Biomedical Commons^™

Graphene As A Shielding Material For Sar Reduction In Human Head Using Rectangular And Circular Patch Antenna, Alka Singla Er., Anupma Marwaha Dr., Sanjay Marwaha Dr.

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Nanomaterials pave the way for better performance in wireless applications due to their unique properties. Nowadays, these have been used as shield material in dipole antennas for a solution of reduction in SAR value. This work proposes the use of emerging graphene nanomaterial by comparing the performance for two different shapes of patch antenna namely rectangular and circular patch. With the growth in technology, the protection of human health is also mandatory so the work is planned to use graphene as a shielding material for SAR reduction in the human brain and it is proved that for rectangular and circular …

Portable Ventilator, Bradley C. Weeks, Jack W. Brewer, Sanders Sanabria

Electrical Engineering

The current COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted the healthcare system in the United States and elsewhere. The need for patients to have access to a hospital with a ventilator along with a shortage of ventilators for recovery and at-home care as a result of minimal hospital vacancy for patients has been greatly stressed. The presented problem is both an unmet demand and supply of portable and effective ventilators. Existing ventilators have many shortcomings that should be addressed: size, weight, cost, and complexity of current ventilators confines users to stay in a medical facility whilst being monitored by professionals. This both …

Multilayer Perceptron With Auto Encoder Enabled Deep Learning Model For Recommender Systems, Subhashini Narayan

Future Computing and Informatics Journal

In this modern world of ever-increasing one-click purchases, movie bookings, music, health- care, fashion, the need for recommendations have increased the more. Google, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon and other tech giants use recommendations to customize and tailor their search engines to suit the user’s interests. Many of the existing systems are based on older algorithms which although have decent accuracies, require large training and testing datasets and with the emergence of deep learning, the accuracy of algorithms has further improved, and error rates have reduced due to the use of multiple layers. The need for large datasets has declined as well. …

Pepblock Builder Vr – An Open-Source Tool For Gaming-Based Bio-Edutainment In Interactive Protein Design, Venkata V. B. Yallapragada, Tianshu Xu, Sidney P. Walker, Sabin Tabirca, Mark Tangney

Cappa Publications

Proteins mediate and perform various fundamental functions of life. This versatility of protein function is an attribute of its 3D structure. In recent years, our understanding of protein 3D structure has been complemented with advances in computational and mathematical tools for protein modelling and protein design. 3D molecular visualisation is an essential part in every protein design and protein modelling workflow. Over the years, stand-alone and web-based molecular visualisation tools have been used to emulate three-dimensional view on computers. The advent of virtual reality provided the scope for immersive control of molecular visualisation. While these technologies have significantly improved our …

Error Prevention In Sensors And Sensor Systems, Pedro J. Chacon Dominguez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Achievements in all fields of engineering and fabrication methods have led towards optimization and integration of multiple sensing devices into a concise system. These advances have caused significant innovation in various commercial, industrial, and research efforts. Integrations of subsystems have important applications for sensor systems in particular. The need for reporting and real time awareness of a device’s condition and surroundings have led to sensor systems being implemented in a wide variety of fields. From environmental sensors for agriculture, to object characterization and biomedical sensing, the application for sensor systems has impacted all modern facets of innovation. With these innovations, …

The Linear And Non-Linear Relationships Between Peripheral Venous Pressure, Arterial Circulation, And Patient Factors, Lauren Crimmins

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Peripheral venous pressure (PVP) can be used to measure blood volume status with a minimally invasive procedure. The pediatric cohort undergoing surgery for pyloric stenosis was studied to determine how arterial circulation and patient factors linearly impact PVP. The relationship between PVP and these confounding factors can provide valuable information for future PVP researchers.

To investigate the linear relationship between PVP and electrocardiogram (ECG) the waveforms were transformed into the frequency domain. A power spectral density was plotted, and the Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated for both preoperative and intraoperative settings. Linear regression models were computed for PVP and varying …

New Force Transducer For Mitral Valve Chordae Tendinea, Joseph Berryman

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In order to inform the future of mitral valve repair and replacement, more investigation into the mechanics of the sub-valvular structure is needed. Understanding the roles of each chord during valve closure requires a sensor capable of detecting these small forces with enough sensitivity to determine the characteristics of each of the chordal types. The focus of the cantilever force transducer is to maximize this sensitivity while also minimizing the invasiveness of the sensor on the overall function of the chord. The design utilizes flexible yet strong 3D printed resin and cantilever arms to improve the strain exerted on a …

Healthy Aging In Place: An Integrated Smart Home Using Alexa-Compatible Technology, Tyler Kryst

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this research was to address current healthcare concerns among the aging population. Around the globe, the average life expectancy is projected to continue increasing resulting in a higher prevalence of age-related disease. With the ever-increasing capabilities of modern technology, it is necessary to apply this technology to increase the health and safety of older adults. This work had three objectives. The first objective was the establishment of an integrated smart home aimed at creating a healthy aging-in-place environment through the use of Alexa. The second objective was the development and integration of a completely custom health device …

Engineering Cardiac Tissues With Three-Dimensional Bioprinting For Biomedical Applications, Matthew Alonzo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The role of a biomedical engineer is to solve unmet health-related needs that face society. For the past couple of decades, heart disease (HD) has remained the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The disease is characterized by various pathologies that affect the heart. Indeed, malfunction of one of the bodyâ??s most vital organs is bound to manifest poor health and even death in patients. Despite advances in medicine and technology, heart disease continues to be prevalent and diminishes the quality of life for many around the world. Certainly, there exists a need for developing new tools to better …

Evaluation Of The Cytotoxyc Effects Of Lmdf5-7 On A Human T-Cell Leukemia Cell Line, Andrea F. Ibarra Chacon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

According to World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, with 9.6 million deaths in 2018 . In the United States, an estimated 434,982 people were living with cancer during 2017 . Leukemia is the most common blood cancer in children from birth to 14 years old . In particular, Hispanic children in the United States experience a higher incidence rate of leukemia . Therefore, the discovery of novel cancer therapies is necessary to help those affected survive the disease. A new compound, LMDF5-7 was investigated and found to have anticancer properties that can help …

Patient-Specific Finite Element Analysis For Mandibular Fracture Fixation, Ethan Snyder

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis proposes an approach for Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of mandibular fracture fixation. Using a Computerized Tomography (CT) scan of mandible obtained from a specific person, the material characteristics, density and modulus of elasticity, were determined from a set of discrete points within the mandible that are 1mm spaced based on the Hounsfield Units of these points. The mandible geometry was sectioned to simulate a fracture. Muscle and mastication forces were added to replicate post-surgery loading. Using a standard linear miniplate, this material model was compared with two commonly used mandibular cortical shell bone models: isotropic and orthotropic. A …

3d Printing Of High Viscosity Fluids And Its Application In 3d Printing Of Prosthetic Teeth., Abhilash Aditya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The advancement in technology has brought forward non-conventional manufacturing methods that are efficient and advantageous for specific applications. 3D printing is one such outcome, whose applications stretch from biomedical applications to daily products. 3D printing is a rapidly growing technology, and innovative research developments have proven versatility in creating physical objects. Simplification and constant improvement in Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) operation result from decades of research. However, 3D printing is material-specific and contributes to shortcomings in the technology. The build-material dictates the extrusion parameters, including the material discharge rate and head speed for a continuous flow. Customization being the prime …

Statistical Machine Learning For Breast Cancer Detection With Terahertz Imaging, Tanny Andrea Chavez Esparza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast conserving surgery (BCS) is a common breast cancer treatment option, in which the cancerous tissue is excised while leaving most of the healthy breast tissue intact. The lack of in-situ margin evaluation unfortunately results in a re-excision rate of 20-30% for this type of procedure. This study aims to design statistical and machine learning segmentation algorithms for the detection of breast cancer in BCS by using terahertz (THz) imaging. Given the material characterization properties of the non-ionizing radiation in the THz range, we intend to employ the responses from the THz system to identify healthy and cancerous breast tissue …

Husky Hand: A Low-Cost Electro-Mechanical Prosthetic Arm For The Underprivileged, Adam Robert

Thinking Matters Symposium

A continuation of a low-cost prosthetic upper limb prototype design which was investigated in EGN 301. The prosthetic is specifically designed for the needs and requirements of under privileged individuals in the Dominican Republic with upper limb amputations. The project focuses on the creation of an open-source computer aided prosthetic hand/arm model. The design allows consumer-grade fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3-D printers to be used. The improved design allows for the integration of the PQ-12 linear actuator for grasp and finger control. This simplifies the assembly, while, also reducing the size and mass of the whole unit. Producing a low-cost …

Role Of Ahr Ligands In Immune Modulation To Suppress Inflammation Through The Regulation Of Microrna And Gut Microbiome, Osama Azeldeen Abdulla

Theses and Dissertations

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor and an environmental sensor that is highly conserved evolutionarily. It was first discovered in the early 1970s for its ability to bind with high affinity to 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), an environmental pollutant and induce a xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme known as aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH). AhR was shown to regulate TCDD-mediated toxicity against a variety of tissues including the immune system. More recently, AhR has been characterized as key regulator of the immune system, specifically the differentiation of T cells. Also, several AhR ligands have been characterized in addition to TCDD such as …

Who Will Be Liable For Medical Malpractice In The Future? How The Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Medicine Will Shape Medical Tort Law, Scott J. Schwelkart

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Biological Semantic Segmentation On Ct Medical Images For Kidney Tumor Detection Using Nnu-Net Framework, Andres Bergsneider

Master's Theses

Healthcare systems are constantly challenged with bottlenecks due to human-reliant operations, such as analyzing medical images. High precision and repeatability is necessary when performing a diagnostics on patients with tumors. Throughout the years an increasing number of advancements have been made using various machine learning algorithms for the detection of tumors helping to fast track diagnosis and treatment decisions. “Black Box” systems such as the complex deep learning networks discussed in this paper rely heavily on hyperparameter optimization in order to obtain the most ideal performance. This requires a significant time investment in the tuning of such networks to acquire …

Mechanisms Of Sensory Adaptation In The Primate Visual System, Boris Isaac Peñaloza Rojas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Under ecological conditions, the luminance impinging on the retina varies within a dynamic range of 220 dB. Stimulus contrast can also vary drastically within a scene, and eye movements leave little time for sampling luminance. In addition, the amount of information reaching our visual system far exceeds the brain’s information processing capacity. Given the limited dynamic range of its neurons and its limited capacity in processing visual information in real-time, the brain deploys both structural and functional solutions that work in tandem to adapt to the surroundings. In this work, employing visual psychophysics and computational neuroscience, we study the mechanisms …

Development Of Light Actuated Chemical Delivery Platform On A 2-D Array Of Micropore Structure, Hojjat Rostami Azmand, Hojjat Rostami Azmand

Dissertations and Theses

Localized chemical delivery plays an essential role in the fundamental information transfers within biological systems. Thus, the ability to mimic the natural chemical signal modulation would provide significant contributions to understand the functional signaling pathway of biological cells and develop new prosthetic devices for neurological disorders. In this paper, we demonstrate a light-controlled hydrogel platform that can be used for localized chemical delivery in a high spatial resolution. By utilizing the photothermal behavior of graphene-hydrogel composites confined within micron-sized fluidic channels, patterned light illumination creates the parallel and independent actuation of chemical release in a group of fluidic ports. The …

Exploring Quality Management Strategies To Mitigate Culture Shock Among Cochlear Implant Users, Victor Mulume' Ambila

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAfter the cochlear implant (CI) activation period and therapy, adult CI users who travel overseas encounter culture shock factors that paralyze their coping capability, which need normalization through management strategies during the post-cochlear-implantation process (PCIP). In the structure of the conceptual framework, a plan is presented for addressing the management strategy. An integrated system of product-process-service-care portrays the product as an active implant within an individual bearer fostering a CI user’s physical, physiological, and psychological traits. The problematic aspects alter the end users’ coping capability in an unfamiliar host environment abroad. The qualitative research approach used was a single case …

Peculiarities Of Neurostimulation By Intense Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields: How To Avoid Firing In Peripheral Nerve Fibers, Vitalii Kim, Emily Gudvangen, Oleg Kondratiev, Luis Redondo, Shu Xiao, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Intense pulsed electric fields (PEF) are a novel modality for the efficient and targeted ablation of tumors by electroporation. The major adverse side effects of PEF therapies are strong involuntary muscle contractions and pain. Nanosecond-range PEF (nsPEF) are less efficient at neurostimulation and can be employed to minimize such side effects. We quantified the impact of the electrode configuration, PEF strength (up to 20 kV/cm), repetition rate (up to 3 MHz), bi- and triphasic pulse shapes, and pulse duration (down to 10 ns) on eliciting compound action potentials (CAPs) in nerve fibers. The excitation thresholds for single unipolar but not …

Bibliometric Review On Applications Of Disease Detection Using Digital Image Processing Techniques, Jayant Jagtap, Rahil Sharma, Aryan Sinha, Nikhil Panda, Amulya Reddy

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Advances around the field of deep learning and cognitive computing have allowed mankind to look and solve the problems of the world in a completely new way. Deep learning has been making huge advancements in the field of healthcare, which most importantly focuses upon disease detection and disease prediction. Techniques such as these have been conceptualized the idea of early detection and economical ways of treating the predicted disease in particular. Still, it has been observed that there seems to be no change in the way diagnosis of a particular disease takes place even in the 21^st generation of …

Bibliometric Review On Liver And Tumour Segmentation Using Deep Learning, Jayant Jagtap, Aamir Habeeb, Avinash Jha, Shrey Aggarwal, Khushi Gupta

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

One of the major organs in the body is liver where tumors occur often. Malignant liver tumors pose a serious hazard to human life and health. Manual segmentation of the liver organ and tumor from computed tomography (CT) scans is difficult, time-consuming, and skewed to the clinician's experience, yet it is essential for hepatic surgical planning. However, due to the following considerations, segmenting liver tumors from computed tomography (CT) images is difficult: In CT pictures, the contrast between the liver tumor and healthy tissues is low, and the boundary is indistinct; the picture of the liver tumor is confusing, with …

Sensitray: An Integrated Measuring Device For Monitoring Children’S Mealtime Dietary Intake, Hunter S. Guru, Anthony D. Weng, Santosh Pitla, Dipti Dev

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Childhood nutrition establishes consumption norms that affect an individual’s health over the course of their lives. However, early nutrition interventions to establish such norms are uncommon owing to the various inefficiencies associated with current methods of measuring childhood nutrition. Here, we present an IoT measuring device, called the SensiTray, which accurately tracks mealtime intake in a child-friendly and cost-effective fashion. Principal technologies underlying the SensiTray (including mass-sensing technologies, microcontrollers) are identified and analyzed, along with other design choices. Operation of the SensiTray is explained with special attention given to SensiTray software peripherals and algorithms. Preliminary testing consisted of static and …

The Antitumor Effects Of Plasma-Activated Saline On Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Cells In Vitro And In Vivo Demonstrate Its Feasibility As A Potential Therapeutic Approach, Hao Zhang, Jishen Zhang, Bo Guo, Hailan Chen, Dehui Xu, Michael G. Kong

Bioelectrics Publications

Muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is a fast-growing and aggressive malignant tumor in urinary system. Since chemotherapy and immunotherapy are only useable with a few MIBC patients, the clinical treatment of MIBC still faces challenges. Here, we examined the feasibility of plasma-activated saline (PAS) as a fledgling therapeutic strategy for MIBC treatment. Our data showed that plasma irradiation could generate a variety of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in saline. In vivo tests revealed that pericarcinomatous tissue injection with PAS was effective at preventing subcutaneous bladder tumor growth, with no side effects to the visceral organs after …

The Hsp90 Inhibitor, Auy-922, Protects And Repairs Human Lung Microvascular Endothelial Cells From Hydrochloric Acid-Induced Endothelial Barrier Dysfunction, Ruben M.L. Colunga Biancatelli, Pavel Solopov, Betsy Gregory, John D. Catravas

Bioelectrics Publications

Exposure to hydrochloric acid (HCl) leads acutely to asthma-like symptoms, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), including compromised alveolo-capillary barrier, and respiratory failure. To better understand the direct effects of HCl on pulmonary endothelial function, we studied the characteristics of HCl-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction in primary cultures of human lung microvascular endothelial cells (HLMVEC), defined the involved molecular pathways, and tested the potentially beneficial effects of Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitors. HCl impaired barrier function in a time- and concentration-dependent manner and was associated with activation of Protein Kinase B (AKT), Ras homolog family member A (RhoA) and myosin light …

Four Channel 6.5 Kv, 65 A, 100 Ns-100 Μs Generator With Advanced Control Of Pulse And Burst Protocols For Biomedical And Biotechnological Applications, Aleh Kandratsyeu, Uladzimir Sabaleuski, Luis Redondo, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Pulsed electric fields in the sub-microsecond range are being increasingly used in biomedical and biotechnology applications, where the demand for high-voltage and high-frequency pulse generators with enhanced performance and pulse flexibility is pushing the limits of pulse power solid state technology. In the scope of this article, a new pulsed generator, which includes four independent MOSFET based Marx modulators, operating individually or combined, controlled from a computer user interface, is described. The generator is capable of applying different pulse shapes, from unipolar to bipolar pulses into biological loads, in symmetric and asymmetric modes, with voltages up to 6.5 kV and …

Novel Machine Learning And Wearable Sensor Based Solutions For Smart Healthcare Monitoring, Rajdeep Kumar Nath

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The advent of IoT has enabled the design of connected and integrated smart health monitoring systems. These health monitoring systems can be utilized for monitoring the mental and physical wellbeing of a person. Stress, anxiety, and hypertension are the major elements responsible for the plethora of physical and mental illnesses. In this context, the older population demands special attention because of the several age-related complications that exacerbate the effects of stress, anxiety, and hypertension. Monitoring stress, anxiety, and blood pressure regularly can prevent long-term damage by initiating necessary intervention or clinical treatment beforehand. This will improve the quality of life …

Cardioporation Enhances Myocardial Gene Expression In Rat Heart, Carly Boye, Sezgi Arpag, Nina Burcus, Cathryn Lundberg, Scott Declemente, Richard Heller, Michael Francis, Anna Bulysheva

Bioelectrics Publications

Damage from myocardial infarction (MI) and subsequent heart failure are serious public health concerns. Current clinical treatments and therapies to treat MI damage largely do not address the regeneration of cardiomyocytes. In a previous study, we established that it is possible to promote regeneration of cardiac muscle with vascular endothelial growth factor B gene delivery directly to the ischemic myocardium. In the current study we aim to optimize cardioporation parameters to increase expression efficiency by varying electrode configuration, applied voltage, pulse length, and plasmid vector size. By using a surface monopolar electrode, optimized pulsing conditions and reducing vector size, we …

Design Of A 10 Mev Beamline At The Upgraded Injector Test Facility For E-Beam Irradiation, Xi Li, Helmut Baumgart, Gianluigi Ciovati, F.E. Hannon, S. Wang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Electron beam irradiation near 10 MeV is suitable for wastewater treatment. The Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) at Jefferson Lab is a CW superconducting linear accelerator capable of providing an electron beam of energy up to 10 MeV and up to 100 µA current. This contribution presents the beam transport simulations for a beamline to be used for the irradiation of wastewater samples at the UITF. The simulations were done using the code General Particle Tracer with the goal of obtaining an 8 MeV electron beam of radius (3-σ) of ~2.4 cm. The achieved energy spread is ~74.5 keV. The …