Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

​ ​When first learning to play a wind instrument, beginner musicians are taught how to hold their instrument and correctly position their body. They are taught how to sit, where to put their hands and fingers on the keys, and how to hold their arms. This initial lesson on posture and hand positioning is often short, as one quickly moves on to learn the embouchure and breathing techniques that allow sound to be produced. As a musician progresses in skill, positioning is emphasized more, and they learn that it can affect their risk of strain or injury and improve their sound quality. Throughout a musician’s lifetime, one may often find themselves in pain in one area of their body or another. This can normally be prevented by modifying or correcting their body in an optimal position to play as well as to prevent strain and pain. Common points of pain for a musician include the neck, shoulders, lower back, and wrists, depending on the type of instrument and other variables. Musicians ha...

Introduction. In medically refractory Parkinson’s disease (PD) deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective therapeutic tool. Postimplantation MRI is important in assessing tissue damage and DBS lead placement accuracy. We wanted to identify which MRI sequence can detect DBS leads with smallest artifactual signal void, allowing better tissue/electrode edge conspicuity.Methods. Using an IRB approved protocol 8 advanced PD patients were imaged within MR conditional safety guidelines at low RF power (SAR ≤ 0.1 W/kg) in coronal plane at 1.5T by various sequences. The image slices were subjectively evaluated for diagnostic quality and the lead contact diameters were compared to identify a sequence least affected by metallic leads.Results and Discussion. Spin echo and fast spin echo based low SAR sequences provided acceptable image quality with comparable image blooming (enlargement) of stimulator leads. The mean lead diameters were2.2±0.1 mm for 2D,2.1±0.1 mm for 3D, and4.0±0.2 mm for 3D...

A Mini-Fluidics system was designed to facilitate the muscle growth of the Zebra
Fish embryos. This experimental device is made of peristaltic pump, inflow/outflow
manifolds, fluid storage tank, series of valves and flexible pipes and the main plate with six
mini channels. These closed channels provide pathways for an extremely laminar flow. The
Zebra Fish embryos are placed in the channels and exposed to the forces present in the
fluid.

In glioma surgery, Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) fluorescence may identify residual tumor that could be resected while minimizing damage to normal brain. We demonstrate that improved sensitivity for wide-field spectroscopic fluorescence imaging is achieved with minimal disruption to the neurosurgical workflow using an electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) relative to a state-of-the-art CMOS system. In phantom experiments the EMCCD system can detect at least two orders-of-magnitude lower PpIX. Ex vivo tissue imaging on a rat glioma model demonstrates improved fluorescence contrast compared with neurosurgical fluorescence microscope technology, and the fluorescence detection is confirmed with measurements from a clinically-validated spectroscopic probe. Greater PpIX sensitivity in wide-field fluorescence imaging may improve the residual tumor detection during surgery with consequent impact on survival.