Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Scaffold Composition And Architecture Critically Regulate Extracellular Matrix Synthesis By Cardiomyocytes, Arsela Gishto

ETD Archive

Heart failure accounts for over 5 million cases in the U.S. A major onset of this is myocardial infarction, which causes the myocardium to loose cardiomyocytes and transform into a scar tissue. Given that the adult infarcted cardiac tissue has a limited ability to regenerate, alternative methods to restore the damaged area need to be developed. The goal of these approaches is to design an optimal scaffold that can retain and deliver cardiomyocytes at the site of damaged myocardium. This tissue engineering approach would allow cardiac reconstruction by replacing the lost cardiomyocytes, delivering the required biomolecules, as well as remodeling …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Of A Gravity Settler For Algae Dewatering, Scott A. Hug

ETD Archive

Algae are the future of lipid sources for biodiesel production. Algae can produce more biodiesel than soybean and canola oil and can be grown in more diverse locations. Algae concentrations are naturally around 0.1 by weight. Enough water must be removed for the algae level to reach 5 , the minimum concentration in which lipids can be used in the transesterification process for biofuel production is 5 . Current dewatering methods involve the use of settling tanks and centrifugation. The costs of centrifugation limit the commercial viability of algae based biodiesel. A novel inclined gravity settler design at Cleveland State …

Moving Horizon Estimation With Dynamic Programming, Mohan Kumar Ramalingam

ETD Archive

Moving Horizon Estimation(MHE) is a optimization based strategy to state estimation. It involves computation of arrival cost, a penalty term, based on the MHE cost function. Minimization of this arrival cost is done through various methods. All these methods use nonlinear programming optimization technique which gives the estimate. The main idea of MHE revolves around minimizing the estimation cost function. The cost function is dependent on prediction error computation from data and arrival cost summarization. The major issue that hampers the MHE is choosing the arrival cost for ensuring stability of the overall estimation and computational time. In order to …

A Microfluidic Platform To Quantify Spatio-Temporal Diffusion Of Chemo-Gradients Within 3d Scaffolds: Applications In Axonal Biology, Michael A. Sawonik

ETD Archive

Axonal outgrowth and guidance play an important role in wiring the developing and regenerating nervous system. The critical role of biomolecular gradients in facilitating this axonal sensitivity and directionality along specific trajectories needs to be elucidated for designing effective therapeutic treatments under injury or disease conditions. However, previous in vitro approaches based on micropipette assay or gel-turning assay proved to be unsuitable or inefficient for precise generation and quantification of diffusive gradients. In this study, we utilized a microfluidic device to generate and quantify physiologically-relevant biomolecular gradients in a simple and reliable manner. Using a combination of computational and experimental …

Adhesion And Proliferation Of Red Fluorescent U87 Cells In A Mirco-Incubator, Rebecca L. Jensen

Undergraduate Research Posters 2012

Availability of bone forming osteoblast cells from genetically modified green fluorescing protein (GFP) expressing mouse opens up the possibility of carrying out live cell imaging of the cells as they adhere, migrate and proliferate on nano-texture modified opaque metallic surfaces. Cells inoculated at a density of 200 cells/mm2 proliferated 131% over a one week period.

A Low Cost Motion Analysis System Based On Kinect, Jonathan Michael Cardinale, Tracy N. Jennemann, Vitaliy Sinyuk, Sam Kenji Yokoyama

Undergraduate Research Posters 2012

The project focused on the validation of using the Kinect sensor to build a low cost motion analysis system for physical therapy and rehabilitation, and the identification of the types of the motions that cannot be captured well by the Kinect sensor and are in need of inertial sensors.

The Biomechanical Role Of Scaffolds In Augmented Rotator Cuff Tendon Repairs, Amit Aurora, Jesse A. Mccarron, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, Jorge E. Gatica, Joseph P. Iannotti, Kathleen A. Derwin

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Scaffolds continue to be developed and used for rotator cuff repair augmentation; however, the appropriate scaffold material properties and/or surgical application techniques for achieving optimal biomechanical performance remains unknown. The objectives of the study were to simulate a previously validated spring-network model for clinically relevant scenarios to predict: (1) the manner in which changes to components of the repair influence the biomechanical performance of the repair and (2) the percent load carried by the scaffold augmentation component.

Materials and methods

The models were parametrically varied to simulate clinically relevant scenarios, namely, changes in tendon quality, altered surgical technique(s), and …

Simulation Of Lower Limb Axial Arterial Length Change During Locomotion, Melissa D. Young, Matthew C. Streicher, Richard J. Beck, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, Azita Tajaddini, Brian L. Davis

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The effect of external forces on axial arterial wall mechanics has conventionally been regarded as secondary to hemodynamic influences. However, arteries are similar to muscles in terms of the manner in which they traverse joints, and their three-dimensional geometrical requirements for joint motion. This study considers axial arterial shortening and elongation due to motion of the lower extremity during gait, ascending stairs, and sitting-to-standing motion. Arterial length change was simulated by means of a graphics based anatomic and kinematic model of the lower extremity. This model estimated the axial shortening to be as much as 23% for the femoropopliteal arterial …

7d Cardiac Flow Mri: Techniques & Automation Of Reconstruction, Michael G. Ambrosia

ETD Archive

Advances in magnetic resonance imaging to quantify the blood flow in the heart and major vessels stemming from the heart has recently allowed for advanced clinical applications for patients suffering from cardiac valve problems and aortic abnormalities. 7D cardiac flow quantification is relatively new, but has already shown potential in several clinical applications, including bicuspid valve and aortic coarctation characterization. In addition radiologists diagnosing valvular regurgitation may benefit from insight provided by the 7D cardiac flow quantification protocol. 7D cardiac flow quantification using magnetic resonance imaging will provide direction flow quantification in the anterior / posterior, head / foot, and …

Controlled Delivery Of Tgf-Ss1 From Plga Nanoparticles, Pratik K. Vaidya

ETD Archive

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) typically manifest as localized wall weakening and dilation of the infrarenal aorta, which grows gradually, and ultimately leads to fatal rupture. It is caused due to overexpression of proteolytic enzymes (matrix metalloproteases or MMPs) resulting into disruption of tissue structure, especially elastic matrix, which cannot be regenerated by adult vascular cells. On account of post-operative complications associated with their surgical repair, there is a critical need for developing non-surgical strategies for slowing and even regressing AAA growth. Recent studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that 1 ng/mL of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) enhances regenerative repair by …

Elastogenic Characterization Of Rat Bm-Msc-Derived Smcs Towards Use In Soft Tissue Engineering, Sahithya Wintrich

ETD Archive

No abstract provided.

Modification Of Behavior Of Elastin-Like Polypeptides By Changing Molecular Architecture, Ali Ghoorchian

ETD Archive

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELP) are environmentally responsive polymers that exhibit phase separation in response to external stimuli such as temperature, pH, light, and ionic strength. It has been shown that the sequence of the pentapeptide, its length, and the solution concentration are very important in the transition of the molecules from soluble to insoluble, but there has not been any detailed study of the effect of molecular architecture on the behavior of ELPs.In this study we designed, synthesized and characterized ELPs with different architectures and chemical identities to probe the effect of molecular design on the microscopic and macroscopic behavior of …

In Vitro Biomechanical Testing And Computational: Modeling In Spine, Mageswaran Prasath

ETD Archive

Two separate in vitro biomechanical studies were conducted on human cadaveric spines (Lumbar) to evaluate the stability following the implantation of two different spinal fixation devices interspinous fixation device (ISD) and Hybrid dynamic stabilizers. ISD was evaluated as a stand-alone and in combination with unilateral pedicle rod system. The results were compared against the gold standard, spinal fusion (bilateral pedicle rod system). The second study involving the hybrid dynamic system, evaluated the effect on adjacent levels using a hybrid testing protocol. A robotic spine testing system was used to conduct the biomechanical tests. This system has the ability to apply …

Myocardial T1 Mapping Techniques For Quantification Of Myocardial Fibrosis, Xiaopeng Zhou

ETD Archive

Identifying and quantifying diffuse myocardial fibrosis is important to provide insights into the relationship between myocardial fibrosis, diastolic and systolic dysfunction, as well as clinical outcomes. T1 mapping is a promising technique for noninvasively identifying diffuse myocardial fibrosis in heart failure. A quantitative T1 map provides sensitivity to the full range of T1 values and is advantageous over the traditional T1-weighted imaging by reducing the reliance on visual interpretation of the signal intensity in the myocardium. However, in-vivo myocardial T1 quantification is challenging because of cardiac and respiratory motion. During the past few years, a variety of T1 mapping techniques, …

Effects Of Magnesium Sulfate, Digestate And Other Inorganic Nutrients On The Phototrophic Growth Of The Green Microalga Scenedesmus Dimorphus, Jacob R. Schwenk

ETD Archive

The individual components of the growth media, notably magnesium, have a profound impact on the growth and lipid production of the green microalgae, Scenedesmus dimorphus. The goal of this work was to investigate these effects and explain the causes via multiple experiments. It is important to understand the aspects of algal growth because they have a significant impact on the commercial viability of microalgal lipids as a potential feedstock for biofuel production. Digestate, derived from bovine waste and a potential cost effective nutrient replacement for conventional media types, was found to maximize growth and lipid concentration in S. dimorphus at …

Effect Of Glucose Supplementation On Nighttime Biomass Loss And Productivity Of Microalgae Chlorella, Dhruvesh Shah

ETD Archive

Microalgae have been proven to be a promising source for the production of biofuel. It has higher oil yield than any other food crop. Oil yield from microalgae is 7 to 13 times higher than the best food crop. There are several issues to be addressed for economic production of biofuel from microalgae. One such issue is cultivation of microalgae. Algae can be cultivated photoautotrophically or heterotrophically. Algae grown photoautotrophically lose up to 35 of the biomass during nighttime. Heterotrophic cultivation of microalgae has been proven to be resulting in faster microalgae production compared to photoautotrophic growth, but requires use …

Characterization Of Elastic-Like Polypeptide Micelles Using Capillary Viscometry, Sumit H. Kambow

ETD Archive

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are a part of the family of responsive polymers. These polymers can be made to respond to a wide variety of stimuli, including temperature, pH, salt, concentration, light, and solvent. Elastin-like polypeptides are soluble in water at low temperatures but they become hydrophobic and insoluble above their transition temperature. Elastin-like polypeptides, (GVGVP)40-foldon and (GVGVP)60-foldon, were expressed in bacterial system. These ELPs above their transition temperature, Tt, at low salt (< 45mM) and high pH (> pH 10) assemble into micelles where the hydrophobic tails phase separate in the interior of the micelle as an immiscible coacervate phase. The oligomerization domain termed as …

Analysis Of Microstructure And Macrosegregation For Directional Solidification Of Al-7 Wt Si Alloy With A Cross-Section Change At Growth Speeds Of 10 And 29.1 [Mu]M/S, Luke Johnson

ETD Archive

No abstract provided.

Field-Controlled Electron Transfer And Reaction Kinetics Of The Biological Catalytic System Of Microperoxidase-11 And Hydrogen Peroxide, Yongki Chou, Siu-Tung Yau

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Controlled reaction kinetics of the bio-catalytic system of microperoxidase-11 and hydrogen peroxide has been achieved using an electrostatic technique. The technique allowed independent control of 1) the thermodynamics of the system using electrochemical setup and 2) the quantum mechanical tunneling at the interface between microperoxidase-11 and the working electrode by applying a gating voltage to the electrode. The cathodic currents of electrodes immobilized with microperoxidase-11 showed a dependence on the gating voltage in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, indicating a controllable reduction reaction. The measured kinetic parameters of the bio-catalytic reduction showed nonlinear dependences on the gating voltage as the …

A Silicon Nanoparticle-Based Polymeric Nano-Composite Material For Glucose Sensing, Qiang Liu, Munir H. Nayfeh, Siu-Tung Yau

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A novel non-enzyme glucose sensing material has been prepared by incorporating ultrasmall (1–3 nm) silicon nanoparticles in polyaniline, a conducting polymer, as a nano-composite material (NCM). When deposited on electrodes, the composite material with three-dimensional loading of the nanoparticles showed a significantly enhanced amperometric response to glucose, compared to the nanoparticles deposited on bare electrodes and electrodes immobilized with the enzyme, glucose oxidase. The linear range of the glucose response of NCM electrodes covered both the hypo- and hyper-glycaemic glucose levels. The sensitivity of the NCM electrodes was 2.5 μA cm⁻² mM⁻¹. The NCM electrodes’ selectivity for …

3d Imaging For Planning Of Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures, Uma Numburi

ETD Archive

Novel minimally invasive surgeries are used for treating cardiovascular diseases and are performed under 2D fluoroscopic guidance with a C-arm system. 3D multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) images are routinely used for preprocedural planning and postprocedural follow-up. For preprocedural planning, the ability to integrate the MDCT with fluoroscopic images for intraprocedural guidance is of clinical interest. Registration may be facilitated by rotating the C-arm to acquire 3D C-arm CT images. This dissertation describes the development of optimal scan and contrast parameters for C-arm CT in 6 swine. A 5-s ungated C-arm CT acquisition during rapid ventricular pacing with aortic root …

One-Dimensional Radial Diffusion Of Small Molecules (376 Da) In Bone Tissue, Kurt W. Farrell

ETD Archive

The flow of nutrients through any biological tissue is important to maintain homeostasis. If the transport process is understood, medical research teams can better design medications, prosthetic implants, and tissue scaffolds. Additionally, transport rates help physicians to better understand disease states and wound healing, including minor injuries such as breaks and sprains, which will aid in better diagnoses. We developed a novel method that measures the rate of diffusion in vitro, of fluorescein sodium salt. Samples were incubated at 37°C in a 5 CO2 atmosphere for various periods of time. Samples were sliced and analyzed using Image-Pro Plus and MATLAB …

Modification, Expression, And Purification Of Hyperactive Antifreeze Proteins From Insect Tenebrio Molitor, Sen Bu

ETD Archive

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs), also known as thermal hysteresis proteins, can protect organisms from damage caused by freezing by lowering the freezing point of fluids. AFPs can bind to small ice crystals, inhibit ice growth, and change the morphology of ice crystals. The difference between the freezing temperature and the melting temperature is termed thermal hysteresis (TH). There are different types of AFPs, such as fish AFPs (type I, II, III, and IV) and insect AFPs. These AFPs can also be classified by their thermal hysteresis activity: moderately active AFPs and hyperactive AFPs. Previous research groups successfully constructed AFP (type I, …

Characterization Of Elastin-Like Polypeptides Using Viscometry, Hamdan Noman Alanazi

ETD Archive

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are a class of polypeptide polymers that are gaining interest in various potential applications. These polymers are responsive to the changes in their environment by exhibiting conformational changes and aggregation. Monodisperse elastin-like polypeptides, (GVGVP)40, (GVGVP)40-foldon, and (GVGVP)60-foldon are made in bacterial expression system. An Ubbelohde capillary viscometer was set up to characterize the structural changes of these ELPs in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution. For the ELP-foldon, the relative viscosity measurements were utilized to calculate the intrinsic viscosities using Kraemer and Huggins equations. The known molecular weights of the ELPs and the experimentally determined intrinsic viscosities facilitated …

Design Of An Implant For First Metatarsophalangeal Joint Hemiarthroplasty, Atul Kumar

ETD Archive

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and it affects 27 million US adults. OA disease involves all of the tissues of the diarthrodial joint and ultimately, may lead to softening, ulceration, loss of articular cartilage, sclerosis and polished appearance of the subchondral bone, osteophytes, and subchondral cysts. The first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ1) is affected in up to 42 cases of OA. Besides osteoarthritis, other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout also affect the MTPJ1. Involvement of MTPJ1 with these conditions invariably leads to deformed toe such as hallux valgus and hallux rigidus. Over 150 surgical techniques …

Development Of A Muscle Force Optimization Algorithm To Improve Center Of Pressure During Simulated Walking, Lawrence Dean Noble

ETD Archive

The Universal Musculoskeletal Simulator (UMS) was developed at the Cleveland Clinic to facilitate general purpose orthopaedic research that allows investigators to study the in vitro forces applied to bones, tendons and ligaments during simulated exercise of cadaver joint systems. In its original state, the UMS hardware consisted of a rotopod (a specialized hexapod robot), a single rotary tendon actuator and custom LabVIEW software for coordinated control and operation of the system. The focus of this work was to 1) enhance the UMS with a multi-tendon actuator system, 2) develop a muscle force optimization algorithm and evaluate it with a static …

Quantification Of Scenedesmus Dimorphus Growth And Substrate Kinetics For Continuous Photobioreactor Design, Daniela Ribita

ETD Archive

Increasing gas prices, limited fossil fuel resources and U.S. dependence on foreign oil make research in alternative fuels a priority. The feasibility of producing fuels from microalgae is economically dependent on improvements in lipid productivity by the algae. The research presented here focuses on the development of a mathematical model to describe the biomass and lipid productivity in a continuously-operated photobioreactor (PBR) system. Five different cell lysing methods were evaluated for the purpose of improving the methods of analysis of lipid synthesis. The two most promising methods were found to be mortar and pestle and organic solvent cell fractionation methods. …

Algea Suspension Dewatering With An Inclined Gravity Settler, Jing Hou

ETD Archive

Biofuel has been studied for several decades as a feasible substitute for petroleum, which may solve the energy crisis. Having a high oil content and growth rate, algae biofuels have received lots of attention recently, and have been considered as one of the most promising technologies to reduce the dependence of fossil fuels. In the process of producing algae biofuel, the dewatering process constitutes a significant part of the cost of the algae biofuel, impeding progress towards large-scale commercial use. An inclined settler utilizes gravity to separate algae cells from the fluid, with little energy consumption. The separation ability of …

Investigations Of Anatomical Connectivity In The Internal Capsule Of Macaques With Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Kyle Andrew Ignatius Taljan

ETD Archive

Understanding anatomical connectivity is crucial for improving outcomes of deep brain stimulation surgery. Tractography is a promising method for noninvasively investigating anatomical connectivity, but connections between subcortical regions have not been closely examined by this method. As many connections to subcortical regions converge at the internal capsule (IC), we investigate the connectivity through the IC to three subcortical nuclei (caudate, lentiform nucleus, and thalamus) in 6 macaques. We show that a statistical correction for a known distance-related artifact in tractography results in large changes in connectivity patterns. Our results suggest that care should be taken in using tractography to assess …

A Left Ventricular Motion Phantom For Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Mehmet Ersoy

ETD Archive

The mammalian left ventricle (LV) has two distinct motion patterns: wall thickening and rotation. The purpose of this study was to design and build a low-cost, non-ferromagnetic LV motion phantom, for use with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), that is able to produce physiologically realistic LV wall thickening and rotation. Cardiac MRI is continuously expanding its range of techniques with new pulse sequences, including new tissue tagging techniques which allow intra-myocardial deformation to be visualized. An essential step in the development of new cardiac MRI techniques is validating their performance in the presence of motion. MRI-compatible dynamic motion phantoms are …