Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Noncontact Multiscale Diffuse Optical Imaging Of Deep Tissue Hemodynamics In Animals And Humans, Siavash Mazdeyasna

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Blood flow (BF) impacts the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues and the removal of metabolic byproducts from tissues. Imaging of BF distributions helps characterize many diseases associated with tissue hypoxia/ischemia. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a novel, noninvasive, noncontact, high-density camera-based speckle contrast diffuse correlation tomography (scDCT) device for use in both animal and human studies. The scDCT uses a galvo-mirror to remotely deliver the focused point near-infrared light to source positions and a sensitive 2D camera to quantify spatial diffuse speckle fluctuations, resulting from the movement of red blood cells in deep …

Bacterial Cell Wall Characterization Via Atomic Force And Confocal Microscopy, Joree Sandin

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Poor oral hygiene is a severe global health issue, with about 44% of the Earth’s population suffering from untreated tooth decay, accounting for over $100 billion dollars spent on dental services per year in the United States, alone. Manual treatments, such as brushing, flossing, or swishing with antiseptic rinse are the main ways to alleviate harmful bacteria that cause these oral health problems. Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is a group of highly antibiotic, Gram-positive bacteria that heavily contribute to oral cavities, plaque build-up, and potential loosening or loss of dental implants if a biofilm develops. Currently, the mechanism …

Opendrop Software Development, Jiajun Guan

Electrical Engineering

To be able to transfer and mix solutions more efficiently and accurately during biology experiments, the Electrical Engineering department at Cal Poly University is planning to purchase or engineer the OpenDrop device. The OpenDrop device uses electro-wetting technology to control the movement of small droplets of water on a planar electrode array to transport and mix different solutions. This device is an open-source project and could be purchased online through the GaudiLab. The basic code of the system could be found in GitHub. With this code as a reference, the goal of this senior project is to develop the firmware, …

Electrochemical Detection Of Neurotransmitters, Saikat Banerjee, Stephanie Mccracken, Md Faruk Hossain, Gymama Slaughter

Bioelectrics Publications

Neurotransmitters are important chemical messengers in the nervous system that play a crucial role in physiological and physical health. Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters have been correlated with physical, psychotic, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, dementia, addiction, depression, and schizophrenia. Although multiple neurotechnological approaches have been reported in the literature, the detection and monitoring of neurotransmitters in the brain remains a challenge and continues to garner significant attention. Neurotechnology that provides high-throughput, as well as fast and specific quantification of target analytes in the brain, without negatively impacting the implanted region is highly desired for the monitoring of the …

Hsp90 Inhibition And Modulation Of The Proteome: Therapeutical Implications For Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (Ipf), Ruben Manuel Luciano Colunga Biancatelli, Pavel Solopov, Betsy Gregory, John D. Catravas

Bioelectrics Publications

Idiopathic Pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a catastrophic disease with poor outcomes and limited pharmacological approaches. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) has been recently involved in the wound-healing pathological response that leads to collagen deposition in patients with IPF and its inhibition represents an exciting drug target against the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Under physiological conditions, HSP90 guarantees proteostasis through the refolding of damaged proteins and the degradation of irreversibly damaged ones. Additionally, its inhibition, by specific HSP90 inhibitors (e.g., 17 AAG, 17 DAG, and AUY-922) has proven beneficial in different preclinical models of human disease. HSP90 inhibition modulates a complex …

Gravity-Drawing Flexible Silicone Filaments As Fiber Optics And Model Foldamers, Katherine Snell

CMC Senior Theses

Here, we present a method of gravity-drawing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) silicone fibers with application as fiber optics and as model foldamers. Beginning as a viscous liquid, PDMS is cured using heat until its measured viscosity reaches 4000 mPa•s. The semi-cured elastomer is then extruded through a tube furnace to produce thin (diameters on the order of hundred micrometers) filaments with scalable lengths. PDMS is biocompatible, gas-permeable, flexible, and hydrophobic. Additionally, the PDMS surface hydrophobicity can be modified via UV exposure, O2 plasma, and corona discharge. We demonstrate the patternibility (i.e patterns of hydrophobicity) of PDMS fibers, adding complexity to potential foldamer …

Single-Pixel Camera Based Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging For Non-Contact Tissue Characterization, Alec M. Petrack

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Optical imaging has demonstrated potential as a medical imaging modality for measuring tissue functionality. Recently, interest in fluorescence guided surgery has emerged from improvements in optical imaging that have allowed real-time feedback. Of the optical imaging modalities, spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) has gained a lot of interest. Unlike spectroscopic techniques, such as functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and frequency domain spectroscopy that measure bulk tissue properties, SFDI quantifies tissue functionality locally and wide field making it practical for clinical applications. Unfortunately, traditional SFDI systems use multi-pixel detectors, which may not exhibit ideal spectral characteristics, have limited sensitivity, be expensive, …

Enhanced Blood Pressure Acquisition, Alison Targosky, Megan Laws, Alexandria Stephens, Jillian Savage

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Blood pressure is considered a primary vital sign that is regularly monitored in a healthcare setting. Current blood pressure measurement equipment lacks reproducible measurements which leads to questionable accuracy. Therefore, there is a need for an accurate and reproducible blood pressure measurement device that can take remote measurements. This project will be designed in The University of Akron's biomedical engineering capstone course. The goal of this senior design project is to design and fabricate a blood pressure measuring device that meets the customer requirements and engineering requirements identified by the team.

Utilizing Virtual High-Throughput Screens To Identify Promising Inhibitors Of Complement Factor C1s, Lyndsey Schmucker

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A large study was conducted to identify possible drug candidates to treat various diseases using computer algorithms, virtual high-throughput screens, and experimental validation of activity. Since the algorithm has the capability to screen millions of compounds, it is beneficial to pharmaceutical development as it allows a larger pool of compounds to be considered that would have otherwise been overlooked. As part of this larger study, this project attempts to identify drug candidates to treat human complement factor C1, a protein which causes tissue damage when underregulated¹. A series of designed experiments validate candidates and confirm the performance of …

Adaptive Bike Pedals, Norman Hansen, Robert Csaky

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Adaptive Bike Pedals project is set out to create a new attachment for tricycle pedals that improves on a previous model. The need for these attachments is common in rehabilitation and physical therapy centers to help patients keep their feet on pedals when they are not able to. They can also be used in homes of families that have children with disabilities, diseases, or disorders that inhibit them from keeping their feet on the pedals. There are attachments on the market already, but the problem with those models is that they are costly and made for specific pedals. The …

The Tera Multi Terrain Mobility Aid Chassis, Colton Kemp, Daniel Nicoll, Ibrahim Suleiman, Mohammad Alyami

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The natural environment poses a significant number of obstacles and dynamic settings that makes mobility difficult for those with physical and mobility impairments. To approach this problem, a suspension was designed using inspiration from the early Mars rovers developed by NASA for traversing the varied Martian landscape. The course of the project followed the direction of a start-up through problem identification, early design generation and review, and final design production. The project outcome, through client request and proven market research, aimed to produce a multi-terrain wheelchair. The final product is a kinematic body with mobile front “legs” and a rotational …

Prosthetic Hand, Nicholas Damiani, Eric Rassavong, John Zolton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Development of a prosthetic hand for an above-the-wrist amputee. The hand will provide flexion and extension of the wrist, fingers and thumb. The device will be customized for each individual by utilizing an medical imaging of the amputation side stump and the normal arm/wrist as the input. An integral hand/wrist and socket will be 3D printed, and actuators will be mounted to the prosthetic to provide motion. The wrist will be a mirror-image of the normal hand. Materials utilized will be selected based on the medical image intensity for different tissue types (cartilage, bone, skin, fat, etc.) and will simulate …

Upper Extremity Mobility Device, Timothy J. Grassi, Jacob R. Miller

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project was to evaluate a clinical problem, explore possible solutions, and produce a functioning prototype that would conform to all the established guidelines and requirements. The project focused on developing an upper extremity mobility device for a singular client with limited muscle activity in his arms due to childhood polio. Our design process was governed by an adapted form of the FDA Design Control Process, 21 CFR 820.30 [1]. The outcome of this project was a functioning prototype that utilized the concept of a motorized pulley system remote controlled using a key fob. This research project …

A Novel Approach To Mid-Foot Reconstruction Surgery In Patients With Charcot Arthropathy, Jessi Martin, Deborah Falokun

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This honors project details the design and development of an internal orthopedic implant that surgically corrects the midfoot fracture and subsequent arch collapse in patients with Charcot arthropathy. The client of the project is Dr. David Kay, an orthopedic surgeon with the Crystal Clinic in Akron, Ohio. He presented a problem surrounding surgical implants meant to repair Charcot arthropathy. Implants that repair the midfoot fracture failed at a rate of about 60%. A team of senior biomedical engineering students attending the University of Akron developed a goal to design a new surgical implant that would reduce the failure rate of …

Prosthetic Foot/Ankle Inversion & Eversion Enhancement, Jason Wiebrecht, Maddison Grimes

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Modify a prosthetic foot/ankle, that currently has power at the ankle joint, for dorsiflexion/flexion so that it supplies power across a simulated subtalar joint, making the joint capable of inversion/eversion.

All-Wheel-Ukraine, Sofiya Rakovska, Hannah Mcculloch, Andrey Garasimchuk, Ahmad Alsaihati

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

We are working with a non-profit organization in Ukraine that provides wheelchairs/strollers to families of disables children who cannot afford them. Their current preferred solution is a baby stroller. The organization asked us to create a wheelchair that is cost efficient, light and collapsible to be used for children ages up to thirteen years old. We will be creating an alpha prototype wheelchair by modifying a basic wheelchair that we purchased. This modifications include adding a headrest that is adjustable and provides a sufficient support for children within the age group given to us and diverse levels of disabilities. We …

Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, Kelly Haslett, Jacalyn Everhart

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Develop a lower extremity device that provides assistance, support, and gait correction for children with cerebral palsy who display crouch gait as a symptom. The device will be designed for children ages 7-12. The device will be adjustable to accommodate varying levels of gait irregularity, weakness and human growth. The device would assist walking and stair climbing by providing bilateral support at hips, knees and ankle joints. The device will be designed for ease of donning and doffing. Battery, drive and control electronics will be designed to reside in a minimalistic backpack (outside the scope of this project).

Artificial Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty Joint Project, Michael Rosen, Bailei Hoyng

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This proposed project will be developing an artificial reverse shoulder arthroplasty joint that focuses on improvements to the Zimmer Biomet Comprehensive Reverse System by freating a unique feature, or features, to the humeral component that focuses on the prevention of dislocation by not limiting the range of motion of men from ages 45 to 65 years.

The development of the this project will utilize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) medical device design process. This project will involve a total of four Biomedical Engineering students from the University of Akron. Two students, Michael and Bailei, are in the Honors college …

Enhancement Of The Syncardia Total Artificial Heart For Pediatric Use, Margaret Clark, Madison Marks

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Pediatric patients with disorders and diseases of the heart have limited options with regards to implantable devices. Many of these implants are ventricular assist devices, which is not always suitable for a patient. Total artificial hearts (TAHs) have supported many adult patients until transplantation, and we believe that they could do the same for pediatric patients. SynCardia has the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved TAH devices. Since SynCardia is the only company with FDA approved TAHs, we decided to modify the design of the SynCardia TAH for use in pediatric patients without compromising the function of the current …

Visual Sampling With The Eeg Alpha Oscillation, Kevin Eugene Alexander

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The posterior alpha rhythm, seen in human electroencephalograms (EEG), is posited to originate from cycling inhibitory/excitatory states of visual relay cells in the thalamus, which could result in discrete sampling of visual information. Here, we tested this hypothesis by presenting light flashes at perceptual threshold intensity through closed eyelids to 20 participants during times of spontaneous alpha oscillations. Alpha phase and amplitude were calculated relative to each individual’s retina-to-V1 conduction delay, estimated by the individuals’ C1 visual-evoked potential latency. Our results show that an additional 20.96% of stimuli are observed when afferenting at V1 during an alpha wave trough (272.41°) …

Ultraviolet-B Radiation Induces Release Of Bioactive Microvesicle Particles In Keratinocytes Via Platelet-Activating Factor And Acid Sphingomyelinase, Langni Liu

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation is one of the most common environmental factors and is known to induce the production of bioactive agents that cause several diseases including skin cancer. UVB exposure stimulates the production of a phospholipid activator, platelet-activating factor (PAF), and its analogs in keratinocytes that activate the PAF receptor (PAF-R) resulting in acute inflammatory and delayed systematic immunosuppressive effects. However, as UVB only penetrates into the skin epidermal layer, the detailed mechanisms of how UVB exerts systematic effects remains unclear. Previously we found that UVB induces keratinocytes to release large numbers of microvesicle particles (MVPs). These small membrane-bound particles …

Global Identification Of Human Modifier Genes Of Alpha-Synuclein Toxicity, Ishita Haider

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Alpha-synuclein is a small lipid binding protein abundantly expressed in the brain. Lewy body or Lewy-like pathology, primarily composed of misfolded alpha-synuclein, is a pathological feature shared by several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Both missense mutations and increased copy numbers of the SNCA gene, encoding the alpha-synuclein protein, have been genetically linked to autosome dominant PD. Other genetic variations affecting the expression of the SNCA gene have been associated with sporadic PD. Although the physiological function of alpha-synuclein is not well understood, its localization to plasma and vesicular membranes at the presynaptic terminals suggests a role in neurotransmission. …

Kv2.1 Channel Clustering In The Sod1-G93a Mouse Model Of Als, Joshua Christopher Harris

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Kv2.1 channels mediate slow-activating K+ rectifier current within the membrane of spinal motoneurons (MNs), and they are known to co-localize with other synapses and ion channels. Although Kv2.1 channels are suggested to regulate MN excitability, little research has gone into investigating its potential contribution to MN-altered excitability in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Using the male SOD1-G93A mouse model of ALS, we examined Kv2.1 cluster area and density in lumbar MNs at four key stages of disease progression. In our experiments, MNs were separated by type via SK3 immunoreactivity in order to isolate and compare the responses of disease-resistant (slow; SK3+) …

High Gravity Fermentation Of Sugarcane Bagasse Hydrolysate By Saccharomyces Pastorianus To Produce Economically Distillable Ethanol Concentrations: Necessity Of Medium Components Examined, Sarah W. Harcum, Thomas P. Caldwell

Open Access Publishing Fund

A major economic obstacle in lignocellulosic ethanol production is the low sugar concentrations in the hydrolysate and subsequent fermentation to economically distillable ethanol concentrations. We have previously demonstrated a two-stage fermentation process that recycles xylose with xylose isomerase to increase ethanol productivity, where the low sugar concentrations in the hydrolysate limit the final ethanol concentrations. In this study, three approaches are combined to increase ethanol concentrations. First, the medium-additive requirements were investigated to reduce ethanol dilution. Second, methods to increase the sugar concentrations in the sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate were undertaken. Third, the two-stage fermentation process was recharacterized with high gravity …

The Effect Of Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation On Biceps Corticomotor Excitability In Non-Impaired Individuals And Individuals With Tetraplegia, Blaize Majdic

Theses and Dissertations

Neuromodulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) in pair with physical therapy may be a promising method for improving motor outcomes after spinal cord injury (SCI). Increased excitability of the corticospinal motor pathways (i.e. corticomotor excitability) has shown to be associated with improved motor learning and skill acquisition. Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation which can increase corticomotor excitability, as measured by an increase in the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs). However, the ability for iTBS to increase the corticomotor excitability of proximal muscles such as the biceps, and muscles affected by spinal …

Formulation And Validation Of Nanoparticle Controlled Delivery For Chemotherapeutic Drug Products, Shani L. Levit

Theses and Dissertations

Taxol, a formulation of paclitaxel (PTX), is one of the most widely used anticancer drugs, particularly for treating recurring ovarian carcinomas following surgery. Clinically, PTX is used in combination with other drugs such as lapatinib (LAP) to increase treatment efficacy. Delivering drug combinations with nanoparticles has the potential to improve chemotherapy outcomes. In this study, we use Flash NanoPrecipitation, a rapid, scalable process to encapsulate weakly hydrophobic drugs (logP in vitro. Encapsulating either PTX or LAP into nanoparticles increases drug potency. When PTX and LAP are co-loaded in the same nanoparticle, they have a synergistic effect that is greater than …

Development Of A Torque-Based Device For The Quantification Of Arm Rigidity In Patients With Parkinson’S Disease, Georgina O. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinsonian rigidity is caused by the inability of the muscles to relax and extend properly, due to reduced dopamine levels and often begins on one side of the body before spreading contralaterally. The current standard for determining joint rigidity in a clinical setting is a test completed by the clinician based on the feel of the relaxed wrist and elbow joints as they are passively flexed and extended and a series of ordinal rating scales, the Movement Disorder Society’s – Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Hoehn and Yahr Scale (H&Y), and Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). These methods are used …

Dendrimer-Based Therapeutic Delivery Vehicle For The Treatment Of Ocular Diseases, Remy C. Cooper

Theses and Dissertations

The treatment of ocular diseases poses a significant challenge to drug delivery design, due to the eye’s complex anatomy, with a semi-permeable blood-ocular barrier and associated immune privilege. To address some of the delivery challenges, polycationic dendrimers are explored as vehicle for the treatment of posterior chamber disease. Dendrimers are a class of polymeric nanoparticles that are highly branched, multivalent and monodisperse, whose three-dimensional globular architecture has given them the nickname of “synthetic proteins”. Dendrimers are synthesized by reacting monomers in a step-wise fashion to produce generationally and radially increasing structures, with core, interior and surface chains that are highly …

Quantification And Modeling Of Bladder Biomechanics Mechanisms Linking Spontaneous Rhythmic Contractions And Dynamic Elasticity To Detrusor Overactivity, Zachary E. Cullingsworth

Theses and Dissertations

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a chronic condition affecting approximately 20% of adults in the United States. Detrusor overactivity (DO) is the presence of non-voiding contractions in the detrusor (bladder) muscle during filling and is present in some individuals with OAB. DO is currently identified visually during a urodynamics (UD) study involving pressure catheters and filling and voiding of the bladder to evaluate function. UD provides limited subtyping of DO, and an incomplete understanding of mechanisms contributing to OAB.

Aim 1 of this study was to develop objective tools to quantify, subgroup and better understand …

Mems Biosensor For Water-Immersed Application, Kun-Lin Lee

Dissertations and Theses

Although many air-based sensing mechanisms exist, not all of them can be applied in the water-based environment. In order to obtain a cell-based biosensor, the sensing method needs to be reliable and repeatable in a liquid environment. Therefore, this study is focused on transforming existing air-based sensors to water-immersed applications. This study includes two types of sensors.

First, commercial quartz resonators are used to investigate live-cell activity in water-based toxic solutions. I perform toxicity tests using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The QCM used in the study has a resonant frequency of 10 MHz and consists of an AT-cut quartz crystal …