Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Vergence Task-Based Neural Pathways With Binocularly Normal Vision And Comorbid Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms -Convergence Insufficiency, Ayushi Sangoi

Dissertations

Binocular dysfunctions are more prevalent in the persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS) population than in the general population. The most prevalent binocular disorder is convergence insufficiency (CI), affecting 3-17% of the general population and up to 10 times as many people with PPCS. CI makes it difficult to fuse or maintain fusion on targets at near, and its symptoms include double or blurry vision and headaches when performing close-range tasks such as reading, which can exacerbate PPCS symptoms. Given controversy over the subjectivity and effectiveness of diagnostic tools and symptom surveys for both PPCS and CI, understanding why CI has high …

Membrane-Engineered Nanotherapeutic Platforms For Drug Delivery: Hollow Fiber Membrane Synthesis Of Lipid Nanoparticles, Biomimetic Nanocarriers, And Nanobubbles, Zhixiang Liu

Dissertations

Lipid-based nanocarriers have emerged as a cornerstone technology for RNA therapeutics, enabling effective intracellular delivery for applications ranging from vaccination to gene regulation. However, current manufacturing approaches, particularly microfluidic-based platforms, face inherent limitations in scalability, throughput, and structural tunability due to their reliance on confined channel geometries and restricted mixing architectures. Addressing these challenges requires fundamentally new strategies that decouple nanoparticle formation from traditional microscale flow constraints while maintaining precise control over physicochemical properties.

This dissertation presents a comprehensive framework for the design, engineering, and application of advanced lipid-based nanocarriers, centered on a hollow fiber membrane (HFM)—assisted nanopore-mediated assembly platform. …

Transcranial Ac Modulation Of Cerebellar Nuclear Activity In Awake Animals, Nuran Kavakli

Dissertations

Entrainment of cerebellar nuclear (CN) cells via cerebellar transcranial alternating current stimulation (ctACS) has been reported in animals under ketamine/xylazine anesthesia. Our main objective was to demonstrate modulation of CN activity in unanesthetized, freely moving animals using ctACS. Multi-channel carbon-fiber electrodes were implanted into the interpositus nucleus for recording multi-unit (MU) activity, and thin-film electrodes were implanted subcutaneously over the posterior cerebellum for stimulation. A frequency-domain-based metric was developed to quantify modulation from MU signals. The results demonstrated modulation in a wide range of frequencies (4 Hz-300 Hz) as in anesthetized animals. In contrast, the amplitude of the peak in …

Evaluation Of Medical Instrument Reliability For The Heath And Maddox Components Of The Accommodative-Vergence System, Jacob Chabuel

Theses

Binocular vision relies on the coordination of near response triad composed in part by the vergence and accommodative systems. Binocular dysfunctions linked to these systems impact the quality of life of those affected by complicating day-to-day tasks and leading to further health concerns. Clinical evaluations that diagnose dysfunctions and tailor therapies rely on subjective methods, creating a need for a reliable, quantitative, measurement tool. This is achieved using a haploscope, a tool that quantitatively measures and observes binocular vision to identify deficiencies within the eye. Modernization of a haploscope system, measurement of the Heath and Maddox components of the visual …

Robustness Of Ai-Driven Histopathology Under Real-World Adversarial Examples, Ruchik N. Yajnik

Theses

This robustness of histopathology classification models under adversarial and real-world perturbations resembling clinical artifacts is being investigated.

Using whole-slide images from the CAMELYON17 cohort, four representative architectures—ResNet-18, ResNet-50, HIPT-2MLP, and ViT-B/16 —are benchmarked across controlled pixel-level distortions and artifact-like transformations. Adversarial methods include iterative Fast Gradient Sign, Projected Gradient Descent, Salt-and-Pepper noise, and the Adversarial Watermark—Stain Shift (AWSS). Three defense strategies—Randomized Smoothing, Adversarial Training, and an Artifact Detector—are evaluated for their ability to preserve diagnostic accuracy and model reliability. Structured perturbations consistently degrade performance, with transformer-based models showing the greatest sensitivity. The benchmark developed here offers a reproducible framework for …

Engineering Design And Analysis Using Creo® Cad, Cae, And Manufacturing Applications, Swapnil Moon

Open and Affordable Textbooks

This textbook presents a structured approach to computer-aided design using Creo, integrating CAD, CAE, and CAM workflows within a unified engineering framework. The material emphasizes parametric modeling, design intent, and feature-based modeling as foundations for creating robust and adaptable engineering models. Through progressively structured tutorials, students develop skills in part modeling, assemblies, engineering drawings, mechanism design, simulation, and manufacturing. The text incorporates real-world engineering components and workflows, including structural and thermal analysis, motion simulation, and toolpath generation, reflecting modern engineering practice. Designed for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students, this open educational resource supports hands-on learning and prepares students for industry-relevant …

Childhood Neuroanatomical Markers Of Familial And Nonfamilial Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Rahman Baboli

Dissertations

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Children with family history of ADHD are at an elevated risk of having ADHD as well as a higher risk of persistent ADHD into adulthood, reflecting a source of etiological heterogeneity in ADHD. This heterogeneity in terms of both biological and environmental risk factors may explain differences in neural correlates, outcomes, cognitive, behavioral as well as developmental trajectories. It is therefore critical to understand the influence of having, or not having positive family risk factors on the neuroanatomical structures of the …

The Interplay Of Accommodation And Oculomotor Vergence Within Young Adults With Binocularly Normal Vision And Typically-Occurring Convergence Insufficiency, Sebastian Fine

Dissertations

Concerted binocular coordination evoking oculomotor and refractive responses to visual stimuli are essential to daily function. Oculomotor dysfunctions can inhibit binocular responses to visually-near stimuli and have high comorbidities to accommodative dysfunctions. Three visual cues for inward (convergent) and outward (divergent) oculomotor movements, when presented concertedly create natural-viewing conditions: disparity- the binocular difference in light cast onto the fovea due to differing ocular perspectives, blur- the acuity of a visual target which stimulates accommodation, and proximal- the perceived distance of a visual stimuli based on size.

This study aims to quantitatively investigate oculomotor vergence and accommodation performances between individuals with …

Modulation Of Cerebellar Cells By Transcranial Ac Stimulation In Anesthetized Rats, Qi Kang

Dissertations

Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is increasingly utilized in clinical trials for the treatment of neurological disorders. Each NIBS technique offers distinct advantages. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) is easy to apply and requires only simple equipment, while transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can penetrate deeper than tES into the brain and it is more focal. Transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (FUS) is superior to both in terms of penetration and focal stimulation. This study focuses on the modulation of the cerebellum, traditionally believed to be associated with motor coordination but increasingly recognized for its role in cognition and emotion as well. While tES …

Determination Of Electrochemical Parameters For Predicting Reaction Mechanism And Algorithmic Approaches To Pain Assessment, Huize Xue

Dissertations

This dissertation introduces novel advancements in electrochemical kinetics and pain assessment, structured into two main parts. The first part focuses on the comprehensive analysis of the kinetic and mechanistic aspects of electrochemical reactions, utilizing a combination of experimental techniques and simulation methods. A new software tool, Envismetrics, was developed using Python to facilitate the analysis of complex electrochemical data, including cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), and hydrodynamic voltammetry (HDV). The software was rigorously tested and validated with well-characterized redox systems such as the ferricyanide/ferrocyanide couple, dimethylamine borane (DMAB), and Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). It was successfully used to determine …

Automated Segmentation Of The Ulnar Nerve In Mri Using Deep Learning Techniques, Akhil Nagulapalli

Theses

Cubital Tunnel Syndrome (CuTS), a condition caused by compression of the ulnar nerve, results in numbness, tingling, pain, and even muscle atrophy, affecting fine motor skills and diminishing patient quality of life. Accurate diagnosis of CuTS is challenging, as current diagnostic methods—including clinical exams, nerve conduction studies, and unaided MRI—often lack the precision to reliably identify the nerve and detect compression in its early stages. Deep learning-based segmentation offers a promising solution, enabling precise and automated identification of nerve structures in MRI images, which could significantly improve diagnostic accuracy and support timely intervention.

A novel deep learning model for segmenting …

Investigating The Neurovascular Correlates Of Cognitive Function In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Donna Yali Chen

Dissertations

Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) have a 13 times greater risk of cognitive impairment than able-bodied individuals and commonly report symptoms of depression and anxiety. The reports of cognitive impairment in individuals with SCI are independent of concomitant brain injury. Although the direct cause of cognitive impairment in individuals with SCI is unknown, key contributors may include comorbid depression, chronic pain, anxiety, fatigue, brain injury, or cardiovascular dysfunction. Previous studies have focused on SCI at the level of the spinal cord but have under-investigated the supraspinal levels. Due to the lack of neuroimaging studies on SCI rehabilitation, it is …

Microwave Catalysis-Enabled Membrane Processes For Microbial Inactivation, Fangzhou Liu

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for advanced technologies to combat virus transmission. Traditional membrane filtration technologies primarily serve as physical barriers, capturing pollutants but failing to inactivate microbial agents such as bacteria and viruses. These membranes typically target larger particles but are ineffective against sub-micrometer viral particles. Thus, there's a critical demand for membrane filtration processes that combine robust filtration with antifouling and reaction -enabled functions for efficient pathogen disinfection. This research explores a novel microwave-assisted membrane filtration process incorporating catalytic reactions to enhance microbial disinfection and prevent membrane fouling, offering a groundbreaking solution to global challenges …

Collision Dynamics Of Compound Droplets In Microchannels: A Combined Numerical And Data-Driven Study, S M Abdullah Al Mamun

Dissertations

Understanding and predicting the hydrodynamic interactions of micron-scale droplets is crucial in a wide range of industrial and real-life applications, including microfluidics, pharmaceutics, drug delivery, food science, and enhanced oil recovery. These multi-phase and multi-scale phenomena are further complicated by the presence of core droplets of an immiscible fluid within shell droplets, known as compound droplets. The collisions and interactions of droplets in emulsions are influenced by various physical and geometric parameters, leading to distinct rheological and dynamic responses. This research employs numerical methods for a systematic parametric study of both simple and compound droplet pair collisions under confined shear …

Computational Microscopy For Biomedical Imaging With Deep Learning Assisted Image Analysis, Yuwei Liu

Dissertations

Microscopy plays a crucial role across various scientific fields by enabling structural and functional imaging with microscopic resolution. In biomedicine, microscopy contributes to basic research and clinical diagnosis. Conventionally, optical microscopy derives its contrast from the amplitude of the optical wave and provides visualization of the physical structure of the sample qualitatively. To understand the function at the cellular or tissue level, there is a need to characterize the sample quantitatively and explore contrast mechanisms other than light intensity. Image enhancement or reconstruction from microscopic imaging systems is known as computational microscopy, and it involves the application of computational techniques …

Effects Of Exoskeletal-Assisted Walking Rehabilitation On Gait Of Patients Post Stroke, Archisha Kanchan

Theses

Stroke can have detrimental effects on one's body. Its symptoms can range from lightheadedness to blurred vision to body paralysis. One of the more common effects of stroke is difficulty walking where many of the patients who have suffered from stroke are unable to ambulate fully. To mitigate gait difficulties, patients typically follow through with various kinds of physical therapy to help with their gait movements. Recently, robotic exoskeleton (RE) walking therapy has been used as a more innovative approach to gait rehabilitation, in conjunction with other physical therapy session techniques. However, studies involving RE therapy within the stroke population …

Targeted Drug Delivery: Investigating Protein Corona Behavior, Atharva Markale

Theses

Due to high specificity and less toxicity, nanoparticles have become promising for targeted drug delivery against cancer, although they face challenges when they enter the bloodstream, making their behavior unpredictable. The deposition of proteins on nanoparticles, the protein corona, changes their biosignature, affecting their circulation, drug release potency, targeting ability, and immunogenicity. The continuous exchange of protein layers on a nanoscale is complex to analyze.

Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) is a method to characterize nanoparticles in blood plasma by combining principles of light scattering microscopy and Brownian motion. In this work, time-dependent experiments with plasma were conducted to analyze the …

Bacterial Motion And Spread In Porous Environments, Yasser Almoteri

Dissertations

Micro-swimmers are ubiquitous in nature from soil and water to mammalian bodies and even many technological processes. Common known examples are microbes such as bacteria, micro-algae and micro-plankton, cells such as spermatozoa and organisms such as nematodes. These swimmers live and have evolved in multiplex environments and complex flows in the presence of other swimmers and types, inert particles and fibers, interfaces and non-trivial confinements and more. Understanding the locomotion and interactions of these individual micro-swimmers in such impure viscous fluids is crucial to understanding the emergent dynamics of such complex systems, and to further enabling us to control and …

Neural Correlates Of Post-Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi) Attention Deficits In Children, Meng Cao

Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children is a major public health concern worldwide. Attention deficits are among the most common neurocognitive and behavioral consequences in children post-TBI which have significant negative impacts on their educational and social outcomes and compromise the quality of their lives. However, there is a paucity of evidence to guide the optimal treatment strategies of attention deficit related symptoms in children post-TBI due to the lack of understanding regarding its neurobiological substrate. Thus, it is critical to understand the neural mechanisms associated with TBI-induced attention deficits in children so that more refined and tailored strategies can …

Motion-Resistant Pulse Oximetry, Ludvik Alkhoury

Dissertations

The measurement of vital signs ? such as peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO₂) and heart rate (HR) levels ? by a pulse oximeter is studied. The pulse oximeter is a non-invasive device that measures photoplethysmography (PPG) signals and extracts vital signs from them. However, the quality of the PPG signal measured by oximetry sensors is known to deteriorate in the presence of substantial human and sensor movements contributing to the measurement noise. Methods to suppress such noise from PPG signals measured by an oximeter and to calculate the associated vital signs with high accuracy even when the wearer …

Biomechanical And Psychophysical Underpinnings Of Balance Dysfunction In Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury, Naphtaly Ehrenberg

Dissertations

Falls are a major burden on healthcare infrastructure, especially in older adults and even more so in older individuals that are living in institutions. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 2010 to 2020, unintentional falls were the leading cause of nonfatal emergency department visits for all age groups except among individuals from 15-24 years of age, where unintentional falls ranked a very close second to being unintentionally struck by or against. Among older individuals living in the community, approximately 30-35% fall at least once in a given year, and around three times as …

Development Of Non-Viral Nano-Carriers For Gene Delivery And Covid-19 Vaccines, Zhongyu Li

Dissertations

Gene therapy is one of the most promising medical fields with the potential to effectively advance the treatment of difficult diseases by producing therapeutic proteins or repairing defective gene sequences. However, gene therapy presents severe challenges in delivery including renal clearance, phagocytosis, enzymatic degradation, protein absorption, and cellular internalization barriers, which have been barriers for translation into the clinic. Naked nucleic acids, with their intrinsic negative charge, electrostatically repulse the anionic cell membrane, preventing cellular uptake. Also, they are considered foreign genetic material when introduced into the body and are rapidly cleared by the reticuloendothelial system or degraded by nucleases, …

A Piezoelectric Gelatin Scaffold For Schwann Cell Induced Spinal Cord Repair, Scott Stratton

Dissertations

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in axonal damage and consequently, functional loss for which there is no effective treatment at the present time. Axon growth across the injured site is needed to restore disruptive axonal circuitry, which is needed for recovery of lost function, but endogenous axon growth is poor. A Schwann cell (SC) transplant has shown promise in promoting axon growth in the injured spinal cord. Similarly, it has been shown that axons grow into biomaterial conduits especially when they are engineered to provide physical and biochemical growth-promoting cues. While both approaches are promising, their overall effect on axon …

Improving The Stimulation Selectivity In The Human Cochlea By Strategic Selection Of The Current Return Electrode, Ozan Cakmak

Dissertations

The hearing quality provided by cochlear implants are poorly predicted by computer simulations. A realistic cochlear anatomy is crucial for the accuracy of predictions. In this study, the standard multipolar stimulation paradigms are revisited and Rattay’s Activating Function is evaluated in a finite element model of a realistic cochlear geometry that is based on µ-CT images and a commercial lead. The stimulation thresholds across the cochlear fibers were investigated for monopolar, bipolar, tripolar, and a novel (distant) bipolar electrode configuration using an active compartmental nerve model based on Schwartz-Eikhof-Frijns membrane dynamics. The results suggest that skipping of the stimulation point …

A Novel Biomaterial Platform For Cardiac Tissue Engineering, Andrew House

Dissertations

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. With a growing demand for in vitro cardiac models that can recapitulate the complex physiology of the cardiac tissue, there is a desire to create novel therapies and treatments. However, due to a lack of fundamental understanding of the heart's inflammatory response to myocardial infarction, the development of new therapies is both time consuming and costly. In this work, a novel approach to fabricating a dynamic hydrogel cardiac platform is reported. This platform better mimics the dynamic changes occurring in the native cardiac tissue microenvironment during cardiac …

Angiogenic Supports For Microvascular Engineering, Zain Siddiqui

Dissertations

Ischemic tissue disease is caused by a lack of circulation / blood supply to tissue. This can be treated by introducing a number of angiogenic (pro-blood vessel forming) factors into the tissue. This work presents strategies for ischemic tissue treatment utilizing a novel proangiogenic self-assembling peptide hydrogel platform. To demonstrate the utility of this platform, its use alone as an angiogenic therapeutic (both alone as a self-assembling hydrogel and with two-component systems), and its ability to vascularize implants is explored. Due to these angiogenic scaffolds demonstrating efficacy to regenerate microvasculature, this work evaluates diseases that can be treated by the …

Naturally Derived Fibrous Scaffolds Containing Metabolic Factors For Bone Tissue Engineering, Apurva Limaye

Dissertations

More than 500,000 bone grafting procedures are performed each year to treat bone defects, trauma, and non-unions. Current strategies, including autografts and allografts, face limitations that include donor site morbidity and poor integration, respectively. Treatments using the delivery of the growth factor, bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2), result in ectopic bone formation and adverse effects at high doses. Tissue engineering strategies are utilized to combat these challenges. Natural biomaterials are commonly used as tissue engineering scaffolds due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and they can promote cellular function. However, animal-derived materials can have limitations in availability, lot to lot variability and potential …

Platinum Nanoparticles, Targeted Therapy For Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Aida Lopez Ruiz

Dissertations

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that has many different applications including cancer treatment and detection. Noble metal nanoparticles such as gold, silver or palladium, have shown major potential in the field of medicine and pharmaceutics. In particular, platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) have been reported with promising anticancer results. The activity of nanoparticles is based on their small size and high surface area; these properties allow them to penetrate biofilms as well as influence intracellular mechanisms. Recent studies indicate that Pt NPs can be used as a therapy for cancer showing a limited toxicity to healthy cells. Hence, in this work, …

Sensorimotor Content Of Multi-Unit Activity In The Paramedian Lobule Of The Cerebellum, Esma Cetinkaya

Dissertations

Based on Center for Disease Control and Prevention report 2016, around 39.5 million people in the United States suffer from motor disabilities. These disabilities are due to traumatic conditions like traumatic brain injury (TBI), neurological diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or congenital conditions. One of the approaches for restoring the lost motor function is to extract the volitional information from the central nervous system (CNS) and control a mechanical device that can replace the function of a paralyzed limb through systems called Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI).

One of the major challenges being faced in BCIs and also in general …

Development And Evaluation Of A Hand Exoskeleton For Neurorehabilitation Post Stroke, Ashley Joyce Mont

Dissertations

Stroke affects approximately 800,000 people in the United States each year, and due to its chronic effects, it is one of the leading causes of disability. Many individuals with stroke suffer the loss of motor function in their paretic upper extremity, and longitudinal studies show that 30 — 66% of individuals with hemiplegia fail to regain arm function six months post stroke. After a stroke, the brain undergoes neuroplasticity which will promote recovery of function. Investigators and clinicians are trying to develop rehabilitation interventions that can be designed to promote neuroplasticity, enhancing the recovery outcomes of therapy.

For individuals with …