Engineering Commons^™

Strategies For Catalyzing Clinicians’ Support Of Telemedicine Programs In Rural Communities, Jonathan Liwag

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinicians’ failure to accept contemporary technology has been a critical barrier to telemedicine program adoption. Staff technical challenges and resistance to change can affect technology return on investment, which concerns telemedicine program leaders. Grounded in Davis’s technology acceptance model, the purpose of this qualitative, descriptive single case study was to explore strategies used by program leaders in the Marianas Islands who successfully gained clinicians’ acceptance of contemporary technology. The participants were 5 program leaders recommended by their institution because of their leadership role and telemedicine technologies experience. Data were collected from 4 face-to-face and 1 audio teleconference interview with the …

Toward An Interactive, Patient-Specific, Vr-Based Obstetrics Simulator, Michel A. Audette, Marco Parente, Dulce Oliveira, Sreekanth Arikatla, Alfred Abuhamad, Rumit Singh Kakar, Mark Scerbo, Lucia Tabacu, John Conery, Christopher Macgowan, Renato Natal Jorge

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a nascent collaborative effort to achieve a Virtual Reality (VR)-based, real-time, haptics-driven patient-specific obstetrics simulator. The high-level architecture and preliminary results are presented here; the latter are based on offline birthing simulation developed by team in conjunction with open-source visualization tools. The cornerstones of this simulator will be high-fidelity generic offline birthing simulation, an anatomy-to-image nonrigid registration pipeline exploiting fetal MRI, the open-source interactive medical simulation toolkit IMSTK augmented by high-throughput deep learning-based soft tissue deformation, open-source musculoskeletal dynamics simulation platform SimTk for representing fetal motion. The initial emphasis will be on shoulder dystocia. The two main …

Principle Of An Acoustical Method For Estimating The Centroid Position Of The Earcanal Wall Normal Velocity Induced By Bone-Conducted Stimulation: Numerical Evaluation, Kevin Carillo, Olivier Doutres, Franck Sgard

Études primaires

The occlusion effect is commonly experienced as the altered perception of one’s own physiological noise when the earcanal entrance is blocked. Objectively, this phenomenon corresponds to an acoustic pressure increase in the occluded earcanal. The occlusion effect originates from the earcanal wall normal vibration and depends on the spatial distribution of the latter. At low frequencies, this spatial distribution can be characterized by the position of its centroid along the earcanal middle axis. This paper describes the principle of an acoustical method for estimating this centroid position at low frequencies. The proposed method consists in measuring the eardrum acoustic pressure …

Combined Puncture And Cutting Of Soft-Coated Fabrics By A Pointed Blade: Energy, Force, And Stress Failure Criteria, Ennouri Triki, Chantal Gauvin

Études primaires

Soft elastomer-coated fabrics are widely used in engineering and protective applications. Puncture cutting by sharp-tipped objects is one of the most common failure modes of protective gloves made of coated fabrics. In order to investigate the puncture-cutting process of soft elastomer-coated fabrics, we studied the mechanisms and mechanics of pointed-blade insertion into specimens cut out from four protective gloves. Experimental and analytical analyses showed that total energy and critical puncture-cutting force calculated analytically are both able to predict the puncture-cutting resistance of soft elastomer-coated fabrics measured experimentally. Total energy is obtained from the relationship between the puncture-cutting work and the …

Numerical Investigation Of The Earplug Contribution To The Low-Frequency Objective Occlusion Effect Induced By Bone-Conducted Stimulation, Kevin Carillo, Olivier Doutres, Franck Sgard

Études primaires

The use of earplugs is commonly associated with an increased perception of the bone-conducted part of one's own physiological noise. This phenomenon is referred to as occlusion effect and is most prominent at low frequencies. Several factors influence the occlusion effect, such as the ear anatomy; the bone-conducted stimulation; and the type of occlusion device and its fit, insertion depth, and material properties. The latter factor is of great interest to potentially reduce the occlusion effect of passive earplugs. This paper investigates the mechanism(s) of contribution of earplugs to the objective occlusion effect. A two-dimensional axi-symmetric finite element model of …

On The Removal Of The Open Earcanal High-Pass Filter Effect Due To Its Occlusion: A Bone-Conduction Occlusion Effect Theory, Kevin Carillo, Olivier Doutres, Franck Sgard

Études primaires

The occlusion effect is commonly experienced by in-ear device wearers as an increased loudness sensation of bone-conducted low frequency sounds. A widespread theory proposed by Tonndorf and based on a simplified electro-acoustic model describes the phenomenon as the removal of the open earcanal high-pass filter effect due to a perfect or partial occlusion. However, this filter has not been clearly defined and several ambiguities remain. Revisiting the model, a second order high-pass filter effect for the volume velocity transferred between the earcanal wall and the eardrum is highlighted. This filter remains for partial occlusion but vanishes for perfect occlusion. In …

Simulation Of The Objective Occlusion Effect Induced By Bone-Conducted Stimulation Using A Three-Dimensional Finite-Element Model Of A Human Head, Huiyang Xu, Franck Sgard, Kévin Carillo, Éric Wagnac, Jacques De Guise

Études primaires

The occlusion effect (OE) refers to the phenomenon that more bone-conducted physiological sounds are transmitted into the earcanal when it is blocked and may cause discomfort on users of hearing protection devices. Models have been proposed to study the OE as they can help understand the physical mechanisms and can be used to evaluate the individual contribution on the OE of the factors that may affect it (i.e., occlusion device, ear anatomy, and stimulation). The existing finite element models developed to study the OE are limited by their truncated ear geometries. In order to progress in the understanding of the …

Biomechanically Inspired Assistive Technology To Restore Movement Of The Upper Limbs After Stroke, Ariel Thomas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A stroke often damages the neural structures responsible for movement. Stroke is a heterogeneous disease, affecting each survivor differently. There are common motor features of a stroke, but even these features vary across time as an individual proceeds through different stages of recovery. The different ways in which stroke motor impairment can present itself are often overlooked, but these differences are fundamental to the understanding of the disease and its recovery. When motor assessments are capable of acquiring information necessary to parse out a detailed profile of each stroke case, this will lead to an improved neuromechanical understanding of the …

Application Of Data And Geospatial Analysis In Energy And Health Systems, Ali Faghani

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Having sustainable energy and health systems are the main factors in the vision plan of every country. Both of these systems are correlated with a variety of frameworks, including social, physical, technological, political, and economic factors. Therefore, different types of analytics methods can be implemented to develop the required assessments for those who make plans since understanding the effect of such factors individually, also their interactions, and the overall effect is crucial. With this regard, applications of data analysis and geospatial techniques in both energy, and health systems have recently gained attention. The proposed research here deployed advanced data analytics …

Redeployment Of Athletic Trainers During A Pandemic, James Caiola

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Before COVID-19 was recognized as a global pandemic involving the United States of America in March of 2020, MedStar Health employed 40 Athletic Trainers (ATs) in multiple settings. While ATs worked in the traditional setting at 17 high schools, 2 universities, and with 2 professional teams in the Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC area, they also have been used in nontraditional ways. They are used in the physician practice setting to manage clinic flow, evaluate patients and present to the physician, provide pre- and post-surgical patient education, and being an overall patient point of contact in a busy clinic. They …

Strategies For Catalyzing Clinicians’ Support Of Telemedicine Programs In Rural Communities, Jonathan Liwag

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinicians’ failure to accept contemporary technology has been a critical barrier to telemedicine program adoption. Staff technical challenges and resistance to change can affect technology return on investment, which concerns telemedicine program leaders. Grounded in Davis’s technology acceptance model, the purpose of this qualitative, descriptive single case study was to explore strategies used by program leaders in the Marianas Islands who successfully gained clinicians’ acceptance of contemporary technology. The participants were 5 program leaders recommended by their institution because of their leadership role and telemedicine technologies experience. Data were collected from 4 face-to-face and 1 audio teleconference interview with the …

Effect Of Hearing And Head Protection On The Localization Of Tonal And Broadband Reverse Alarms, Chantal Laroche, Christian Giguère, Véronique Vaillancourt, Claudia Marleau, Marie-France Cadieux, Karina Laprise-Girard, Emily Gula, Véronique Carroll, Manuelle Bibeau, Hugues Nélisse

Études primaires

Objective

This study explored the effects of hearing protection devices (HPDs) and head protection on the ability of normal-hearing individuals to localize reverse alarms in background noise.

Background

Among factors potentially contributing to accidents involving heavy vehicles, reverse alarms can be difficult to localize in space, leading to errors in identifying the source of danger. Previous studies have shown that traditional tonal alarms are more difficult to localize than broadband alarms. In addition, HPDs and safety helmets may further impair localization.

Method

Standing in the middle of an array of eight loudspeakers, participants with and without HPDs (passive and level-dependent) …

Telehealth Optimization – Role Of Clinical Athletic Trainers In Orthopedic/Sports Medicine Practice, Katie Harbacheck, Laura Grambo, Shaun Keefer, Eric Klein, Christine Boyd, Carolyn Ford-Hemann, Cameron D’Alpe, Steve Frick, Kevin Shea

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: Prior to COVID-19, telehealth (TH) implementation in most health systems was minimal. The transition to high rates of TH was dramatic in response to COVID-19, and many health systems struggled to develop optimal, efficient TH workflows. Hypothesis/Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of clinically integrated athletic trainers (ATs) into the TH transition of a major orthopedic academic center through growth of TH visits as well as physician satisfaction. Methods: Workflows and tip sheets were designed to include considerations of TH visit increases, adoption of appropriate technology platforms and optimal staff models. The rapid …

Safety Analysis Of Battery-Powered Adaptive Ride-On Toys For Children With Disabilities, Abbey Fraser

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modified battery-powered ride-on toy cars, or adaptive ride-on toys, represent novel rehabilitation tools and developmental aids for children with disabilities. Studies have shown that children are benefiting socially and developmentally from their use. However, the use of these toys by children with disabilities potentially poses a risk of injury and it is vitally important to ensure the safe use of these toys, particularly for the benefit of those with developmental challenges.

Within this context, the purpose of the first study was to determine whether modifications to ride-on toys are sufficient to prevent common modes of injury such as falls, passenger …

A Model For Inhalation Of Infectious Aerosol Contaminants In An Aircraft Passenger Cabin, Bert A. Silich

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Aerosol contamination of an aircraft cabin by infectious passengers is a concern of passengers, aircrew and the aviation industry. This may be especially important during a pandemic, such as COVID-19, where the full extent of aerosol transmission is not well understood. A statistical method to determine the number of infectious passengers on board along with a mathematical model estimating the contaminant concentration of aerosols in the cabin and the number of inhaled infectious particles by passengers is presented. An example is used to demonstrated how the results can be estimated during normal operations and emergency conditions with malfunctions of the …

Matters Of Biocybersecurity With Consideration To Propaganda Outlets And Biological Agents, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Ernestine Powell, Lucas Potter, Thaddeus Eze (Ed.), Lee Speakman (Ed.), Cyril Onwubiko (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The modern era holds vast modalities in human data utilization. Within Biocybersecurity (BCS), categories of biological information, especially medical information transmitted online, can be viewed as pathways to destabilize organizations. Therefore, analysis of how the public, along with medical providers, process such data, and the methods by which false information, particularly propaganda, can be used to upset the flow of verified information to populations of medical professionals, is important for maintenance of public health. Herein, we discuss some interplay of BCS within the scope of propaganda and considerations for navigating the field.

Evaluation Of Spinal Anatomy Segmentation Methods Using Synthetic Computed Tomography Volumes, Austin Tapp, Michel Audette

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Severe adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is corrected by surgical procedures that necessitate ligament releases. To determine appropriate release allotments, soft tissues must be localized on a patient-specific basis, However, routine computer tomography (CT) imaging precludes traditional, voxel-based soft tissue localization. Fortunately, recent studies have proposed top-down segmentation methods, which elucidate soft tissues using pre-operative CT volumes. While the accuracy of vertebral segmentations obtained from these methods has not been determined, the accuracy of soft tissue segmentations has not. To ensure the soft tissue segmentation methods are clinically applicable, soft tissue validation must occur. This study presents an evaluation measure for …

Modeling And Simulation Of Electromagnetic Fields To Maintain Bone Density During Prolonged Low Gravity Exposure, Austin Tapp, Michael Francis, Michel A. Audette

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Astronauts in a long term, low-gravity environments experience bone density loss at 10 times the rate of those diagnosed with osteoporosis. One treatment effective at maintaining bone density in osteoporotic individuals is electromagnetic field (EMF) therapy. Tools that induce EMFs are becoming increasingly prevalent, but to amplify osteogenesis and encourage superior bone density retention for astronauts, ideal EMF therapy parameters must be determined on patient-specific bases. Therefore, this study explores simulation environments that elucidate highly favorable EMF factors. Pulsed electromagnetic field and combined magnetic field generating devices are variably introduced near partient-specific, finite element (FE) models of the femur, spine, …

Monopolar Gene Electrotransfer Enhances Plasmid Dna Delivery To Skin, Anna Bulysheva, Loree Heller, Michael Francis, Frency Varghese, Carly Boye, Richard Heller

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A novel monopolar electroporation system and methodologies were developed for in vivo electroporation intended for potential clinical applications such as gene therapy. We hypothesized that an asymmetric anode/cathode electrode applicator geometry could produce favorable electric fields for electroporation, without the typical drawback associated with traditional needle and parallel plate geometries. Three monopolar electrode applicator prototypes were built and tested for gene delivery of reporter genes to the skin in a guinea pig model. Gene expression was evaluated in terms of kinetics over time and expression distribution within the treatment site. Different pulsing parameters, including pulse amplitude, pulse duration, and pulse …

Deep Neural Network Analysis Of Pathology Images With Integrated Molecular Data For Enhanced Glioma Classification And Grading, Linmin Pei, Karra A. Jones, Zeina A. Shboul, James Y. Chen, Khan M. Iftekharuddin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Gliomas are primary brain tumors that originate from glial cells. Classification and grading of these tumors is critical to prognosis and treatment planning. The current criteria for glioma classification in central nervous system (CNS) was introduced by World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016. This criteria for glioma classification requires the integration of histology with genomics. In 2017, the Consortium to Inform Molecular and Practical Approaches to CNS Tumor Taxonomy (cIMPACT-NOW) was established to provide up-to-date recommendations for CNS tumor classification, which in turn the WHO is expected to adopt in its upcoming edition. In this work, we propose a novel …

Plasma-Treated Solutions (Pts) In Cancer Therapy, Hiromasa Tanaka, Sander Bekeschus, Dayun Yan, Masaru Hori, Michael Keidar, Mounir Laroussi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Cold physical plasma is a partially ionized gas generating various reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) simultaneously. ROS/RNS have therapeutic effects when applied to cells and tissues either directly from the plasma or via exposure to solutions that have been treated beforehand using plasma processes. This review addresses the challenges and opportunities of plasma-treated solutions (PTSs) for cancer treatment. These PTSs include plasma-treated cell culture media in experimental research as well as clinically approved solutions such as saline and Ringer’s lactate, which, in principle, already qualify for testing in therapeutic settings. Several types of cancers were found to succumb to …

Joint Modeling Of Rnaseq And Radiomics Data For Glioma Molecular Characterization And Prediction, Zeina A. Shboul, Norou Diawara, Arastoo Vossough, James Y. Chen, Khan M. Iftekharuddin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

RNA sequencing (RNAseq) is a recent technology that profiles gene expression by measuring the relative frequency of the RNAseq reads. RNAseq read counts data is increasingly used in oncologic care and while radiology features (radiomics) have also been gaining utility in radiology practice such as disease diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment planning. However, contemporary literature lacks appropriate RNA-radiomics (henceforth, radiogenomics) joint modeling where RNAseq distribution is adaptive and also preserves the nature of RNAseq read counts data for glioma grading and prediction. The Negative Binomial (NB) distribution may be useful to model RNAseq read counts data that addresses potential shortcomings. …

Continuous Manufacturing Of Pharmaceuticals Using Novel Platforms, Sarah S. Aboelela

Theses and Dissertations

Pharmaceuticals have been synonymously manufactured in a centralized, batch mode with less attention to process and formulation understanding. However, due to rising drug costs, shortages, and robustness issues, in addition to the alarming lack of flexibility and agility, regulatory agencies have pushed towards switching to continuous processes. They believed in continuous manufacturing, providing cleaner, flexible, and more efficient processes. Hence, it was foreseen to reduce development and manufacturing costs, time, and environmental impact and ensured drug product quality. Over the last two decades, continuous manufacturing quality, environmental, and economic advantages have been evident through many case studies and approved products …

Nebulizer-Based Systems To Improve Pharmaceutical Aerosol Delivery To The Lungs, Benjamin M. Spence

Theses and Dissertations

Combining vibrating mesh nebulizers with additional new technologies leads to substantial improvements in pharmaceutical aerosol delivery to the lungs across therapeutic administration methods. In this dissertation, streamlined components, aerosol administration synchronization, and/or Excipient Enhanced Growth (EEG) technologies were utilized to develop and test several novel devices and aerosol delivery systems. The first focus of this work was to improve the poor delivery efficiency, e.g., 3.6% of nominal dose (Dugernier et al. 2017), of aerosolized medication administration to adult human subjects concurrent with high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy, a form of continuous-flow non-invasive ventilation (NIV). The developed Low-Volume Mixer-Heater (LVMH) …

Fmri Feature Extraction Model For Adhd Classification Using Convolutional Neural Network, Senuri De Silva, Sanuwani Udara Dayarathna, Gangani Ariyarathne, Dulani Meedeniya, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Biomedical intelligence provides a predictive mechanism for the automatic diagnosis of diseases and disorders. With the advancements of computational biology, neuroimaging techniques have been used extensively in clinical data analysis. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric disorder, with the symptomology of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, in which early diagnosis is crucial to prevent unwelcome outcomes. This study addresses ADHD identification using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data for the resting state brain by evaluating multiple feature extraction methods. The features of seed-based correlation (SBC), fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF), and regional homogeneity (ReHo) are comparatively applied to …

Combining Cryo-Em Density Map And Residue Contact For Protein Secondary Structure Topologies, Maytha Alshammari, Jing He

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Although atomic structures have been determined directly from cryo-EM density maps with high resolutions, current structure determination methods for medium resolution (5 to 10 Å) cryo-EM maps are limited by the availability of structure templates. Secondary structure traces are lines detected from a cryo-EM density map for α-helices and β-strands of a protein. A topology of secondary structures defines the mapping between a set of sequence segments and a set of traces of secondary structures in three-dimensional space. In order to enhance accuracy in ranking secondary structure topologies, we explored a method that combines three sources of information: a set …

Spectroscopic Investigation Of Radiation-Induced Reoxygenation In Radiation-Resistant Tumors, Sina Dadgar, Joel Rodriguez Troncoso, Eric R. Siegel, Natalie Curry, Robert J. Griffin, Ruud P.M. Dings, Narasimhan Rajaram

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Fractionated radiation therapy is believed to reoxygenate and subsequently radiosensitize surviving hypoxic cancer cells. Measuring tumor reoxygenation between radiation fractions could conceivably provide an early biomarker of treatment response. However, the relationship between tumor reoxygenation and local control is not well understood. We used noninvasive optical fiber-based diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to monitor radiation-induced changes in hemoglobin oxygen saturation (sO₂) in tumor xenografts grown from two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines - UM-SCC-22B and UM-SCC-47. Tumors were treated with 4 doses of 2 Gy over 2 consecutive weeks and diffuse reflectance spectra were acquired every day …

Video Analysis And Verification Of Direct Head Impacts Recorded By Wearable Sensors In Junior Rugby League Players, Lauchlan Carey, Douglas P. Terry, Andrew S. Mcintosh, Peter Stanwell, Grant L. Iverson, Andrew J. Gardner

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Rugby league is a high-intensity collision sport that carries a risk of concussion. Youth athletes are considered to be more vulnerable and take longer to recover from concussion than adult athletes. Purpose: To review head impact events in elite-level junior representative rugby league and to verify and describe characteristics of X-patchTM-recorded impacts via video analysis. Study Design: Observational case series. Methods: The X-patchTM was used on twenty-one adolescent players (thirteen forwards and eight backs) during a 2017 junior representative rugby league competition. Game-day footage, recorded by a trained videographer from a single camera, was synchronised with X-patchTM-recorded timestamped events. …

Impact Of Hemodynamic Vortex Spatial And Temporal Characteristics On Analysis Of Intracranial Aneurysms, Kevin W. Sunderland

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Subarachnoid hemorrhage is a potentially devastating pathological condition in which bleeding occurs into the space surrounding the brain. One of the prominent sources of subarachnoid hemorrhage are intracranial aneurysms (IA): degenerative, irregular expansions of area(s) of the cerebral vasculature. In the event of IA rupture, the resultant subarachnoid hemorrhage ends in patient mortality occurring in ~50% of cases, with survivors enduring significant neurological damage with physical or cognitive impairment. The seriousness of IA rupture drives a degree of clinical interest in understanding these conditions that promote both the development and possible rupture of the vascular malformations. Current metrics for the …

Bibliometric Review On Applications Of Disease Detection Using Digital Image Processing Techniques, Jayant Jagtap, Rahil Sharma, Aryan Sinha, Nikhil Panda, Amulya Reddy

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Advances around the field of deep learning and cognitive computing have allowed mankind to look and solve the problems of the world in a completely new way. Deep learning has been making huge advancements in the field of healthcare, which most importantly focuses upon disease detection and disease prediction. Techniques such as these have been conceptualized the idea of early detection and economical ways of treating the predicted disease in particular. Still, it has been observed that there seems to be no change in the way diagnosis of a particular disease takes place even in the 21^st generation of …