Biomedical Devices and Instrumentation Commons^™

Collective Chemotaxis Of Retinal Neural Cells From Drosophila Melanogaster In Controlled Microenvironments, Stephanie Zhang

Dissertations and Theses

More than 172 million people are influenced by a retinal disorder that stems from either age-related or developmental causes. Of those, 1.5 million people endure a developmental retinal disorder. In the developing retina, neural cells undergo a series of highly complicated differentiation and migration process. A main cause of these diseases is abnormal collective migration of neural progenitors hindering the retinogenesis process. However, our grasp of collective migration and signaling molecules, critical to the developing retina, is incompletely understood. Understanding the molecular mechanisms, such as the fibroblast growth factor pathway, that regulate glial and neuronal migration provides decisive insights in …

Review Of Emerging Approaches In Non- Or Minimally Invasive Glucose Monitoring And Their Application To Physiological Human Body Fluids, Sunghoon Jang, Chen Xu

Publications and Research

The frequent blood glucose monitoring by the diabetics and physicians is a very essential step in the management of the diabetes because this devastating disease can lead the patients to blindness, kidney disease, nervous & circulatory system disease, limb amputations, stroke and cardiovascular disease (CVD). There have been numerous attempts to develop viable painless non- or minimally invasive blood glucose monitoring techniques over the last five decades in order to replace all existing methods of home blood glucose monitoring require drawing a blood sample by piercing the skin. This review describes the principles of two main emerging general technologies such …

Reducing Uncertainty In Head And Neck Radiotherapy With Plastic Robotics, Mark R. Ostyn

Theses and Dissertations

One of the greatest challenges in achieving accurate positioning in head and neck radiotherapy is that the anatomy at and above the cervical spine does not act as a single, mechanically rigid body. Current immobilization techniques contain residual uncertainties that are especially present in the lower neck that cannot be reduced by setting up to any single landmark. The work presented describes the development of a radiotherapy friendly mostly-plastic 6D robotic platform for positioning independent landmarks, (i.e., allowing remote, independent positioning of the skull relative to landmarks in the thorax), including analysis of kinematics, stress, radiographic compatibility, trajectory planning, physical …

Power Mobility Sensor Data Collection Verified Through Standardized Pediatric Assessments, Ayshka Elise Rodriguez-Velez

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The collaboration between the School of Engineering and the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of North Florida has introduced the possibility of creating a new environment for pediatric physical therapy assessments. There are currently no methods for remotely monitoring children with impairments. However, with embedded sensor technology in the form of power mobility and accepted therapy assessment tools, remote monitoring can become a possibility. As a part of this work, a ride-on toy car was developed as a remote monitoring device and a case study with a child with a mobility impairment was used as a proof of …

Eeg Characterization During Motor Tasks That Are Difficult For Movement Disorder Patients, Adam Joshua Aslam

Master's Theses

Movement disorders are a group of syndromes that often arise due to neurological abnormalities. Approximately 40 million Americans are affected by some form of movement disorder, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life and their ability to live independently. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is one treatment that has shown promising results in the past couple decades, however, the currently used open-loop system has several drawbacks. By implementing a closed-loop or adaptive DBS (aDBS) system, the need for expensive parameter reprogramming sessions would be reduced, side-effects may be relieved, and habituation could be avoided. Several biomarkers, for example signals or activity derived …

A Novel Approach To Assess Minimally Invasive Surgical Device Failure Utilizing Adverse Event Outcome Severity And Design Complexity., Marie K. Riggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Medical device failure and misuse have the potential to cause serious injury and death. Given the intricate nature of the instruments utilized specifically in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), users and manufacturers of surgical devices share a responsibility in preventing user error and device failure. A novel approach was presented for the evaluation of minimally invasive device failures, which involved assessing the severity of adverse event outcomes associated with the failures modes and investigating aspects of the devices’ design that may contribute to failure. The goals of this research were to 1) characterize the design attributes, failure modes, and adverse events …

Design, Development, And Characterization Of Breathforce : A Respiratory Training System For Patients With Spinal Cord Injuries., Kevin L Tran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pulmonary and cardiovascular dysfunction are consistently reported as the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among the 1,275,000 people who are living with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) in the United States. Respiratory-cardiovascular complications from neurological disorders (primarily COPD and sleep apnea) are currently the number one cause of death and disability in the US.

The main goal of this project is to develop an inspiratory-expiratory training device for use in the rehabilitation of patients with respiratory motor and cardiovascular deficits that incorporates existing technologies and promotes successful training methodologies performed at the clinic and at home.

An embedded microprocessor …

Development Of In-Vitro And In-Vivo Devices To Study The Mechanobiology Of Ligament Healing, John Bayard Everingham

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Ligament injuries are the most common sports injury in the United States. The current clinical practice for treating ligament injuries leaves many patients with significant pain and joint laxity for years following the initial injury. Controlled mechanical stimulation of the tissue after injury is necessary for robust healing, but the optimal mechanical environment for ligament healing is not fully understood. Alternative therapies, such as instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), offer a form of mechanical stimulation that is non-invasive and has shown promising clinical outcomes but the optimal dosage for IASTM treatments is unknown. The objective of this study was …

Development Of Biomimetic Membrane Assemblies On Microspheres For High-Throughput And Multiplexable Studies, Nadiezda P. Fernandez Oropeza

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Membranes and membrane-associated components are the target of approximately 60% of the current drugs, of synthetic materials, such as polymers, which are used for drug delivery purposes and of other biomolecules, such as endotoxins, which gain entry into the cell by disrupting the membrane. Therefore, the development of biomimetic membrane assemblies allows the study of different biological processes in which cell membranes play an important role, and the characterization and screening of drug delivery tools and other membrane-bound components.

Since its development, membrane assemblies on planar silica surfaces have been the method of choice to study membrane-associated and membrane-bound components. …

Titanium Addition Influences Antibacterial Activity Of Bioactive Glass Coatings On Metallic Implants, Omar Rodriguez, Wendy Stone, Emil H. Schemitsch, Paul Zalzal, Stephen Waldman, Marcello Papini, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In an attempt to combat the possibility of bacterial infection and insufficient bone growth around metallic, surgical implants, bioactive glasses may be employed as coatings. In this work, silica-based and borate-based glass series were synthesized for this purpose and subsequently characterized in terms of antibacterial behavior, solubility and cytotoxicity. Borate-based glasses were found to exhibit significantly superior antibacterial properties and increased solubility compared to their silica-based counterparts, with BRT0 and BRT3 (borate-based glasses with 0 and 15 mol% of titanium dioxide incorporated, respectively) outperforming the remainder of the glasses, both borate and silicate based, in these respects. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy …

Collapsible Silicone Tubes: An In Vitro Model For Tracheal Traction, Kevin D. Garman

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent episodes of airway collapse and airflow limitation during sleep. Fragmented sleep and reductions in blood oxygen saturation lead to several comorbidities, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Longitudinal forces (tracheal traction) acting on the soft tissues surrounding the upper airway have been proposed to play a significant role in stabilizing the airway and preventing collapse. However, the relative contribution of longitudinal forces as compared to other factors that affect airway stability (airway geometry, tissue properties, muscle activity) remains unclear. This in-vitro study aimed to investigate to what extent longitudinal forces can …

Effects Of Random Oscillations On Balance Control In Healthy Young Adults, Jacob Van Dehy

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In human walking, balance control is managed through proactive changes in spatio-temporal parameters of stepping [1]. It has been suggested that continuous disruptions to healthy young adult balance cause greater changes to overall variability of these parameters than a shift in the mean stepping parameters [2]. This suggests that walking may be occurring in a more reactive manner, modulating to maintain balance without increasing the mean significantly. Work using continuous oscillations to treadmill walking suggest there is an interplay between the predictability of a signal used to disrupt subject balance and the degree to which compensation occurs [3]. To determine …

Thermally Assisted Pulsed Electric Field Ablation For Cancer Therapy, James Michael Hornef

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) have promised improved treatment results in a variety of cancer types including melanoma, pancreatic and lung squamous cancer. Recent studies show that PEF-based cancer therapy may be improved further with the assistance of moderate heating of the target. Experiments were performed to design, calibrate and implement a feedback-looped infrared laser irradiation system that could maintain specified temperatures during the treatment. The exact treatment area, penetration depth and thermal distribution of a 980-nm laser fiber were quantified using several methods, including the knife-edge technique and a tissue optical property study. In vivo and in vitro experiments using …

Potency And Cytotoxicity Of A Novel Gallium-Containing Mesoporous Bioactive Glass/Chitosan Composite Scaffold As Hemostatic Agents, Sara Pourshahrestani, Ehsan Zeimaran, Nahrizul Adib Kadri, Nicola Gargiulo, Hassan Mahmood Jindal, Sangeetha Vasudevaraj Naveen, Shamala Devi Sekaran, Tunku Kamarul, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Chitosan-based hemostats are promising candidates for immediate hemorrhage control. However, they have some disadvantages and require further improvement to achieve the desired hemostatic efficiency. Here, a series of 1% Ga2O3-containing mesoporous bioactive glass-chitosan composite scaffolds (Ga-MBG/CHT) were constructed by the lyophilization process and the effect of various concentrations of Ga-MBG (10, 30, and 50 wt %) on the hemostatic function of the CHT scaffold was assessed as compared to that of Celox Rapid gauze (CXR), a current commercially available chitosan-coated hemostatic gauze. The prepared scaffolds exhibited >79% porosity and showed increased water uptake compared to that in CXR. The results …

Gui For Mri-Compatible Neural Stimulator And Recorder, Soo Han Soon, Nishant Babaria, Ranajay Mandal, Zhongming Liu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) are useful tools to analyze brain activities given active stimulation. However, the electromagnetic noise from the MRI distorts the brain signal recording and damages the subject with excessive heat generated on the electrodes attached to the skin. MRI-compatible recording and stimulation systems previously developed at LIBI lab were capable of removing the electromagnetic noise during the imaging process. Previously, the hardware systems had required the integrative software that could control both circuits simultaneously and enable users to easily change recording and stimulation parameters. Graphical user interface (GUI) programmed with computer language informed …

Low Power, Low Noise Circuit For Biological Signal Recording, Rachael A. Swenson, Daniel J. Pederson, Pedro Irazoqui

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Implantable devices are ideal for recording biological signals in animal models as they have minimal effect on the animal’s normal behavior during observation. The creation of the circuitry for an implantable device has several restrictions including size, power consumption, and noise reduction. These factors compete against each other, making it necessary to carefully optimize circuit components for a given application. This study evaluates the design of a four-channel analog front end circuit board to record cardiac, neural, and respiratory biological signals. Through a critical analysis of component specifications for the circuit’s components and an evaluation of the circuits’ power and …

Co-Modulation Masking Release Begins In The Auditory Periphery, Kareem R. Hussein, Agudemu Borjigan, Mark Sayles

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Understanding speech in noisy environments can be difficult, especially for people with hearing loss. The background noise can cover up the sounds of interest. Normally, the auditory system works to alleviate this problem by tagging and then cancelling the noise. Our experiments are aimed at understanding the mechanism of this noise cancellation process. We hypothesize that non-linear signal processing in the mammalian cochlea (the most peripheral part of the auditory system) is the basis of noise cancellation. To test this hypothesis, we measured the responses of auditory-nerve fibers (ANFs) to sounds embedded in background noise with different statistical properties. ANFs …

Pathogenic Dna Detection Using Dna Hairpins: A Non-Linear Hybridization Chain Reaction Platform, Lance Novak, Tamara L. Kinzer-Ursem

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Currently, 3.2 billion people are at risk of being infected with malaria, with 1.2 billion of those being at high risk (>1 in 1000 chance of getting malaria in a year). Thus, there is a need for a biosensor that is highly sensitive, cost effective, and simple to use for point-of-care diagnosis. The biosensing platform, PathVis, has achieved this by measuring changes in fluid properties after a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). LAMP is a DNA amplification system that requires enzymes and a temperature of 65degrees C. LAMP currently limits PathVis by being costly, requiring refrigeration, and difficult to design. …

A Chronically Implanted, Continuous Ph Monitoring System For Rats, Ryan B. Budde, Pedro P. Irazoqui

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Many body systems operate within a strict pH range, and any deviation can cause harm. pH measurement systems are used in many biomedical research fields. Measurement systems have been able to continuously record pH for a short period of time wirelessly, or over a long period of time with wires, but no system is currently capable of long term, wireless, continuous pH recording. This paper proposes a new pH measurement system that is capable of such measurement. The system is composed of inexpensive, micro-scale, and easy to manufacture pH sensitive and reference electrodes and a data acquisition and transmission module …

Localized Blood Occlusion Generation In An In-Vitro Circulatory Catheter System, Ryan D. Harris, Qi Yang, Hyowon Lee

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Hydrocephalus is a debilitating neurological disorder that involves the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in a ventricle of the brain. The implantation of a catheter commonly treats hydrocephalus with drainage. These catheters have a short lifespan due to obstruction from biological materials. Shunt systems have an extremely high failure rate of more than 40% failed within 1 year and up to 85% failed within 10 years. Previously, polymer-based flexible implantable magnetic micro-actuators were developed to clean up the catheter by mechanical vibration. We have demonstrated clearing of bacteria attachment and are proceeding to examine clearing effects on larger clotting materials, such …

The Influence Of The Electrode Dimension On The Detection Sensitivity Of Electric Cell–Substrate Impedance Sensing (Ecis) And Its Mathematical Modeling, Xudong Zhang, William Wang, Anis Nurashikin Nordin, Fang Li, Sunghoon Jang, Ioana Voiculescu

Publications and Research

Detection sensitivity is a crucial criterion in the design and application of ECIS sensors. The influence of sensing electrode dimension on detection sensitivity is investigated in this paper. Eight types of ECIS sensors were fabricated, and their experimental results reveal that smaller-radius working electrodes generate more sensitive impedance shift to cell density change. Also, the smaller radius of working electrodes yield higher impedance values, which improves signal-to-noise ratio. In a range from 1.0 mm to 3.5 mm, the distance between the working and counter electrodes does not affect impedance measurements. However, the distance should be large enough to prevent the …

Biomechanical Testing Of An Exercise For Strengthening The Proximal Femur., Alyssa Osbourne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Based on the principles of cutting edge bone remodeling research, a unique therapeutic exercise device was designed specifically to improve bone quality at the most critical location of the proximal femur prone to fracture: the superior-lateral femoral neck where the fracture first initiates during a fall. The exercise/device is intended to work by inducing enough strain in the bone to stimulate the body’s natural bone remodeling mechanisms to increase bone density in the proximal femur and consequently prevent a fracture from arising if a fall to the side does occur.

In order to test the proposed exercise, experiments simulating the …

Optimization Of Prosthetic Hands: Utilizing Modularity To Improve Grip Force, Grasp, And Versatility, Jordan William Harris

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

It has been demonstrated that although many varieties of upper limb prosthetics exist, commercially available prosthetics are outdated and unsatisfactory. Ineffectiveness and limitations have led to some prosthesis wearers having to own multiple devices, whereas others have given up on them entirely. Even though ample research has been conducted to design and test new hand designs, the industry appears to rest in an overall stagnated state.

It was proposed here, that one problem with prosthetic research is an excess of variables involved in testing, and therefore the improper application of the scientific method. It seems that each time a research …

Markerless Kinematics Of Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Mobility, Jacob Robert Rammer

Dissertations (1934 -)

Pediatric manual wheelchair users face substantial risk of orthopaedic injury to the upper extremities, particularly the shoulders, during transition to wheelchair use and during growth and development. Propulsion strategy can influence mobility efficiency, activity participation, and quality of life. The current forefront of wheelchair biomechanics research includes translating findings from adult to pediatric populations, improving the quality and efficiency of care under constrained clinical funding, and understanding injury mechanisms and risk factors. Typically, clinicians evaluate wheelchair mobility using marker-based motion capture and instrumentation systems that are precise and accurate but also time-consuming, inconvenient, and expensive for repeated assessments. There is …

Skin Tone Tracking Device (Chromaband), Ziyang Bian

Computer Engineering

It’s long been said that your skin is a window into your health and with many illnesses the first signs of trouble actually show up in your skin. So if we have this natural warning system, then why isn’t anyone able to effectively use it to predict changes in our health? The problem is that currently there is no reliable way to accurately measure the change in skin tone and how these changes may or may not change with variations in health. This project’s aim is to design and develop a device that will record the changes in a user’s …

Poly Drop, Zachary T. Scott, Lilly J. Paul

Computer Engineering

Poly Drop is a software interface to control an Open Drop digital micro-fluidics system. We obtained a hardware system from Gaudi labs. Our task was to create a Graphical User Interface that made the control of the device easier and more automated for better testing. We created software that had 3 parts: a control GUI, arduino code to control the hardware, and Image Analysis that gives the user information such as location and color of liquid drops as they move across the electrode grid of the Open Drop system. The GUI was developed using Java Swing. The communication between the …

Redesign Of The Medtronic Kyphon Bone Cement Mixer For Vertebral Compression Fractures, Mollie Benson, Sarah Freesemann, Aj Konnath, Benjamin Murray

Biomedical Engineering

The complete senior project report was submitted to the project advisor and sponsor. The results of this project are of a confidential nature and will not be published at this time.

Raman Spectral Variation For Human Fingernails Of Postmenopausal Women Is Dependent On Fracture Risk And Osteoporosis Status, J. R. Beattie, M. C. Caraher, N. M. Cummins, O. M. O'Driscoll, R. Eastell, S. H. Ralston, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Patients diagnosed with osteoporosis have reported loss of fingernail resilience as the disease progresses. Keratin is the predominant protein in human nail tissue, and its structure has been postulated to be different in fingernails clipped from subjects who have sustained fragility fractures and those who have not, which may offer a window into the donor's bone health. This study was designed to qualify these differences, which may lead to the development of a novel screening tool for fracture risk. Raman spectroscopy was used to measure the fingernails of 633 postmenopausal women who presented at six fracture clinics located across the …

Optimizing Hybrid Plate Fixation With A Locked, Oblique End Screw In Osteoporotic Fractures, Patrick Atkinson, Aaron Wynkoop, Osy Ndubaku, Paul M. Charpentier, Jeffrey B. Peck, Norman E. Walter

Mechanical Engineering Publications

Background

The end screw in a fracture plate creates the greatest resistance to bending. For osteoporotic fractures treated with plates, there is some question as to the optimal screw insertion technique for the screw farthest from the fracture. A locked, oblique end screw was previously shown to increase resistance to periprosthetic fracture. It is unknown, however, how this end screw configuration would resist pullout when subjected to bending.

Methods

Narrow, low contact 3.5 mm locking compression plates with 6 and 12 holes were anchored to simulated bone material with material properties representing osteoporotic bone. Four configurations were evaluated for the …

A Deterministic Model Of The Effect Of Electric Field On Chemotherapeutics Delivery Into A Tumor, Maryam Moarefian, Luke Achenie

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.