Electrical and Electronics Commons^™

Basis Vector Model Method For Proton Stopping Power Estimation Using Dual-Energy Computed Tomography, Shuangyue Zhang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Accurate estimation of the proton stopping power ratio (SPR) is important for treatment planning and dose prediction for proton beam therapy. The state-of-the-art clinical practice for estimating patient-specific SPR distributions is the stoichiometric calibration method using single-energy computed tomography (SECT) images, which in principle may introduce large intrinsic uncertainties into estimation results. One major factor that limits the performance of SECT-based methods is the Hounsfield unit (HU) degeneracy in the presence of tissue composition variations. Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) has shown the potential of reducing uncertainties in proton SPR prediction via scanning the patient with two different source energy spectra. …

Forward Electrophysiological Modeling And Inverse Problem For Uterine Contractions During Pregnancy, Mengxue Zhang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Uterine contractile dysfunction during pregnancy is a significant healthcare challenge that imposes heavy medical and financial burdens on both human beings and society. In the U.S., about 12% of babies are born prematurely each year, which is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and increases the possibility of having subsequent health problems. Post-term birth, in which a baby is born after 42 weeks of gestation, can cause risks for both the newborn and the mother. Currently, there is a limited understanding of how the uterus transitions from quiescence to excitation, which hampers our ability to detect labor and treat major …

Extended-Use Ecg Monitor, Daniel Aaron Soski

Master's Theses

In this thesis, a prototype ECG monitor was developed that is integrated into an elastic shirt and takes a 3-lead ECG for over 5 days. The high-quality measurements can be used to identify markers indicative of various detrimental heart conditions. Measurements recorded by the device are encrypted and stored onto a micro-SD card. Current Holter monitors are expensive and have functional lives less than 48 hours; however, extended duration monitoring has been proven more useful in diagnosis. The device designed demonstrates that ECG measurements can be taken over longer durations without sacrificing quality, comfort, or device cost.

Functional Electrical Stimulation Of Peripheral Nerve Tissue Via Regenerative Sieve Microelectrodes, Matthew Reagan Macewan

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) of peripheral nervous tissue offers a promising method for restoring motor function in patients suffering from complex neurological injuries. However, existing microelectrodes designed to stimulate peripheral nerve are unable to provide the type of stable, selective interface required to achieve near-physiologic control of peripheral motor axons and distal musculature. Regenerative sieve electrodes offer a unique alternative to such devices, achieving a highly stable, selective electrical interface with independent groups of regenerated nerve fibers integrated into the electrode. Yet, the capability of sieve electrodes to functionally recruit regenerated motor axons for the purpose of muscle activation remains …

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 …

Reconstruction Algorithms For Novel Joint Imaging Techniques In Pet, Homayoon Ranjbar

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an important functional in vivo imaging modality with many clinical applications. Its enormously wide range of applications has made both research and industry combine it with other imaging modalities such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The general purpose of this work is to study two cases in PET where the goal is to perform image reconstruction jointly on two data types.

The first case is the Beta-Gamma image reconstruction. Positron emitting isotopes, such as ¹¹C, ¹³N, and ¹⁸F, can be used to label molecules, and tracers, such …

Bio-Inspired Multi-Spectral And Polarization Imaging Sensors For Image-Guided Surgery, Nimrod Missael Garcia

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Image-guided surgery (IGS) can enhance cancer treatment by decreasing, and ideally eliminating, positive tumor margins and iatrogenic damage to healthy tissue. Current state-of-the-art near-infrared fluorescence imaging systems are bulky, costly, lack sensitivity under surgical illumination, and lack co-registration accuracy between multimodal images. As a result, an overwhelming majority of physicians still rely on their unaided eyes and palpation as the primary sensing modalities to distinguish cancerous from healthy tissue. In my thesis, I have addressed these challenges in IGC by mimicking the visual systems of several animals to construct low power, compact and highly sensitive multi-spectral and color-polarization sensors. I …

Implantable Wireless Sensor Networks: Application To Measuring Temperature For In Vivo Detection Of Infections, Praharsh Madappaly Veetil

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

It is has been proven that infection in the body cause a local temperature increase due to localized inflammation. Therefore, a method to provide early diagnostic or long-term tracking of this infection will provide great benefits to patients with diabetic foot ulcers or sickle cell disease, and those receiving hemodialysis where they suffer from a weakened immune system. The goal of this project is to develop an implantable wireless temperature sensor based on a wireless sensor network system for monitoring infections in situ. The analog signals from the thermistors are digitized and wirelessly transmitted to a computer with an ez430-rf2500 …

Psychophysiological Analysis Of A Pedagogical Agent And Robotic Peer For Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders., Mohammad Nasser Saadatzi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by ongoing problems in social interaction and communication, and engagement in repetitive behaviors. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1 in 68 children in the United States has ASD. Mounting evidence shows that many of these individuals display an interest in social interaction with computers and robots and, in general, feel comfortable spending time in such environments. It is known that the subtlety and unpredictability of people’s social behavior are intimidating and confusing for many individuals with ASD. Computerized learning environments and robots, however, prepare a predictable, …

Utilizing Brain-Computer Interfacing To Control Neuroprosthetic Devices, Cheyne J. Angy

Senior Honors Theses

Advances in neuroprosthetics in recent years have made an enormous impact on the quality of life for many people with disabilities, helping them regain the functionality of damaged or impaired abilities. One of the main hurdles to regaining full functionality regarding neuroprosthetics is the integration between the neural prosthetic device and the method in which the neural prosthetic device is controlled or manipulated to function correctly and efficiently. One of the most promising methods for integrating neural prosthetics to an efficient method of control is through Brian-computer Interfacing (BCI). With this method, the neuroprosthetic device is integrated into the human …

Midfield Rf Signal Detector, Dawei Zhang

Electrical Engineering

This project is part of a Master’s thesis which looks at alternative ways to measure blood glucose. The Master’s thesis uses mid-field signals in order to match impedance and therefore lose less power as they travel through flesh. The goal of this senior project is to build a receiver for those signals and give accurate RSSI (received signal strength indicator) measurements. Mid-fields were originally explored by Stanford professor Dr. Ada Poon [3] who used the signaling technique to recharge the batteries of deeply implanted devices. Devices implanted near the surface of the skin were able to have their batteries recharged …

Design And Development Of A Wearable Wireless Health Monitoring System: A Smart Watch Approach, Keerthi Paranikumar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to Statistics, every year, about 610,000 people die because of heart disease in United States of America. (i.e. 1 in every 4 deaths.*) Heart disease is common for both men and women. Annually, about 370,000 people die because of coronary heart disease, which is the most common type of heart disease [1]. About 735,000 Americans have heart attack every year. In this, 210,000 people gets heart attack who already has heart problems and 525,000 people get heart attack for the first time [2]. Not many people know that they have heart problems. Around 47% of the people in United …

Design And Fabrication Techniques Of Devices For Embedded Power Active Contact Lens, Errol Heradio Leon

Master's Theses

This thesis designed and fabricated various devices that were interfaced to an IC for an active contact lens that notifies the user of an event by detection of an external wireless signal. The contact lens consisted of an embedded antenna providing communication with a 2.4GHz system, as well as inductive charging at an operating frequency of 13.56 MHz. The lens utilized a CBC005 5µAh thin film battery by Cymbet and a manufactured graphene super capacitor as a power source. The custom integrated circuit (IC) was designed using the On Semiconductor CMOS C5 0.6 µm process to manage …

Design And Development Of Two Component Hydrogel Ejector For Three-Dimensional Cell Growth, Thomas Dunkle, Jessica Deschamps, Connie Dam

Honors Scholar Theses

Hydrogels are useful in wound healing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering applications, but the available methods of injecting them quickly and noninvasively are limited. The medical industry does not yet have access to an all-purpose device that can quickly synthesize hydrogels of different shapes and sizes. Many synthesis procedures that have been developed result in the formation of amorphous hydrogels. While generally useful, amorphous hydrogels exhibit limited capability in tissue engineering applications, especially due to their viscous properties. This endeavor aims to modulate the appropriate gelation parameters, optimize the injection process, and create a prototype that allows for the extrusion …

Assessment Of Electrode Configurations Of Electrical Impedance Myography For The Evaluation Of Neuromuscular Diseases, Khondokar Mohammad Fazle Rabbi

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Electrical impedance myography (EIM) is a painless, noninvasive approach to measure the neuromuscular disease status. EIM parameters- resistance (R), reactance (X) and phase (θ) depend significantly on subcutaneous fat thickness, muscle size and inter electrode distance. The objective of this research is to find an electrode configuration which can minimize the effects on EIM parameters due to subcutaneous fat thickness variation. In this study, a model of human upper arm was developed using finite element method (FEM), which has already been established as an appropriate approach for the analysis of non-symmetrical shape for assessing alternations of muscle in disease-induced changes …

Nanopulse Generators: Their Design And Application To Cancer Therapy Studies, Daniel P. Wernig

Senior Honors Theses

Effective nanopulse generators have become critical in recent decades concerning the study of subcellular affects in response to nanosecond pulsed electric fields. It has been observed that nanosecond duration electric pulses can target intracellular organelles, ultimately leading to cell apoptosis, suggesting the possibility of a new, minimally invasive, low risk cancer therapy methodology. The standard topology for developing a medical nanopulser is the Blumlein “transmission line” approach. This approach relies on the nearly infinitesimal, yet finite amount of time required for an electromagnetic field to propagate down a short transmission line. Prior to design, requirements and constraints must be defined …

Team Omnimouse, Derek J. Halman, Josh B. Porter, Steven A. Silver, Ian S. Stemper

Computer Engineering

INFORMATION, DATA, FIGURES AND DRAWINGS EMBODIED IN THIS DOCUMENT ARE STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL AND ARE SUPPLIED ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED TO THIRD PARTIES WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE PLUS.

Sonar For The Visually Impaired, Anastasia Newark, Edwin Ng, Scott Terhorst

Biomedical Engineering

There are currently no inexpensive assistive devices that allow the visually impaired detect low hanging objects that are above waist height and may cause injury, such as a rope or tree branch. The challenge presented to the team by the Quality of Life Plus Lab (QL+) was to develop a Sonar Cane device that attaches to a traditional white cane to address this problem. This device must be lightweight, inexpensive to manufacture, have a long battery life, and accurately detect obstacles to prevent user injury.

Clear Circuit Contact Lens, Paul Hecker Ii, Phillip Azar, Alexander Do, Benny Ng, Errol Leon

Electrical Engineering

The clear active contact lens project aims to address safety and hazard awareness with an unexplored field of eye wear technology. With advancements in nanotechnology and the advent of circuits on contact lens, this project is one of the first research and development into this new field, following University of Washington and Google. The team focuses on the safety and biocompatibility of the contact lens for a comfortable ease of use. The designs push the limits of thin film printed technology with its pursuit of fine designs of 250μm antennas. The project streamlines the manufacturing process for a combination substrate …

Alternate Computer Input Device For Individuals With Quadriplegia, Tobais Elder, Michelle Martinez, David Sylvester

Biomedical Engineering

This project details the design development of an alternative computer input system that allows a person with quadriplegia to move a computer's cursor and activate left and right click button inputs. After researching and analyzing possible solutions, an end design was chosen that most appropriately satisfied all user requirements and engineering specifications. This final design employs a head mounted Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) with 9 DoF (Degrees of Freedom) to track head movements and correlate these motions to computer cursor movements. A Sip-Puff Transducer monitors and interprets a user's application of negative and positive air pressure differentials to a vinyl …

Generation Of Bipolar Nanosecond Pulses, Sambasiva Rao Rajulapati

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Bipolar pulse generation has been studied using transmission line technology, which was mainly used for monopolar pulse generation. In this thesis, low impedance, high current, nanosecond pulse generators were designed, constructed and tested. Five transmission lines were connected in parallel, so the impedance was 10 n. The transmission lines were switched by a spark gap switch operated in air. The closing of the switch creates a matched condition on one side of the transmission lines and a short circuit on the other side of the transmission lines. When the transmission lines are precharged, one of the two waves in opposite …

Design And Implementation Of Wireless Point-Of-Care Health Monitoring Systems: Diagnosis For Sleep Disorders And Cardiovascular Diseases, Se Chang Oh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chronic sleep disorders are present in 40 million people in the United States. More than 25 million people remain undiagnosed and untreated, which accounts for over $22 billion in unnecessary healthcare costs. In addition, another major chronic disease is the heart diseases which cause 23.8% of the deaths in the United States. Thus, there is a need for a low cost, reliable, and ubiquitous patient monitoring system. A remote point-of-care system can satisfy this need by providing real time monitoring of the patient's health condition at remote places. However, the currently available POC systems have some drawbacks; the fixed number …

A Wireless And Digital Electrode Bus Topology For Biopotential Measurement, Mark Nolan, Edward Burke, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

The conventional biopotential measurement configuration utilises long lead wires which connect measuring electrodes to signal conditioning circuitry. The majority of bioelectric signals that are measured from the human body have a tiny signal amplitude (5µV-5mV range) and thus any interference that is induced on the lead wires can have a detrimental effect on the original signal. In this paper, we present an alternative configuration, in which digitisation occurs on the electrode, potentially providing enhanced signal measurement as well as significant benefits in terms of the simplification of the physical interconnections between electrodes. Multiple electrodes are combined to form a digital …

Heart-Rate Monitoring Control System Using Photoplethysmography (Ppg), Wesley Nguyen, Ryan Horjus

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Universal Engineering Programmer – An In-House Development Tool For Developing And Testing Implantable Medical Devices In St. Jude Medical, Khoa Tat Do

Master's Theses

During development and testing of the functionality of the pacemaker and defibrillator device, engineers in the St. Jude Medical Cardiac Rhythm Management Division use an in-house development tool called Universal Engineering Programmer (UEP) to ensure the device functions as expected, before it can be used to test on an animal or a human during the implantation process.  In addition, some applications of UEP are incorporated into the official releases of the device product.  UEP has been developed and used by engineers across departments in the St. Jude Medical Cardiac Rhythm Management Division (CRMD).  This thesis covers the flexible and reusable …

Intelligibility Of Electrolarynx Speech Using A Novel Hands-Free Actuator, Brian Madden, Mark Nolan, Ted Burke, James Condron, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

During voiced speech, the larynx provides quasi-periodic acoustic excitation of the vocal tract. In most electrolarynxes, mechanical vibrations are produced by a linear electromechanical actuator, the armature of which percusses against a metal or plastic plate at a frequency within the range of glottal excitation. In this paper, the intelligibility of speech produced using a novel hands-free actuator is compared to speech produced using a conventional electrolarynx. Two able-bodied speakers (one male, one female) performed a closed response test containing 28 monosyllabic words, once using a conventional electrolarynx and a second time using the novel design. The resulting audio recordings …

Augmented Control Of A Hands-Free Electrolarynx, Brian Madden, James Condron, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

During voiced speech, the larynx acts as the sound source, providing a quasi-periodic excitation of the vocal tract. Following a total laryngectomy, some people speak using an electrolarynx which employs an electromechanical actuator to perform the excitatory function of the absent larynx. Drawbacks of conventional electrolarynx designs include the monotonic sound emitted, the need for a free-hand to operate the device, and the difficulty experienced by many laryngectomees in adapting to its use. One improvement to the electrolarynx, which clinicians and users frequently suggest, is the provision of a convenient hands-free control facility. This would allow more natural use of …

On Improving Electrooculogram-Based Computer Mouse Systems: The Accelerometer Trigger, Johnalan Keegan, Edward Burke, James Condron, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

Eye tracking is a well-established method of computer control for profoundly paralysed people (Anson et al., 2002). Cameras are commonly used to track eye movements (Morimoto et al., 2005) but one alternative is the bioelectrical signal known as the electrooculogram (EOG). There are some EOG mouse control systems that facilitate the use of GUI applications, but certain actions, which are straightforward using a conventional mouse, remain impossible. Unless the eyes are tracking a target, they move in saccades (jumps), making it impossible to voluntarily trace out smooth trajectories with one's gaze, as would be required to draw a smooth curve. …

Return-Path, Multiple-Principal-Angle, Internal-Reflection Ellipsometer For Measuring Ir Optical Properties Of Aqueous Solutions, Rasheed M.A. Azzam

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

A retroreflection (return-path) spectroscopic ellipsometer without a wave plate is described that uses an IR-transparent high-refractive-index hemicylindrical semiconductor substrate to measure the optical properties of aqueous solutions from multiple principal angles and multiple principal azimuths of attenuated internal reflection (AIR) at the semiconductor–solution interface. The pseudo-Brewster angle of minimum reflectance for the p polarization is also readily measured using the same instrument. This wealth of data can also be used to characterize thin films at the solid–liquid interface. Simulated results of AIR at the Si–water interface over the 1.2–11 μm IR spectral range are presented in support of this concept. …

Intelligibility Of Electrolarynx Speech Using A Novel Actuator, Brian Madden, Mark Nolan, Ted Burke, James Condron, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

During voiced speech, the larynx provides quasi-periodic acoustic excitation of the vocal tract. Following a laryngectomy, some people speak using an electrolarynx which replaces the excitatory function of the absent larynx. Drawbacks of conventional electrolarynx designs include the buzzing monotonic sound emitted, the need for a free hand to operate the device, and difficulty experienced by many laryngectomees in adapting to its use. Despite these shortcomings, it remains the preferred method of speech rehabilitation for a substantial minority of laryngectomees. In most electrolarynxes, mechanical vibrations are produced by a linear electromechanical actuator, the armature of which percusses against a metal …