Other Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Visual Contributions To Balance Control During Gait, Kyle Brozek

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

We propose to isolate the contributions of continuous OF to the orthogonal relationship between balance and gait control during treadmill walking using a series of conditions. Manipulating the direction of OF using a CAREN (Motek Medical, Amsterdam, Netherlands) virtual reality treadmill environment will isolate these visual contributions in human subjects as they walk. We plan to tease out the effect of OF direction on the relationship between gait and balance control by having healthy young adults perform a series of treadmill walking trials while immersed in a VR environment. This will be done by manipulating the direction of walking and …

Applications Of Supervised Machine Learning In Autism Spectrum Disorder Research: A Review, Kayleigh K. Hyde, Marlena N. Novack, Nicholas Lahaye, Chelsea Parlett-Pelleriti, Raymond Anden, Dennis R. Dixon, Erik Linstead

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research has yet to leverage "big data" on the same scale as other fields; however, advancements in easy, affordable data collection and analysis may soon make this a reality. Indeed, there has been a notable increase in research literature evaluating the effectiveness of machine learning for diagnosing ASD, exploring its genetic underpinnings, and designing effective interventions. This paper provides a comprehensive review of 45 papers utilizing supervised machine learning in ASD, including algorithms for classification and text analysis. The goal of the paper is to identify and describe supervised machine learning trends in ASD literature as …

Direct Quantification Of Deubiquitinating Enzyme Activity In Single Intact Cells, Nora Safabakhsh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Challenges in drug efficacy occur during the treatment of most types of cancer due to the heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment. This has led to the development of personalized medicine. Due to the clinical success of the proteasome inhibitors Bortezomib and Carfilzomib in treatment of multiple myeloma, interest has shifted towards molecularly-targeted chemotherapeutics for ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) are an essential part of this pathway which have been found to promote Bortezomib resistance in multiple myeloma patients. Unfortunately, there is a lack of specific, high throughput biochemical assays to characterize DUB activity in patient samples before and after …

Tissue Clearing As A Mechanism To Identify Changes In Fibronectin Structure During Breast Cancer Metastasis, Maryam Nuru, Kelsey Hopkins, Luis Solorio

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

With metastasis accounting for approximately 90% of breast cancer deaths and an alarming number of over 300,000 new breast cancer cases to be diagnosed by the end of 2018, there is growing need to understand the process of breast cancer. Changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the tumor microenvironment play an essential role in this deadly tumor progression. Specifically, the glycoprotein fibronectin (FN), has been identified to be up-regulated in patients with worse clinical outcomes. During tumor progression fibronectin undergoes conformational changes that aid in metastatic dissemination. In order to analyze the dynamic changes in FN expression and evaluate …

Effects Of 8-Week Sensory Electrical Stimulation Combined With Motor Training On Eeg-Emg Coherence And Motor Function In Individuals With Stroke, Li-Ling Hope Pan, Wen-Wen Yang, Mei-Wun Tsai, Shun-Hwa Wei, Felipe Fregni, Vincent Chiun-Fan Chen, Li-Wei Chou

Engineering Science Faculty Publications

The peripheral sensory system is critical to regulating motor plasticity and motor recovery. Peripheral electrical stimulation (ES) can generate constant and adequate sensory input to influence the excitability of the motor cortex. The aim of this proof of concept study was to assess whether ES prior to each hand function training session for eight weeks can better improve neuromuscular control and hand function in chronic stroke individuals and change electroencephalography-electromyography (EEG-EMG) coherence, as compared to the control (sham ES). We recruited twelve subjects and randomly assigned them into ES and control groups. Both groups received 20-minute hand function training twice …

Assessment Of Risk In Preterm Infants Using Point Process And Machine Learning Approaches, Venkata Naga Sai Apurupa Amperayani

Electrical Engineering Theses

Preemies, infants who are born too soon, have a higher incidence of Life-Threatening Events (LTE’s) such as apnea (cessation of breathing), bradycardia (slowing of heart rate) and hypoxemia (oxygen desaturation) also termed as ABD (Apnea, Bradycardia, and Desaturation) events. Clinicians at Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) are facing the demanding task of assessing the risk of infants based on their physiological signals. The aim of this thesis is to develop a risk stratification algorithm using a machine-learning framework with the features related to pathological fluctuations derived from point process model that will be embedded into the current physiological recording system …

Design Of A Homeopathic Solution For Chronic Cough, Jacob Ziemke

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Chronic cough is most commonly defined as a cough that persists for more than eight weeks and is estimated to affect more than 30 million people in the United States at any given time. Diseases contributing to the onset of chronic cough include asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, postnasal drip, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and bronchitis, and may include lifestyle choices such as smoking. For those who seek medical advice, pharmaceuticals and speech therapy are two common methods of combating chronic cough but serve to mask the symptoms rather than treat the problem; frequently, chronic cough is misdiagnosed or cannot …

Quantification Of Tumor-Associated Macrophages Following Immunomodulation Therapy In A Murine Allograft Model Of Colorectal Carcinoma, Caroline Spainhour

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Colorectal Carcinoma (CRC) is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, with 150,000 new cases annually in the United States. Traditional treatments include chemotherapy and invasive surgery; however, research has shown that only 25% of patients that undergo traditional treatment have a positive result. Immunotherapy is an emerging form of cancer treatment that utilizes the patients’immune system to fight cancer cells by targeting inflammation, which plays a large role in the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are immune cells that affect the inflammatory microenvironment of tumors. TAMs are M1 in the early stages of tumors, …

Use Of Excel Spreadsheet Calculators In Handling Data Generated From Uv- Spectrometer, Mercy Okezue, Kari Clase, Steve Byrn

BIRS Symposium

To ease the complexities of handling data generated from different analytical procedures, validated excel spreadsheet containing relevant formulas are developed to ensure the process of data handling will consistently produce the expected results. This paper introduces the use of Excel spreadsheets in handling data generated from using a UV-Spectrometer in determination of analyte concentration in various dosage forms

Instituting Process Control Mechanisms In A Quality Control Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, Mercy Okezue, Kari Lynn Clase, Stephen Byrn

BIRS Symposium

Statistical Process Control by means of using control charts was a means of monitoring performance of analytical equipment. Quality control checks on test items using these equipment generated data used for plotting X-bar charts. The charts generated had warning and control limits which helped monitor system performance

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 …

Temporal Resolution Of Cell Death Signaling Events Induced By Cold Atmospheric Plasma And Electroporation In Human Cancer Cells, Danielle M. Krug, Prasoon K. Diwakar, Ahmed Hassanein

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Cancer treatment resistance and their invasive and expensive nature is propelling research towards developing alternate approaches to eradicate cancer in patients. Non-thermal, i.e., cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and electroporation (EP) applied to the surface of cancerous tissue are new methods that are minimally invasive, safe, and selective. These approaches, both independently and synergistically, have been shown to deplete cancer cell populations, but the signaling mechanisms of death and their timelines of action are still widely unknown. To better understand the timeframe of signaling events occurring upon treatment, human cancer cell lines were treated with CAP, EP, and combined CAP with …

Engineering Fret Biosensors For Microrna Presence/Absence Analysis, Nicholas E. Larkey, Sean M. Burrows

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

No abstract provided.

Calcium Phosphate As A Key Material For Socially Responsible Tissue Engineering, Vuk Uskoković, Victoria M. Wu

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Socially responsible technologies are designed while taking into consideration the socioeconomic, geopolitical and environmental limitations of regions in which they will be implemented. In the medical context, this involves making therapeutic platforms more accessible and affordable to patients in poor regions of the world wherein a given disease is endemic. This often necessitates going against the reigning trend of making therapeutic nanoparticles ever more structurally complex and expensive. However, studies aimed at simplifying materials and formulations while maintaining the functionality and therapeutic response of their more complex counterparts seldom provoke a significant interest in the scientific community. In this review …

Recognizing Pain Using Novel Simulation Technology, Justin C. Grace

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Effective pain management and time to treatment is essential in patient care. Despite scientific evidence supporting the need to treat pain and an emphasis on addressing pain as a priority, pain management continues to be an unresolved issue. As a member of the health care team, nurses are integral to optimal pain management. Currently, nursing schools have limited innovative or alternative methods for teaching pain assessment and management. Simulation in nursing education provides a unique opportunity to expose students to realistic patient situations and allow them to learn and make mistakes without causing harm. However, modern low- and high-fidelity simulation …

Feasibility Of Using Raman-Based Techniques For Breast Cancer Detection, Sara Mollamohammada

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Breast cancer is one of the common types of cancer among women all over the world. Early diagnosis is an effective way that improve the treatment process and gives the patients a better chance of survival. Many of the patients infected by breast cancer choose breast conservation surgery (BCS). However, some of those will be subjected to mastectomy, and many will have tumor recurrence as there is no precise technique to show the tumor margins. Raman-based methods are powerful techniques with potential to rapidly differentiate normal from tumor tissues and provides a solution to detect tumor margin. This is because …

Initial Validation Of A Novel Method Of Presurgical Language Localization Through Functional Connectivity (Fcmri), Stephanie M. Noble, Dustin Scheinost, Susan Y. Bookheimer, Patricia Walshaw, R Todd Constable, Christopher F. Benjamin

Yale Day of Data

OBJECTIVE: Neurosurgery is potentially curative in chronic epilepsy but can only be offered to patients if the surgical risk to language is known. Clinical functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an ideal, noninvasive method for localizing language cortex yet remains to be validated for this purpose. We have recently presented a novel method for localizing language cortex. Here we present a preliminary evaluation of this method’s validity. We hypothesized language regions identified using this novel method would demonstrate stronger functional connectivity than randomly generated set of proximal networks. METHOD: fMRI data were collected from sixteen temporal lobe patients …

A Non-Invasive Method Of Measuring Respiration While Providing Wireless Power For Rodents With Implantable Devices, Jynx O. Boyne, Daniel J. Pederson, Zhi Wang, Pedro Irazoqui Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Respiratory measurements can be used as diagnostic and research tools. Spirometry is the gold standard for gaining these measurements, but is difficult to use in rodents as it requires an invasive procedure. Total Body Plethysmograpy (TBP) is a non-invasive way to measure respiration rates that does not cause stress to the rodent. In this system, the subject is encased in a solid, constant volume chamber with measurements determining the subject’s respiration. When using TBP in medical or research settings, challenges occur in powering devices within the TBP chamber as wires and other recording equipment compromise the airtightness of the chamber. …

Design And Creation Of A Device To Induce Vergence Eye Movements, Jacob B. Jaminet, Paul A. Wetzel

Undergraduate Research Posters

Automated eye-tracking systems can detect and analyze eye movements as a means to accurately diagnose more than 20 neurological diseases including mild traumatic brain injury. Mild traumatic brain injury is an occurrence of injury to the head resulting from blunt trauma or from acceleration or deceleration forces. Eye movement refers to the voluntary or involuntary movement of the eyes, helping in acquiring, fixating and tracking visual stimuli. There are three types of voluntary eye movement to track objects: smooth pursuit, vergence shifts and saccades. Vergence shifts are eye movements where the eyes move in opposite directions: moving to the midline …

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 …

Nerve Fiber Diameter Measurements Using Hematoxylin And Eosin Staining And Brightfield Microscopy To Assess The Novel Method Of Characterizing Peripheral Nerve Fiber Distributions By Group Delay, Jorge Arturo Vazquez

Master's Theses

Peripheral neuropathies are a set of common diseases that affect the peripheral nervous system, causing damage to vital connections between various parts of the body and the brain and spinal cord. Different clinical conditions are known to selectively impact various size nerve fibers, which often makes it difficult to diagnose which peripheral neuropathy a patient might have. The nerve conduction velocity diagnostic test provides clinically useful information in the diagnosis of some peripheral neuropathies. This method is advantageous because it tends to be minimally invasive yet it provides valuable diagnostic information. However, this test does not determine characteristics of peripheral …

Functional 3-D Cellulose & Nitrocellulose Paper-Based, Multiplex Diagnostic Platforms Without Coupling Agents, Mackenzie Elizabeth Tageson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to demonstrate device functionality of 3-D paper-based, multiplex platforms, µPADs, without the use of coupling agents between layers. Previously, these platforms were fabricated with double-sided tape and cellulose powder to try to augment proper fluid routing, but difficulties with this method occurred. An acrylic housing unit with strategically placed pressure tabs was designed to aid horizontal and vertical fluid routing through the platform, thus eliminating the inconsistencies associated with coupling agents. Channel characterization studies, a COMSOL^TM simulation, and development time studies were performed to aid device design and demonstrate device functionality.

The implementation …

Biomedical Photoacoustic Imaging Using Gas-Coupled Laser Acoustic Detection, Jami Johnson

Student Research Initiative

Several detection methods have been explored for photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging of biological tissues. Piezoelectric transducers are commonly used, which require contact with the sample to be imaged and have limiting bandwidth characteristics. Interferometry detection exhibits improved bandwidth characteristics and resolution, yet generally require complicated optics and the incorporation of a contacting reflective medium. In this paper, we report the use of a noncontact photoacoustic imaging system that does not require the use of a reflective layer. A simple, robust technique known as gas-coupled laser acoustic detection is used, which has previously been applied to evaluation of composite materials. This …

A Knowledge-Based Clinical Toxicology Consultant For Diagnosing Multiple Exposures, Joel D. Schipper, Douglas D. Dankel Ii, A. Antonio Arroyo, Jay L. Schauben

Publications

Objective: This paper presents continued research toward the development of a knowledge-based system for the diagnosis of human toxic exposures. In particular, this research focuses on the challenging task of diagnosing exposures to multiple toxins. Although only 10% of toxic exposures in the United States involve multiple toxins, multiple exposures account for more than half of all toxin-related fatalities. Using simple medical mathematics, we seek to produce a practical decision support system capable of supplying useful information to aid in the diagnosis of complex cases involving multiple unknown substances.

Methods: The system is automatically trained using data mining …

Determining A Method For Rendering Low Cost Cdse(Zns) Core(Shell) Quantum Dots Aqueous Soluble Via Amphiphilic Polymer Wrapping, Patrick Mcbride

Materials Engineering

Herein is described the procedure of two amphiphilic polymer wrapping techniques that may be employed for obtaining aqueous soluble quantum dots (QDs) for use in biological fluorescent imaging applications. The advent of QDs has led to new nanoscale fluorescent materials that exhibit unparalleled quantum yields (QYs), high resistance to photobleaching, tunable emissions, and
absorption over a large optical range. However, the QD synthesis employed here at Cal Poly to obtain bright, photostable CdSe(ZnS) core(shell) QDs involves the use of organic solvents and surfactants, leading to hydrophobic QDs. Since all of biology relies on aqueous solubility, this hydrophobicity creates a major …

An Investigation Into The Noninvasive Assessment Of Bone Density Using Multiplexed Compton Scattered Tomography, Marc J. Sands

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to investigate the application of a Compton scatter imaging technique to measure bone density. A demonstration Multiplexed Compton Scatter Tomograph (MCST) was assembled to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting osteoporosis by modifying a system originally designed to detect hidden corrosion in aluminum aircraft wings. Measurements were performed on an aluminum phantom representing a wrist bone containing varying densities in the center and varying thickness of the cortical shell. The densities in the center are comparable to normal trabecular bone, sixty-percent of normal trabecular bone and a void. The MCST images of the phantom were …