Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Equipping Biomedical Engineering Students With Clinical Needs Identification Skills: Insights From A Clinical Immersion Course, Lauren E. Edmunds

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A major goal of biomedical engineering is the development of novel and innovative medical technology that advances and improves healthcare outcomes. An essential component of medical device design is identifying the clinical needs of patients and healthcare providers and applying engineering solutions to meet these needs. Our biomedical engineering department has developed a clinical and industry immersion course, which exposes students to the environment in which physicians and patients practice and engages students in this needs identification process. This study evaluates the impact of clinical immersion on undergraduate biomedical engineering students' confidence and perceived ability to identify and define unmet …

An Experimental Study Of The Morphology Of Dna-Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Structures In Direct Dna Sequencing, Avery P. Davis

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hybrid structures formed between single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) have emerged as promising components in future direct DNA sequencing technologies due to their unique morphological and electronic properties. The nanoscale configuration of these hybrids, including the DNA wrapping angle, pitch, and contour behavior, directly influences their potential for stable electronic readout. This thesis presents an experimental study of DNA-SWCNT hybrid morphology using a fixed, reproducible wrapping protocol designed to minimize environmental variability and isolate the influence of DNA nucleotide sequence on hybrid structure. As described in prior work, this protocol produces well-dispersed hybrids suitable for high-resolution imaging. …

Analysis Of The Mechanical, Microstructural, And Biocompatibility Properties Of Novel Magnesium-Based Hybrid Nanocomposite Materials For Orthopedic Applications, Thomas H. Mcgehee

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Bone fractures and complete joint replacements are becoming more common, primarily because of accidents and age-related issues. Conventional solutions to treat these orthopedic injuries involve inert metal alloys to correct bone fractures until the healing process is complete, where a secondary revision surgery is then required to remove the implant. Issues regularly associated with these solutions include stress shielding, bone resorption, infection, inflammation, and implant loosening. Magnesium (Mg)-based nanocomposites offer promising potential as an alternative to commonly used metal alloys because of their favorable mechanical properties and biocompatibility. A particularly advantageous property of Mg is its natural biodegradation in vivo, …

Localized Intraarterial Drug Delivery Device, Max P. Green

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Stroke is a prevalent and deadly disorder that causes significant human and economic loss each year. Treatment of stroke is largely done through two routes: intravenous thrombolytic therapy and mechanical thrombectomy. This paper considered a design for a device that combines these two approaches. The device aims to use localized delivery of a thrombolytic agent to a clot site to treat stroke clots. An iterative approach to design was taken to continue to refine device designs generated by previous work. Components, including a balloon for localization, a semi-porous membrane for drug dispersion, and combinations were tested in scaled-up form. Generalizations …

Examining The Effects Of Quercetin On Phenotypic Characteristics Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Thomas M. Needy

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction A significant obstacle to mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) potency and therapeutic utility is in vitro senescence, an irreversible cessation of replication associated with age-related complications. Senolytic drugs, such as quercetin, may be helpful in selectively culling senescent cells while leaving non-senescent cells unaffected, thereby increasing potency of high-passage MSCs.

Methods The phenotypic, genotypic, and immunomodulatory effects of quercetin were assessed using in vitro models. Senescent cells, created through repeated subculturing of MSCs in vitro, and non-senescent cells were treated with 10 μM quercetin, differentiated into osteocytes, adipocytes, and chondrocytes, and analyzed to observe the effect of quercetin.

Results Quercetin …

Efficacy Of Mitophagy Inhibition As A Potentiating Agent For Conventional Chemotherapy, Morghan Relich, Shelby Bess

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cancer is a result of uncontrolled growth and reproduction of cells. Damaged or abnormal cells grow and multiply when they should not and in turn the cells continue to proliferate and metastasize. Malignant cells rely on functional mitochondria for proliferation, metastasis, and survival. These mitochondria maintain a functional mitochondrial network through a quality control mechanism called mitophagy. Mitophagy is a conserved intracellular process to maintain quality control and remove damaged mitochondria.

Previous research has been done to examine the effects of mitophagy in tumor cells, as well as the effects of mitophagy inhibition. One focus of current research has been …

Gene Mutation And Chemotherapy Response In Azoxymethane Induced Colorectal Tumors, Maya M. Vance

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Colorectal cancer research is a field of increasing importance as disease prevalence continues to increase over time. In looking at the origin of the disease, a driver gene known as p53 is of particular interest for its role in the stimulation of the mutated Wnt pathway. Developing as a missense-type mutation, this gene that ordinarily functions as a tumor suppressor is investigated as a gene of interest for tumor development. In this study, a mouse model was used to examine the development of colorectal cancer with a total of n=34 samples, including n=9 tumors and n=25 colons. The concentration of …

Optimizing The Effects Of Yoda1 And Assessing The Effects Of Mrna Silencing Of Piezo1 Gene In Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Addison R. Mclaughlin

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent adult stem cells that are capable of differentiating into various skeletal tissues, making them promising candidates for regenerative medicine. A critical factor influencing their differentiation potential is mechanosensitivity, the ability to respond to mechanical stimuli. The mechanosensitive calcium ion channel PIEZO1 has emerged as a key regulator in this process, particularly in osteogenic differentiation. This study investigated the role of PIEZO1 in MSC osteogenesis through pharmacological activation using YODA1 and gene silencing via siRNA. Human bone marrow-derived MSCs were cultured and induced for osteogenic differentiation under varying concentrations and durations of YODA1 treatment. Alizarin …

Fabrication And In Vitro Biocompatibility Assessment Of Composite-Coated Magnesium Materials, Bryce Williams

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study provides a comparative assessment of the corrosion, morphology, and biological properties of four of the most promising coating methods for magnesium in biomedical applications, namely micro-arc oxidation (MAO), graphene oxide (GO)-containing MAO coating, MAO/sol-gel composite coating, and MAO/polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer dip coating approaches. Despite the abundance of research focused on these promising approaches, there is a notable lack of comparative studies evaluating their properties. To this end, the investigated composite coatings are ZK60+MAO, ZK60+MAO/GO, ZK60+MAO/Sol-gel, and ZK60+MAO/PCL composite coating. Several tests were used to assess various properties of the prepared groups such as in vitro corrosion characteristics, surface …

Insert Creation To Mimic Blood Vessels In Gel Phantoms, Courtney Bloom

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Gel phantoms are commonly used in research settings due to their ability to mimic soft tissue. Creating these phantoms usually involves 3D printing an insert, embedding it in gel, and then washing the insert out. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is typically used as the insert material, but it often swells and deforms the gel during the washout process. Aquapour, a water-soluble material, was investigated as a potential replacement for PVA. Unlike PVA, Aquapour comes in a powdered form that can be mixed with water to create a castable slurry. To create molds to cast Aquapour, SolidWorks was used to design two …

Evaluating Tissue Morphology In The Context Of Varied Initial Fabrication Conditions, Cassidy Caffin

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cardiovascular diseases have been the leading cause of death for years. This includes myocardial infarctions (MI) where blood flow to the myocardium is restricted. This causes damage to cardiac muscle due to insufficient oxygen. There are multiple ways to treat patients following an MI with the most common involving assorted medication. However, there are limited medications that can be used for treating patients following MIs, and the FDA’s decreasing approval rate for new cardiac drugs will not dramatically improve the range of options. The lead-up to drug candidate rejection by the FDA can involve drugs exhibiting promising preliminary research that …

Investigating The Presence Of Patented In Vitro Models For Cancer-Nerve Crosstalk Methods, Christoff Hauptmann

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research project is to investigate the presence of patented in vitro models for perineural invasion (PNI) and tumor innervation, the two most prominent modes of cancer-nerve crosstalk that play an active role in cancer initiation and progression. PNI occurs through a positive feedback loop in which cancer cells invade passive nerves to metastasize. Tumor innervation is the process where tumor cells attract nearby nerves to the tumor microenvironment (TME) for tumor growth and metastasis. These crosstalk paths have been established for many types of cancer and result in poor patient prognosis. Recently, in vitro models have …

Evaluation Of The Efficiency Of Muscle-Specific Promoters To Express Non-Endogenous Proteins In Skeletal Muscle, Gabrielle Bulliard, Made Harumi Padmaswari, Christopher E. Nelson

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Gene therapies are emerging as powerful tools for treating genetic diseases and cancers, offering the potential for a permanent cure. Hemophilia B, affecting approximately 6,000 men in the U.S., results from a deficiency in coagulation factor IX protein (FIX), which is crucial for blood clotting. A substantial portion of patients, over 40%, suffer from severe hemophilia B, experiencing spontaneous, prolonged bleeding. Current prophylactic treatments involve frequent coagulation factor infusions, yet a curative approach would alleviate this burden. Gene editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas systems show promise for correcting genetic mutations, but the diverse nature of factor IX gene (F9) …

Transcriptomic Profiling Of Engineered Human Gene Integration In The Mouse Genome Following In Vitro Gene Editing, Ethan Potts, Made Harumi Padmaswari, Christopher Nelson

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Gene replacement is a promising method of therapy for genetic diseases. However, safety and efficacy are areas that need more research. This experiment aims to use RNA sequencing and bioinformatic techniques to provide answers to these questions and provide direction to future studies to develop a gene replacement therapeutic. C2C12 mouse myoblast cells were transfected with a vector containing a CRISPR-Cas9 system and the Human Factor IX (hF9) gene in order to hijack target genes and integrate the hF9 gene. The two target genes, myoglobin (Mb) and creatine kinase (Ckm), were chosen for their high rate of expression and low …

Real-Time Measurements From Wearable Sensors To Enhance Stability On Uneven Terrain, Sophie Copelin

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The presented thesis is a study of sensation associated with inversion/eversion movement about the anterior/posterior axis. The long-term goal is to create a system that provides feedback to a prosthesis user, so their chances of falling is decreased. This feedback system would use wearable sensors to detect certain angles, so that sensory feedback could be provided. The study aimed to determine if Xsens Movella DOT sensors could be used in a system like this, so the accuracy of the Xsens Movella DOT sensors was assessed and the difference in angles that could be determined by them when compared to that …

Detection Of Hypoxia Via Rgb Imaging, Nathania Nischal

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Colorectal cancer is a common form of cancer, and is heavily researched in murine models. Colonoscopies are often performed in clinical settings to assess the health of the colon, as well as locate and assess the severity of tumors in a non-invasive way. As the quality of the images is dependent on the colonic environment and the light available, it is important to ensure the accuracy of the images via a normalization algorithm. The RGB images procured from these colonoscopies have great potential as a diagnostic tool for physicians, as varying scales of discoloration is common in hypoxic tissue. While …

Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurite Outgrowth Following Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Repair: A Review, Adrienne Vaughan

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) can cause partial sensorimotor deficiency or total dysfunction, rendering patients unable to perform necessary tasks and dramatically decreasing their quality of life. tSCI is a very prevalent issue. In the United States alone, there are approximately 54 new cases of SCI per one million people each year, or 18,000 new cases annually. tSCI creates a lesion gap filled with axon-inhibiting fibrotic scar tissue. Comprehensive functional recovery following traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) requires axonal regeneration across wound site lesions. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurite outgrowth is often evaluated in PNI therapeutic research since it can …

Analyzing Diverse Student Experiences: The Intersection Of Equity, Inclusivity, And Biomedical Engineering Education Through A Clinical Observations And Needs Finding Course, Jacquelynn Horsey

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the field of biomedical engineering, needs identification and solution development are an important element of the design process. In our undergraduate curriculum, a course was designed to allow clinical observation and provide an opportunity for students to learn about engineering design and engage with clinicians via completing rotations in medical facilities near our campus. While this type of course is not unique, evaluating its efficacy is not simple. Given the broad range of institutional resources available- such as proximity to a medical school, or residency programs- reporting the quality of such courses within the context of such available resources …

The Determination Of Macrophage Localization In Muscle Injuries Using Spatial Transcriptomics, Julliana Renales

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The repair of traumatic muscle injury is often a long process which can in many cases be insufficient and incomplete. In such cases, scar tissue may form, leading to high risk of re-injury and the prevention of muscle regeneration. An important part of decreasing this risk is gaining a better understanding of the cellular complexities of injury repair. More specifically, macrophage cells are an important piece in the regulation of inflammation and repair. In this project, computational analysis spatial transcriptomic data was performed to examine mouse muscle injury and its development over time. This analysis was used to examine the …

Investigation Of Early Stage Wound Healing In Volumetric Muscle Loss, Sean Ong

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) refers to the substantial removal of tissue from skeletal muscle due to surgery or lesions. This condition disrupts the normal regenerative process of injured muscles, leading to significant loss of muscle function. This study examines the progression of VML injury, approximately 20% of the muscle mass being removed, in the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of a mouse model over a 15-day post-injury period. The injured muscles exhibited discoloration indicative of reduced blood flow and experienced a decrease in muscle mass throughout the study duration. Furthermore, the maximum force output of the injured TA was significantly lower, …

Utilizing Spatial Transcriptomics To Compare Gene Expression In Volumetric Muscle Loss Injury Recovery, Colton Gattis

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Volumetric Muscle Loss (VML) injuries are known to disrupt the normal regenerative process via fibrosis leading to an extensive permanent loss of muscle function. The specific causation of this disruption remains to be defined; however, with new developments in transcriptomics, genetic trends can be identified across regions of tissue over time. This study follows VML injuries within the tibialis anterior of a mouse model for fifteen days after initial injury to attempt to identify expected transitions in healing. Genetic presence began to become more diversified as recovery progressed from four to fifteen days post injury with spatial clusters becoming globalized …

Investigating The Effect Of Pancreatic Cancer Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles On Schwann Cell Activation, Isabel Powers

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest diseases because it is hard to identify in its early stages, has high chemoresistance, and early metastasis. Because of these traits, it is often associated with perineural invasion (PNI), where the cancer travels to the nervous system. Schwann cells (SC) are associated with both metastasis and PNI when activated. The purpose of this study was to determine if and how pancreatic tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (TEVs) can activate SC in PNI. This experiment was performed by embedding Schwann cells in a hydrogel to model the tumor microenvironment and treating them with isolated extracellular vesicles …

Investigating The Impact Of International Education On Cultural Understanding, Health Disparities And Collaboration Through Project-Based Learning, Breanna Kilgore

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Global health is an interdisciplinary field emphasizing international health issues, causes, and solutions based on cultural and global understanding. We have all witnessed how crucial global health is with the global COVID-19 crisis that has affected everyone. To effectively work to solve global health issues, people from different backgrounds must work together to complete a common goal. Before problem solving begins, gaining a basic understanding of cultural differences and collaborating with different people is an essential skill to have. Previous studies have demonstrated the usefulness of study abroad experiences and international service-learning opportunities in promoting collaborations, cultural competency and personal …

Optimizing Three-Dimensional Bioengineered Co-Cultures For The Study Of Fibrotic Spinal Cord Injury, Sarah Aly

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) have major physical implications on those affected^[1]. There are two main types of scarring that occur after injury; they are known as the glial and fibrotic scar. The injured site causes an altered micro-environment which transforms astrocytes from their normal to reactive state, thus inhibiting axonal regeneration. The effect of reactive astrocytes on fibrotic scarring is not fully understood due to limited study^[2,3]. Using Three-Dimensional (3D) bioengineered co-cultures of astrocytes and neuroblasts the pathological environment can be replicated and manipulated to further the study of fibrotic scarring. Temperature casted co-cultures were successfully …

Exploring The Effects Of Microarchitecture On Astrocyte Behavior And Vascular Remodeling In Spinal Cord Injury, Devin Gerber

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common condition and is characterized by traumatic and progressive damage that results in limited neuron regeneration and thus a restricted recovery. In SCI, the vasculature is also severely damaged, which exacerbates inflammation at the injury site. Specifically, insufficient angiogenesis occurs at the site of injury due to the fibrotic pathological microenvironment1 . SCI also leads to the formation of a fluid-filled cavity and thus gliosis and fibrosis, forming a dense glial and fibrotic scar around the cavity. The microenvironment at the injury site plays a significant role in astrocyte behavior, promoting the transformation of …

Automated Segmentation Of Autofluorescence Lifetime Images Using A Convolutional Neural Network, Nicole Hooten

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chronic wounds affect nearly 1 out of every 50 people in the United States, decreasing quality of life and putting people with potential comorbidities at high risk for obtaining an infection. Wound healing progress in clinical settings is measured by tracking wound size and there are currently no non-invasive, quantitative measurement techniques. Previous studies have proposed nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) autofluorescence lifetime (FLIM) imaging of the wound edge as a method to quantify the wound healing process by connecting the role of NADH in cellular metabolism to wound healing stage. However, evaluation of FLIM images is heavily subjective, as a …

Correlation Of Intracellular Metabolites With Optical Metabolic Imaging In Polarized Macrophages As Indicators Of Metabolic Reprogramming, Abby Claire Denison, Shelby Bess

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Macrophages are a type of immune cell that are characterized by their ability to differentiate into various active phenotypes based on environmental stimuli. They can generally be classified as one of two extremes: inflammatory/M1 or wound-healing/M2. Macrophage populations in vivo, however, are rarely homogenous, and since macrophages play vital roles in the immune response, particularly in the context of the tumor microenvironment (TME), it’s important to be able to investigate and understand heterogenous macrophage populations to develop more effective treatments. Recently, autofluorescence imaging such as multiphoton microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of metabolic cofactors NADH and FAD have …

Comprehensive Long- And Short- Read Sequencing Approaches To Screen The Mutational Landscape After Therapeutic Crispr-Editing For Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Mary Jia, Made Harumi Padmaswari, Landon Burcham, Shilpi Agrawal, Alexis Ivy, Abbey Bryan, Christopher E. Nelson

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked muscle wasting disease caused by mutations in the Dmd gene resulting in non-functional dystrophin. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated delivery of classical CRISPR systems resulting in double-stranded breaks (DSBs) has yielded promise as a curative DMD therapeutic. However, the consequences of AAV-CRISPR require more thorough characterization. PCR-enriched short-read amplicon sequencing at cut sites is the most common method of sequencing CRISPR editing, but PCR bias results in unreliable quantification of on-target edits. We analyze orthogonal long- and short-read sequencing approaches to screen the outcomes of CRISPR technologies at the DNA and RNA-level for DMD. We …

A Wheelchair-Bed Transfer Device For Patients With Limited Mobility, Malachie Nichols

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As the population ages, eldercare becomes more important than ever, yet many caregivers lack the resources they need to safely do their jobs. For those who take care of a disabled loved-one at home or work as home health aides, basic tasks can be frustrating and even dangerous. The high physical demands of moving and lifting patients make injuries common among home health care workers. Musculoskeletal injuries to the back, shoulders, wrists, and hands are especially common. The use of transfer devices such as Hoyer lifts, slide boards, and gait belts help to make moving patients easier and safer, but …

Restoring An Iso:5840-Compliant Pulse Duplicator Device For Hydrodynamic Performance Characterization Of Artificial Cardiac Valves, Denver Eagar

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the summer of 2021, I was employed as an intern at Dynatek Labs, an implantable prosthetics testing company located in southern Missouri. My primary project was to modernize an abandoned pulse duplicator device and protocol to allow the company to re-enter a market area which they left nearly 15 years prior: heart valve testing. The company halted this initiative due to changes in international testing standards in previous years. The International Standards Organization Cardiac Valves Working Group released the latest version of standards concerning artificial heart valve testing (ISO 5840) in January of 2021. Accordingly, my project required that …