Biomedical Devices and Instrumentation Commons^™

A Wearable-Based Approach To Spinal Posture Tracking And Assessment, Sydney Marie Sherman, Noah Jeffery

Biomedical Engineering: Graduate Reports and Projects

This paper describes the design, manufacturing, and testing of a novel spinal posture tracking wearable device with embedded sensors. Currently on the market, most of the spinal posture tracking devices only focus on one segment of the spine and therefore do not track the entirety of human posture. The objective for this project was to create a wearable device in the form of a “smart shirt” that offers insights into posture trends throughout the day by tracking the entire spine. To begin the project, multiple designs were developed for the sensor array and wearable materials. These concepts were compared against …

Providing A Solution For Active-Duty Servicewomen Facing Chronic Musculoskeletal Injuries Due To Improper Gear Fit, Celia Watson, Denver Tidwell, Hadi Obaji

Honors Theses

As senior biomedical engineering students at the University of Mississippi, we began our academic year brainstorming unmet clinical needs in healthcare intending to provide an innovative solution. After conducting personal inventories, determining a mission, and evaluating internal and external factors, we established acceptance criteria for our strategic focus and clarified our needs statement: develop a prophylactic device for chronic musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs) in active-duty servicewomen (ADSW). The average female soldier is at a disadvantage compared to her male counterpart due to anthropometric and physiological differences between men and women in most aspects of physical performance (Epstein et al. 2673). These …

Laser-Induced Graphene For Early Disease Detection: A Review, Sri Ramulu Torati, Gymama Slaughter

Center for Bioelectronics Publications

Electrochemical biosensors have been instrumental in early disease detection, facilitating effective monitoring and treatment. The emergence of graphene has significantly advanced sensor technology in various fields, including biomedicine, electronics, and energy. In this landscape, laser‐induced graphene (LIG) has emerged as a superior alternative to conventional graphene synthesis methods. Its straightforward fabrication process and compatibility with wearable devices boost its practicality and potential for real‐world applications. This review highlights the transformative potential of LIG in biosensing, showcasing its contributions to the development of next‐generation diagnostic tools for early disease detection. An overview of the LIG synthesis process and its applications in …

3-In-1 Medical Lancet, Jonathan J. Panella, Gage Vogtlin, Marissa Koski, Benjamin Neyland

Mechanical Engineering

First responders need a quick, sterile, and convenient way to sample blood for glucose testing because glucose levels are a vital metric in assessing time-critical emergency situations. The blood sampling process consists of pre-sterilizing the sample site on the skin with an alcohol pad, pricking the skin with a lancet, and lastly, after sampling, putting a bandage over the prick site. The scope of this project is to design a device which integrates and streamlines the use of the three sub-processes (sterilization, lancing, and bandaging) while upholding the necessary requirements of a single-use medical device and considering other factors which …

Gyroscopic Human Balance Device, Randy Lam Hau, Spencer Ross, Yael Farkash

Biomedical Engineering

This project’s sponsor, Charlie Guitierrez, has decades of experience building assistive walking devices for the wheelchair bound population. During his work, he noticed that many of his clients retained some ability to balance themselves and so theorized that they would be able to walk independently if given some form of assistance. This assistance could potentially be in the form of a wearable gyroscope. Gyroscopes are commonly used to stabilize objects subjected to instability, such as bicycles, motorcycles, and ships. Thus, a wearable gyroscope would assist its user in maintaining overall stability by imparting reactive torques and forces if the user …

The Design And Development Of A Device To Assist In Boosting Patients, Taylor A. Rieckhoff

Masters Theses

A common task a nurse is required to perform is called boosting patients. Boosting a patient is defined as lifting or sliding a patient back up in the bed after having slid down (Mannheim, Zieve, & Conaway, 2017). The current method for boosting patients involves a minimum of two personnel and an 11-step process. The 11-step process requires the person to manually lift and pull the patient using an existing half sheet on the bed (Mannheim, Zieve, & Conaway, 2017). Patients who cannot move or support themselves are moved every two to six hours or upon request (Bihn, Rieckhoff, Burkman, …

Slit Lamp Ophthalmoscope Redesign, Michael Hostetler, Austin Mattmiller, Alexis Brewer

Biomedical Engineering

The slit lamp ophthalmoscope is used by ophthalmologists for diagnosis of pathologies in the eye. The device is used for identifying ocular diseases or indications of other possible systemic diseases to treat them before the diseases progress. Redesign of the ergonomics and adjustment mechanisms of the slit lamp ophthalmoscope will attempt to improve the compatibility of the device across a greater variety of patients. The wider headrest tower of 12.75 inches, the wider table cutout of 12 inches, and the 12 inches of extension of the headrest tower creates a better ergonomic fit for the patient and doctor. The wider …

Development Of A Novel Device For The Perfusion Driven Decellularization Of Skeletal Muscle, Benjamin Kasukonis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Decellularization of skeletal muscle is a process that removes cellular components of skeletal muscle tissue while leaving behind the intact extracellular matrix (ECM). Skeletal muscle ECM is currently being studied as a biologic scaffold for repairing volumetric muscle loss (VML) because the removal of cells greatly reduces the antigenicity of the donor tissue. Decellularization usually relies on passive diffusion of detergents, surfactants and/or osmotic solutions to strip cells from the ECM. However, passive diffusion alone is usually not sufficient for complete removal of cells from the interior of large pieces of skeletal muscle using detergents, such as sodium dodecyl sulfate …

Design And Development Of A Stair Ascension Assistive Device For Transfemoral Amputees, Casey Michael Barbarino

Master's Theses

Transfemoral amputees around the world experience increased difficulty in climbing stairs due to lack of muscle, balance, and other factors. The loss of a lower limb greatly diminishes the amount of natural force generation provided that is necessary to propel oneself up stairs. This study investigated possible solutions to the problem of stair ascension for transfemoral amputees by the means of designing and developing an externally attachable device to a prosthesis. The number of amputations from military service has greatly increased since 2008, which shows there is a clear need for assistive devices (Wenke, Krueger, & Ficke, 2012). With the …

Dc Dielectrophoretic Assisted Anti-Fouling Filtration System, Nathan M. Cohen

Master's Theses

Filtration processes, whether on the microfluidic, clinical treatment systems, or industrial scale (e.g., point-of-care diagnostics, dialysis, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, respectively), are often inseparable from membrane clogging (fouling). As a consequence, most, if not all, filtration systems require frequent maintenance to maintain functionality and efficiency. The thesis of this project hypothesizes that Dielectrophoresis can be combined with standard filtration to reduce filter fouling, extending membrane life, and enabling continuous operation. This project investigates a method to reduce fouling, add specificity and efficiency, and decrease the cost and challenge of filtration based biofluid separations.

To substantiate this thesis, we designed, fabricated, and …

An Inexpensive Method For Creating Paste To Be Used In Paper-Based Microfluidic Devices, Kirra Marie Sankey

Biomedical Engineering

Microfluidic devices are diagnostic tools that are small, portable, and inexpensive. This makes them ideally suited for resource-limited settings. To construct a 3D device, each layer of patterned paper is stacked using double-sided tape with holes corresponding to the pattern. It is necessary to have a paste to fill the holes in the tape and provide a medium for the fluid to wick through. The powder used to make the paste is very expensive and must be bought in bulk (an estimated $1121 - $1231), so it is not convenient for the Biomedical (BMED) department to use. This project was …