improving transverse resolution was evaluated using three different normalized inner radii (0.26, 0.39 and 0.52). In vivo imaging of the human photoreceptor mosaic at 0.5 and 10° from fixation indicates that the use of an annular illumination pupil and a circular imaging pupil provides the most benefit of all configurations when using a one Airy disk diameter pinhole, in agreement with the paraxial confocal microscopy theory. Annular illumination pupils with 0.26 and 0.39 normalized inner radii performed best in terms of the narrowing …

Examining Lower Extremity Motor Activity Using Magnetoencephalography, Ruth M. Swedler

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The role of the cortex during locomotion remains unclear, but recent advances in neural imaging technologies have aided in developing ways to measure brain activity during motor tasks. One method is by measuring activations produced by neural oscillations which have been associated with a variety of human behaviors, from sleep and rest to cognitive actions and movement. The physiological and functional methods in which oscillations contribute to cortical control are still largely unknown. In this study, we aim to expand that knowledge by examining human cortical activity in the sensory and motor cortices during pedaling using magnetoencephalography (MEG). We hypothesized …

A Large-Scale Mathematical Model Of The Rat Pulmonary Circulation And The Effect Of Chronic Hypoxia, Loolu Rafeeq

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Mathematical models are useful for developing understanding of the behavior of complex biological systems. Recent work on a “physiome” project is aimed at using computational modeling to analyze integrative biological function by developing a simulation system for hypothesis testing (Borg & Hunter, 2003). To date, extensive work on cardiovascular, endocrine and nervous system models has been undertaken. Our objective here is to contribute to this effort by further developing a comprehensive integrative model of the pulmonary circulation. A computational model of the dog pulmonary circulation was originally developed by Haworth et al. (Haworth S. T., 1996; Haworth, Linehan, Bronikowski, & …

Noninvasive Optical Quantification Of Absolute Blood Flow, Blood Oxygenation, And Oxygen Consumption Rate In Exercising Skeletal Muscle, Katelyn Gurley, Yu Shang, Guoqiang Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

This study investigates a method using novel hybrid diffuse optical spectroscopies [near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS)] to obtain continuous, noninvasive measurement of absolute blood flow (BF), blood oxygenation, and oxygen consumption rate (V̇O₂) in exercising skeletal muscle. Healthy subjects (n=9) performed a handgrip exercise to increase BF and V̇O₂ in forearm flexor muscles, while a hybrid optical probe on the skin surface directly monitored oxy-, deoxy-, and total hemoglobin concentrations ([HbO₂], [Hb], and THC), tissue oxygen saturation (S_tO₂), relative BF (rBF), and relative oxygen …

Development And Validation Methodology Of The Nuss Procedure Surgical Planner, Krzysztof J. Rechowicz

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Pectus excavatum (PE) is a congenital chest wall deformity which is characterized, in most cases, by a deep depression of the sternum. A minimally invasive technique for the repair of PE (MIRPE), often referred to as the Nuss procedure, has been proven to be more advantageous than many other PE treatment techniques. The Nuss procedure consists of placement of a metal bar(s) underneath the sternum, thereby forcibly changing the geometry of the ribcage. Because of the prevalence of PE and the popularity of the Nuss procedure, the demand to perform this surgery is greater than ever. Therefore, a Nuss procedure …

Identification Of Proper And Common Names In The Anterior Temporal Lobe: An Fmri Study, Usha Tadimeti

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Temporal lobe epilepsy is a neurological disease that affects millions of individuals worldwide. They are usually treated through surgical resection of portions of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL). Surgical resection is effective for seizure control, but produces language and verbal memory deficits such as anomic aphasia, which adversely affects an individual's quality of life. The purpose of this study was to develop a functional MRI protocol for mapping the function of ATL in healthy subjects, and to better understand the role of the ATL and other regions of the semantic system. Such a protocol may ultimately be used by surgeons …

Development Of In Vitro Tissue Engineered Blood Vessel Mimics In Complex Geometries For Coronary Stent Testing, Robert Dalton Chavez

Master's Theses

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and occurs when plaque occludes coronary arteries. Coronary stents, which may be used to treat coronary occlusions, are small metal tubes that are implanted in coronary arteries to restore blood flow. After stent implantation, endothelial cells grow over the stent so that blood contacts the endothelial cells instead of the stent surface; this event is known as re-endothelialization. Re-endothelialization prevents blood from clotting on the stent surface and is a good predictor of stent success. Blood vessel mimics (BVMs) are in vitro tissue engineered models of human …

Characterization Of Tight Junction Formation In An In-Vitro Model Of The Blood-Brain Barrier, Michael Robert Machado

Master's Theses

Active and passive transport of substances between the microcirculation in the brain and the central nervous system is regulated by the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB). This barrier allows for chronic and acute modulation of the CNS microenvironment, and protects the brain from potentially noxious compounds carried in the circulatory system. In-vitro modeling of the BBB has become the target of much research over the past decade, as there are many unanswered questions regarding modulations in the permeability of this barrier. Additionally, the development of a practical and inexpensive model of the BBB would facilitate a much more efficient drug development process. …

Development And Characterization Of An In-House Custom Bioreactor For The Cultivation Of A Tissue Engineered Blood-Brain Barrier, Amin Hadi Mirzaaghaeian

Master's Theses

The development of treatments for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease begins by understanding what these diseases affect and the consequences of further manifestation. One particular region where these diseases can produce substantial problems is the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is the selective diffusion barrier between the circulating blood and the brain. The barrier’s main function is to maintain CNS homeostasis and protect the brain from the extracellular environment. The progression of BBB research has advanced to the point where many have modeled the BBB in vitro with aims of further characterizing and testing the barrier. Particularly, …

Integration Of Eeg-Fmri In An Auditory Oddball Paradigm Using Joint Independent Component Analysis, Jain Mangalathu Arumana

Dissertations (1934 -)

The integration of event-related potential (ERP) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can contribute to characterizing neural networks with high temporal and spatial resolution. The overall objective of this dissertation is to determine the sensitivity and limitations of joint independent component analysis (jICA) within-subject for integration of ERP and fMRI data collected simultaneously in a parametric auditory oddball paradigm. The main experimental finding in this work is that jICA revealed significantly stronger and more extensive activity in brain regions associated with the auditory P300 ERP than a P300 linear regression analysis, both at the group level and within-subject. The results …

Quantitative Biomechanical Evaluation Of Upper Extremity: Strain Behavior Of The Humerus Diaphysis Under Loading, Prateek Grover

Dissertations (1934 -)

While mechanical behavior of the adult human lower extremity long bones under loading has been studied extensively, the same is not true for the adult human humerus. Mechanical data reported for cadaveric humeri and anatomic humerus models are limited to stiffness and rigidity. Strain characteristics of the humerus diaphysis as a function of loading provide a valuable addition to the currently limited knowledge. The objective of this dissertation was to accomplish this goal, using numerical/finite element (FE) methods applied to a standard anatomic humerus model (Reference-Humerus) that was developed from the NIH Visible Human Project for this purpose. Four phases …

Evaluation Of Autonomous Robotic Milling Methodology For Natural Tooth-Shaped Implants Based On Sko Optimization, Yongki Yoon

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Robotic surgery is one of the most demanding and challenging applications in the field of automatic control. One of the conventional surgeries, the dental implantation, is the standard methodology to place the artificial tooth root composed of titanium material into the upper or lower jawbone. During the dental implant surgery, mechanical removal of the bone material is the most critical procedure because it may affect the patient's safety including damage to the mandibular canal nerve and/or piercing the maxillary sinus. With this problem, even though short term survival rates are greater than 95%, long term success rate of the surgery …

Real-Time Virtual Pathology Using Signal Analysis And Synthesis, Dennis L. Bergin

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation discusses the modeling and simulation (M& S) research in the area of real-time virtual pathology using signal analysis and synthesis. The goal of this research is to contribute to the research in the M&S area of generating simulated outputs of medical diagnostics tools to supplement training of medical students with human patient role players.

To become clinically competent physicians, medical students must become skilled in the areas of doctor-patient communication, eliciting the patient's history, and performing the physical exam. The use of Standardized Patients (SPs), individuals trained to realistically portray patients, has become common practice. SPs provide the …

Towards Omni-Tomography -- Grand Fusion Of Multiple Modalities For Simultaneous Interior Tomography, Ge Wang, Jie Zhang, Hao Gao, Victor Weir, Hengyong Yu, Wenxiang Cong, Xiaochen Xu, Haiou Shen, James Bennett, Mark Furth, Yue Wang, Michael Vannier

Radiology Faculty Publications

We recently elevated interior tomography from its origin in computed tomography (CT) to a general tomographic principle, and proved its validity for other tomographic modalities including SPECT, MRI, and others. Here we propose "omni-tomography", a novel concept for the grand fusion of multiple tomographic modalities for simultaneous data acquisition in a region of interest (ROI). Omni-tomography can be instrumental when physiological processes under investigation are multi-dimensional, multi-scale, multi-temporal and multi-parametric. Both preclinical and clinical studies now depend on in vivo tomography, often requiring separate evaluations by different imaging modalities. Over the past decade, two approaches have been used for multimodality …

The Structural Characterization Of Ga 2o 3-Na 2o-Cao-Zno-Sio 2 Bioactive Glasses, T. J. Keenan, A. W. Wren, A. Coughlan, M. M. Hall, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The characterization of bioactive glasses in which zinc (Zn) has been incrementally replaced by gallium (Ga). © 2012 IEEE.

Increasing The Quantity Of Silver In Zinc-Based Glass Polyalkenoate Cement: Is There An Improvement In Antibacterial Efficacy?, A. Coughlan, S. M. Breed, C. Ashraf, J. A. Cardinale, M. M. Hall, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Bone cements should have the ability to chemically bond to both bone and surgical metals, exhibit no chemical or thermal necrosis, and have no significant shrinkage or exotherm upon setting. Taking these properties into consideration, glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs) have potential as bone cements. GPCs are formed by the reaction between an ion-leachable glass and an aqueous solution of polyacrylic acid (PAA) [1] and have proven antibacterial and cariostatic properties [2], which are related to their ability to release beneficial amounts of ions over time [3, 4]. The GPCs can be formulated to release ions that can have a therapeutic …

Examination Of The Migratory Potential Of Patterned Cortical Neurons Using Laser Direct-Write, T. B. Phamduy, C. J. Rivet, D. Kingsley, R. J. Gilbert, D. B. Chrisey

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We describe the patterning of neuronal cultures by a laser-based printing system. Embryonic chick cortical neurons were transferred into predetermined array positions with micron accuracy, enabling detailed study of neuronal migration, aggregation, and neurite outgrowth regulated by cell-cell interactions on a homogeneous surface. Images of cells were analyzed up to 14 days. Results demonstrated that increasing the spacing between neighboring groups of cells causes intra-group cells to preferentially migrate towards each other and aggregate towards the center of the printed 'spot'. In addition, increasing the printed 'spot' size encouraged migration towards neighboring groups of cells. © 2012 IEEE.

Silver Coated Bioactive Glass Particles For Wound Healing Applications, P. Hassanzadeh, A. W. Wren, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hench and colleagues discovered that bone could bond chemically to certain glass compositions in 1969 [1]. This group of glasses is known as bioactive glasses [1]. Some special compositions of bioactive glasses will bond to soft tissues as well as bone [1]. One of the important characteristics of bioactive glasses is their ability to release beneficial ions such as Ca²⁺, Na⁺, Zn²⁺, Sr²⁺, and PO 43- in the body, which promote self-healing [2]. Bioactive glasses generally contain much less glass former (e.g., SiO₂, B₂O₃ etc.) than conventional …

Gallium Containing Glass Polyalkenoate Bone Cements: Glass Characterization And Physical Properties, L. Placek, A. W. Wren, A. Coughlan, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Gallium (Ga) glasses were developed to formulate a Glass Polyalkenoate Cement (GPC) series with both E9 and E11 polyacrylic acid (PAA) at 50, 55 and 60wt% additions. Working times (T w), setting times (T s), compression (σ c), and biaxial flexural (σ f) strength testing were evaluated to determine the GPCs potential use in orthopedics. © 2012 IEEE.

A Wireless And Digital Electrode Bus Topology For Biopotential Measurement, Mark Nolan, Edward Burke, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

The conventional biopotential measurement configuration utilises long lead wires which connect measuring electrodes to signal conditioning circuitry. The majority of bioelectric signals that are measured from the human body have a tiny signal amplitude (5µV-5mV range) and thus any interference that is induced on the lead wires can have a detrimental effect on the original signal. In this paper, we present an alternative configuration, in which digitisation occurs on the electrode, potentially providing enhanced signal measurement as well as significant benefits in terms of the simplification of the physical interconnections between electrodes. Multiple electrodes are combined to form a digital …

Ethanol And Anaerobic Conditions Reversibly Inhibit Commercial Cellulase Activity In Thermophilic Simultaneous Saccharification And Fermentation (Tssf), Kara K. Podkaminer, William R. Kenealy, Christopher D. Herring, David A. Hogsett, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

A previously developed mathematical model of low solids thermophilic simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (tSSF) with Avicel was unable to predict performance at high solids using a commercial cellulase preparation (Spezyme CP) and the high ethanol yield Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum strain ALK2. The observed hydrolysis proceeded more slowly than predicted at solids concentrations greater than 50 g/L Avicel. Factors responsible for this inaccuracy were investigated in this study.