Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Alterations In Cardiac Motions Of The Failing Heart During Direct Mechanical Ventricular Actuation, Benjamin Allyn Schmitt

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Objectives: Heart failure (HF) refractory to medical management can be effectively treated with mechanical support. However, available devices are frequently associated with complications due to blood contact. Direct cardiac compression (DCC) devices augment LV systolic pump function by externally compressing the heart surface. Direct Mechanical Ventricular Actuation (DMVA) is a unique DCC method providing not only systolic but, importantly, diastolic support. However, DCC in general remains a relatively poorly understood modality. The purpose of this study was to examine DMVA’s effect on restoration of physiologic function in the failing heart. Methods: Global ischemic HF was induced with 5 mins of …

Augmenting Structure/Function Relationship Analysis With Deep Learning For The Classification Of Psychoactive Drug Activity At Class A G Protein-Coupled Receptors, Hannah Willow Shows

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G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) initiate intracellular signaling pathways via interaction with external stimuli. [1-5] Despite sharing similar structure and cellular mechanism, GPCRs participate in a uniquely broad range of physiological functions. [6] Due to the size and functional diversity of the GPCR family, these receptors are a major focus for pharmacological applications. [1,7] Current state-of-the-art pharmacology and toxicology research strategies rely on computational methods to efficiently design highly selective, low toxicity compounds. [9], [10] GPCR-targeting therapeutics are associated with low selectivity resulting in increased risk of adverse effects and toxicity. Psychoactive drugs that are active at Class A GPCRs used …

An Investigation Into The Development Of A Low Cost, Easy To Use Seizure Analysis Tool., Cody Dean

Masters Theses

The need for collaborating and sharing data and research between doctors, researchers, universities and patients has never been more necessary. We are seeing firsthand how a deadly virus can completely devastate the world in a matter of months and being able to react quickly is the top priority. Open source tools are making it possible to share research and learnings about viruses like COVID-19 across countries, industries, and universities and these tools and philosophies extend across all areas of medical research.

The amount of data that is being collected within the medical industry is increasing at an exponential rate and …

Cumulative Shear In Vitro Model, Jared Olson, Alex Deppe, Braden Andrews

Biomedical Engineering

The purpose of our project is to find a reliable method of Subclinical Atherosclerosis detection by measuring the pressure drop across an artery. This model is intended to display how a pressure change correlates with arterial shear rate, and how a decrease in shear rate is ultimately related to atherosclerosis wherein early detection could prove life saving for millions of patients worldwide.

Biomedical Engineering: An Exploratory Analysis Of The Field, Meredith Ayers, Nestor Osorio

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Technological advances have a significant impact in medical sciences. biomedical engineering, which is a multi-faceted field that includes engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science, and several areas of the medical sciences among others, is the topic of this study. With a humble beginning over a century ago and formally created in the early years of the 1960s, biomedical engineering has become a strong, highly competitive and productive field. Its literature has worldwide coverage with an accelerated increase after 2000.

In this study, the authors explore two issues: First, what constitute the subject domain of Biomedical Engineering and second with the use …

Global Joint Registry: Analysis Of Revision Hip Arthroplasty Data, Alicia M. Runser

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Total hip arthroplasty (THA) has become well-known as being one of the most successful procedures with much long-term positive clinical results. However, revision surgeries are still required. The four most common failure modes for THAs, “reasons for revision”, are loosening, dislocation or instability, fracture, and infection. The goal of a hip arthroplasty register is to gather information on patients that undergo a total hip arthroplasty and factors pertaining to their surgery which may affect their outcome for future years such as the reason for revision. Analysis of this data can help with the allocation of healthcare funds and the efficacy …

Observing P300 Amplitudes In Multiple Sensory Channels Using Cognitive Probing, Cody Lee Wintermute

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High cognitive workload occurs when excessive working memory resources have been deployed to resolve sensory and cognitive processing, resulting in decremented task performance. The P300 event-related potential (ERP) component has shown sensitivity to cognitive load, and it was hypothesized that an attenuated P300 amplitude could be indicative of high cognitive load. We tested this hypothesis by having eight participants complete two continual performance tasks at increasing workload levels while simultaneously performing an oddball task, evoking P300 ERPs in either the auditory or tactile sensory channel. In our experiment, electroencephalographic recordings were collected over the parietal region to observe the P300 …

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

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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, …

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 …

Visual Sampling With The Eeg Alpha Oscillation, Kevin Eugene Alexander

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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°) …

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

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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+) …

An Arm And A Leg: Medtech Perspectives On Human-Centered Design, Evan D. Poff

Marriott Student Review

The art of human-centered design accounts for both technological and emotional specifications in order to deliver meaningful products that meet the specific needs of the individual customer. Every business professional can deepen his or her understanding of human-centered design – regardless of our industry of choice – by looking to perspectives that the business of medical technology offers. To that end, this article draws upon interviews with three figures in this remarkable field, distilling their insights on how to cultivate businesses that produce human-centered solutions.

Computational Characterization Of The Cellular Origins Of Electroencephalography, Shane Hesprich

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive technique used to measure brain activity. Despite its near ubiquitous presence in neuroscience, very little research has gone into connecting the electrical potentials it measures on the scalp to the underlying network activity which generates those signals. This results in most EEG analyses being more macroscopically focused (e.g. coherence and correlation analyses). Despite the many uses of macroscopically focuses analyses, limiting research to only these analyses neglects the insights which can be gained from studying network and microcircuit architecture. The ability to study these things through non-invasive techniques like EEG depends upon the ability to …

Assessing The Role Of Polyphenols As A Vascular Protectant Against Drug Induced Vascular Injury, Anson Jacob Oommen

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Vascular injury is identified during pre-clinical toxicity testing within certain pharmacological classes of drug candidates and induces degenerative and hyperplastic changes in endothelial (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle (VSMCs) cells. This drug-induced vascular injury has been show as a side-effect caused by various classes of drugs, including, antibacterial (e.g., azithromycin), anti-malarial (e.g., quinoline), anti-viral (e.g., anti-hepatitis C virus interferons) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., ibuprofen), and affects normal cardiovascular function and can further lead to various cardiovascular conditions like arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, high blood pressure, and even heart attack. The search for agents capable of reducing vascular injury side-effects by …

Characterization Of In-Vivo Damage In Implantable Cardiac Devices And The Lead Residual Properties, Anmar Mahdi Salih

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Approximately, 92.1 million patients in the US suffer from cardiovascular diseases with an estimated healthcare cost of over $300 billion; out of which at least one million patients have Cardiac Implantable Electronics Devices (CIED). CIED represented by pacemakers, Implantable Cardioversion Defibrillator (ICD), and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) are exposed to in-vivo damage. These damages are complex and composed on multiple levels and present challenges while assessing their combined extent. Since 2004, more than one hundred recalls were reported for cardiac devices. ICD devices had the majority with 40.8% recalls, pacemaker recall percentage was 14.5%, CRT recall percentage was12.7%, leads recalls …

Three-Dimensional Human Neural Stem Cell Culture For High-Throughput Assessment Of Developmental Neurotoxicity, Pranav Joshi

ETD Archive

Only a few hundred of compounds, among tens of thousands of commercially available compounds, have been tested for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) due to the limitations of current guidelines for DNT which are based entirely on in vivo experiments. In vivo studies are highly expensive and time-consuming, which often do not correlate to human outcomes. There is a key gap in our ability to predict in vivo outcomes accurately and robustly using in vitro assays. This is particularly the case for predicting the toxicity of chemicals on the developing human brains. Conventional in vitro assays are typically performed in two-dimensional (2D) …

Thenar Muscle And Transverse Carpal Ligament Relationship, Jeremy Granieri Loss

ETD Archive

The transverse carpal ligament (TCL) acts as a partial origin for the thenar muscles (abductor pollicis brevis (APB), flexor pollicis brevis (FPB), opponens pollicis (OPP)). The attachment between the thenar muscles and TCL implies a relationship between the tissues. The thenar muscles rely on their origins for thumb motion and force production. However, individual thenar origin information is lacking. Further information regarding the anatomical relationship between the individual thenar muscles and TCL may provide insight into thenar muscle function. In addition, the TCL responds to thenar muscle contraction as shown by volar migration of the TCL during various thumb movements. …

Measurement Of Red Blood Cell Oxygenation State By Magnetophoresis, Nina A. Smith

ETD Archive

Magnetophoresis of red blood cells (RBCs) at varying partial pressures of oxygen (pO2) is hypothesized to rejuvenate stored blood to be utilized beyond the FDA regulated 42-day storage time. Magnetophoresis is a particle or cells motion induced by an applied magnetic field in a viscous media. The average magnetophoretic mobility of an oxygenated RBC is -0.126x10-6 mm3-s/kg, and a deoxygenated RBC is 3.66x10-6 mm3-s/kg, presenting magnetophoresis as a resource for RBC rejuvenation in hopes of storing it longer than 42 days. The main objective of this paper was to determine if controlling the pO2 within an RBC suspension, can singly- …

Mechanical Stresses On Nasal Mucosa Using Nose-On-Chip Model, Zachary Edward Brooks

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The objective of this research was to design and fabricate a nose-on-chip device and bi-directional airflow system that models flow within the nasal cavity to investigate how airflow induced mechanical stresses impact nasal secretion rates and cytoskeletal remodeling. This research hypothesizes that the airflow induced shear stresses on the nasal mucosa will influence mucus production and the cytoskeleton of the cells. The RPMI 2650 cell line was used to model the nasal mucosa. The system was used to replicate the wall shear stresses (WSS) and wall shear forces (WSF) present in the anterior region of the nose. The WSS and …

Monitoring Cerebral Functional Response Using Scmos-Based High Density Near Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging, Dharminder Singh Langri

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Neurovascular coupling is an important concept that indicates the direct link between neuronal electrical firing with the vascular hemodynamic changes. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) can measure changes in cerebral vascular parameters of oxy-hemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin concentrations and thus can provide neuronal activity through neurovascular coupling. Currently many commercial fNIRS devices are available, but they are limited by the number of channels (usually having only 8 detectors), which can limit the sensitivity, contrast, and resolution of imaging. High-density imaging can improve sensitivity, contrast, and resolution by providing many measurements and averaging the signals originating from the target cerebral focus area …

Computational Simulation Of A Femoral Nail Fracture, Stephen Charles Whatley

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Every year in the United States roughly 300,000 people over the age of 65 suffer from a hip fracture. Ninety five percent of which are the result from a fall. The resulting hip fracture can be classified into several categories of fracture. Depending on the damage the patient could be implanted with a femoral nail device to assist in their recovery. These devices can, however, have complications during recovery. In some cases, these nails can have a failure rate as high as 10%. When failure occurs, extensive investigations are needed to determine the causes of failure. These investigations involve physical …

Chondroitin Sulfate Hydrogels For Total Wound Care Devices, Tushar Goswami

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Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a naturally occurring bio-polymer found in areas of high cartilage in mammals. In directed applications, such as hydrogels, CS can be used to impact keratinocyte growth cycles. In this work, CS based hydrogels were utilized to accelerate wound healing and, in conjunction with a graphene sensor, monitor wound fluid pH. The hydrogels were cast onto a graphene field effect transistor (GFET) to obtain the benefits of the hydrogel wound healing capabilities, while also utilizing the pH sensitivity of the graphene. Results showed that the hydrogel caused a fivefold increase in cell size over the course of …

Characterizing Basal-Like Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Gene Expression Analysis: A Data Mining Approach, Qamar Alsabi

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by the absence of expression of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Therefore, TNBC is unresponsive to targeted hormonal therapies, which limits treatment options to nonselective chemotherapeutic agents. Basal-like breast cancers (BLBCs) represent a subset of about 70% of TNBCs, more frequently affecting younger patients, being more prevalent in African-American women and significantly more aggressive than tumors of other molecular subtypes, with high rates of proliferation and extremely poor clinical outcomes. Proper classification of BLBCs using current pathological tools has been a major challenge. Although TNBCs have …

Cost-Effective Paper-Based Diagnostic Using Split Proteins To Detect Yeast Infections, Zachary R. Berglund, Kevin V. Solomon, Mohit S. Verma, Moiz Rasheed, Zachary Hartley, Kevin Fitzgerald, Kok Zhi Lee, Janice Chan, Julianne Dejoie, Makayla Schacht, Alex Zavala

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The common yeast infection, vulvovaginal candidiasis, affects three out of four women throughout their lifetime and can be spread to their child in the form of oral candidiasis (thrush). This disease is caused by the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, which is also a major cause of systemic candidiasis, a rarer but deadly disease with up to a 49% lethality rate. Current widely-used diagnostic methods include cell cultures, pH tests, and antibody detection, to assist effective treatment. Despite availability of various diagnostic methods, there is no inexpensive, rapid, and accurate way to detect C. albicans infection. This project aims to …

Engaging Biomedical Engineering In Health Disparities Challenges, Maribel Vazquez

Publications and Research

Health Disparities (HD) are community-based, biomedical challenges in need of innovative contributions from Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. Surprisingly, STEM professionals demonstrate a persistent lack of HD awareness and/or engagement in both research and educational activities. This project introduced Health Disparities (HD) as technical challenges to incoming undergraduates in order to elevate engineering awareness of HD. The objective was to advance STEM-based, HD literacy and outreach to young cohorts of engineers. Engineering students were introduced to HD challenges in technical and societal contexts as part of Engineering 101 courses. Findings demonstrate that student comprehension of HD challenges increased …

Modeling Liver Diseases Using Hepatic Cell Microarrays, Alexander David Roth

ETD Archive

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an invasive and aggressive cancer of the liver that arises due to chronic cirrhosis. Research into understanding HCC has focused on two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) technologies to simulate the liver microenvironment and use animal models to model how HCC affects the rest of the body. 3D hydrogel models are desired because they can mimic the transport behavior observed in vivo by structurally mimicking the extracellular matrix (ECM) without the ethical concerns of animal models. However, hydrogels can be toxic to cells and require optimal procedures for appropriate handling. In this study, we created 3D models …

The Effect Of Cognitive Limb Embodiment On Vascular Physiological Response, Hala Elsir Mustafa Osman

ETD Archive

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a visual-tactile perceptual illusion commonly used to study body ownership. In this paradigm, a rubber hand is positioned in front of a participant, and the person’s real hand is hidden from sight behind a barrier. When the real hand and the rubber hand are stroked synchronously, individuals perceive the rubber hand as if it were their own; it becomes “embodied.” This illusory experience of body ownership is associated with multimodal integration of touch and vision. From these visual-tactile-cognitive mechanisms, we establish that our hands belong to us when what we see matches what we …

Characterizing The Effects Of High-Intensity Exercise On Balance And Gait Under Dual-Task Conditions In Parkinson’S Disease, El Iva Baron

ETD Archive

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by four cardinal motor symptoms including bradykinesia, tremor, rigidity, and postural instability, and non-motor symptoms including cognitive impairment. Daily activities, such as walking and maintaining balance, are impacted due to impairments in motor function, and are further exacerbated with the addition of cognitive loading, or dual-tasking (DT). High-intensity exercise has demonstrated centrally-mediated improvements of PD symptoms, with additional positive effects on overall health. The goal of this project was to identify changes in dynamic balance recovery and gait function under conditions with and without increased cognitive load after a high-intensity exercise intervention …

Feasibility Of Using An Equilibrium Point Strategy To Control Reaching Movements Of Paralyzed Arms With Functional Electrical Stimulation, Matthew Huffman

ETD Archive

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a technology capable of improving the quality of life for those with the loss of limb movement related to spinal cord injuries. Individuals with high-level tetraplegia, in particular, have lost all movement capabilities below the neck. FES has shown promise in bypassing spinal cord damage by sending electrical impulses directly to a nerve or muscle to trigger a desired function. Despite advancements in FES, full-arm reaching motions have not been achieved, leaving patients unable to perform fundamental tasks such as eating and grooming. To overcome the inability in current FES models to achieve multi-joint coordination, …

A Synthesis Platform For Temperature Responsive Star Polymers, Schmitt J. Richard Jr.

ETD Archive

Star polymers are a class of branched polymers comprised of several polymer chains extending from a central point. Star polymers have applications in biopharmaceuticals where they have been proposed to be suitable drug delivery vehicles. Star polymers have traditionally been synthesized through chemical synthesis with added functionality provided by grafting on the arms. This complex synthesis can be simplified by using a biosynthetic approach which enables precise control of molecular weight and composition. This approach is demonstrated using star polymers with arms composed of a temperature responsive protein-based polymer termed elastin-like polypeptide (ELP). Star polymers are characterized based on the …