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Department of Biomedical Engineering
Show moreAs COVID-19 continues to spread in our society, wearing face masks have become an integral part of daily life. For users with disabilities, specifically those with hearing impairments, the utilization of face masks creates additional problems. The obstruction of facial and visual expressions from mask wearing poses an increased difficulty in communicating with individuals when lip reading is not accessible; additionally, the elastic straps that hold the mask in place can become entangled or dislodge hearing aids, creating more discomfort for the users. Further, blocking a majority of the face from view makes it harder to see critical vital and life-threatening signs of potential seizures and strokes. While there are some current solutions, many are highly specific, while others are expensive and inefficient. Therefore, this project aims to develop a mask that can alleviate these issues at a more accessible, sustainable, and cost level. The physical and chemical properties of various materials, including hydrophobicity, wettability, and skin biocompatibility, will be evaluated to validate the design. We propose an improved 3-layer mask system with a small clear window through each layer to promote visualization of the mouth and support proper filtration of air flow. A nose pinch will be incorporated to diminish fogging of glasses, as well as a redesigned head strap that repositions the straps away from the ears will prevent the accidental displacement of hearing aids.
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Show moreThis project involves the creation of a nighttime wearable device that can measure heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, temperature, motion, and skin resistivity using sensors placed on the upper and lower arm. Incorporating a wide variety of sensors allows for detection of focal and generalized epilepsy. These sensors will be used to collect data to wirelessly (via Bluetooth) transmit to a separate base station for processing to determine if a seizure has occurred. If a seizure is detected for a specified period of time, the base station can call (via cellular communications) for medical aid to prevent harm to users. Once this device is validated, the technology will help users track seizures better and grant peace of mind if a seizure were to occur.
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Show moreSudden Unexpected Postnatal Collapse (SUPC) is a rare but serious condition defined as the positional occlusion of the airway in term and late preterm infants, and can lead to hypoxia, bradycardia, and unresponsiveness. If SUPC occurs, infants may require cardiopulmonary resuscitation or intensive care with mechanical ventilation, potentially resulting in encephalopathy or death. Neonates are most at risk for SUPC in their first two hours of life, and they remain at risk for seven days. The risk of SUPC is often associated with Skin-to-Skin Contact (SSC), a practice which is encouraged in order to promote emotional bonding between the infant and the caregiver (especially the mother), sustain life, and provide tangible physical health benefits. In order to assist with the detection and management of SUPC, there is a clinical need for a convenient, medically accurate, and affordable wireless device that monitors the biosignals of neonatal infants.
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Show moreHypertension, or high blood pressure, is a public health concern due to both its pervasiveness and the significant risk of disability, stroke, or heart attack that can occur years after high blood pressure is detected. Furthermore, new pandemic statistics suggest that patients with hypertension experience greater health consequences of COVID-19, indicating that the condition is more circumstantially deadly. Occasional visits to a doctor’s office, the most common method to measure blood pressure, only provide a snapshot of a person’s blood pressure and are not an accurate characterization. This is because blood pressure can fluctuate based on daily changes to the user’s environment, nutrition, and emotional state. There is then a need for a personal blood pressure monitoring device, that can increase the frequency of blood pressure measurement while mitigating negative environmental factors. These factors include white coat hypertension and masked hypertension. The MDMouse®, a computer mouse and vital sign monitor hybrid, aims to be an efficient personal device that accurately monitors blood pressure. The mouse will be used by the general public, particularly individuals in workplaces, to be a preventive healthcare device. The current iteration of the device suffers from attenuation in the signal ranges of pre-hypertension and hypertension (SBP>130mmHg), preventing accurate readings in the most critical measurement range. Our focus is mitigating the signal attenuation and increasing the reliability of hypertension detection.
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Show moreEpilepsy, a chronic condition involving recurrent and unprovoked seizures, affects over 50 million individuals globally. Characterized by abnormalbrain activity, these seizures affect the daily functioning of individuals, and increase the risk of further physical, mental, and emotional harm.Traditional treatment options such as invasive brain surgery and anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) do not fully prevent the occurrence of epileptic seizures,can remain ineffective for certain individuals, and can lead to severe adverse effects. To reduce the incidence of serious lifestyle complications, weare proposing a novel design for a daily-use wearable that involves biopotential monitoring, seizure prediction, and an automated acute interventionstrategy to reduce the severity of impending epileptic seizure events. The design context entails a specific focus towards adults experiencing tonic-clonic seizures, the most serious type of generalized seizure. Our design is based on the principle that non-invasively stimulating the vagus nerve canhelp to stabilize abnormal brain activity, an approach that is termed non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS). The overall system consists ofthree main components: the Embrace Watch by Empatica, Empatica’s App for Embrace, and an nVNS device. Empatica’s proprietary, clinicallyvalidated, and FDA-cleared technology and predictive algorithm are integrated into the system to perform the functions of monitoring and predictingpotential epileptic seizures. The nVNS device will generate the appropriate current needed for stimulation of the vagus nerve. The current workinvestigates the feasibility of the nVNS device with respect to internal circuitry, software functionality, and external housing. Validating this portionof the overall design will help establish the validity of this proposed design as a cohesive non-invasive epilepsy management system that reduces thelikelihood of serious lifestyle complications due to epilepsy.
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Show morePeripheral venous catheters (PVCs) are the most used device in hospitals, used for intravenous medication and for drawing blood. It is estimated that over 150 million catheters are inserted into patients each year in the US. About 250,000 patients with PVCs get catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBIs) which are estimated to have a $2.8 billion additional cost nationwide and a 12%-15% mortality rate. It is also estimated that a 1.6% decrease in the incidence of CRBIs would yield a cost savings of $113 per inserted catheter. These statistics denote a clinical need for a reduction of infections caused by PVCs, saving money, and more importantly, the lives of patients. These infections are most commonly caused by contamination at the catheter hub. There is only 40% adherence to current sanitization procedures, which call for the hub to be swabbed with an alcohol wipe and wait for the isopropyl alcohol to evaporate before administering treatment.
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Show moreThe current benchmark for measuring stress in the intensive care unit (ICU) is the perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ). Validated by a large population of in-patients, the PSQ is a self-reported questionnaire used in clinical and laboratory settings for assessing stressful circumstances that typically exacerbate disease symptoms. However, clinicians and nurses operating in the ICU could benefit from a more efficient system for measuring the stress of admitted patients. Monitoring physiological markers for the degree of stress can aid clinicians in providing accurate and effective treatment methods to benefit the health condition and alleviate the stress of the patient. The proposed wearable device measures galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate (HR) in real time, which are input to a machine-learning algorithm that models patient stress as a latent variable to be predicted. Upon securing the device to the patient, the microprocessor transmits the acquired GSR and HR signal data to an external device for analysis and interpretation. The device is unique in its ability to discriminate false positive stress obtained exclusively from HR by integrating GSR into the stress metric. Comparison matrices were used to evaluate the merits of several conceptual designs. From this analysis, a ring that measures GSR via electrode and HR via optical techniques was selected. For the fall semester of 2020, the scope of prototyping will include (1) creating a functional Arduino-based circuit with integrated GSR and HR sensors capable of detecting the two aforementioned biosignals from the finger of a subject; (2) conducting research to establish a theoretical basis for the machine-learning algorithm design; (3) and completing software design documentation, including IEEE Std 830-1998 and 1016-2009, which shall serve as references in the spring semester of 2021 during implementation.
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Show moreGastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a hazardous clinical condition often resulting in morbidities and mortality in patients. After diagnosis, treatment options include administering proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), embolic agents to aid in the breakdown of the clots. At the same time, hemostasis can also be achieved using targeted endoscopic techniques and hemostatic forceps. During the procedure, the blood clots and other fibrous material are removed from the GI tract via suction from the endoscope instrument. However, this process is not overly effective with regard to removing the clots from the GI tract since the clots often cause blockages in the suction tubing of the endoscope and are not readily or easily suctioned. The objective of this project is to design a device to enhance the removal of such clots. The device under design as a result of this work consists of a small, conical, morcellating head to mechanically break up and aspirate the clots via a controlled oscillating movement before evacuation. The morcellating head will be encapsulated within a cone sheath to protect the GI tissue from damage. Furthermore, the device is operated through controls integrated with a conventional endoscope, allowing for ease of use and safety when operating the morcellating head as intended. Moreover, the device will attach to the endoscope’s main accessory channel and will be disposable to reduce the risk of cross-contamination between surgeries. Overall, the device aims to efficiently remove blood clots from the GI tract by minimizing the risk damage to living tissue.
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