Principal Investigator
Courses
BME 262/462 - Cell and Tissue Engineering
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester
Spring Semester, 4 Cr.
Course Instructor
Course Description: This course teaches the principles of modern cell and tissue engineering with a focus on understanding the fundamental interactions between cells and their environment and an emphasis on the concepts relevant to the practice of cell and tissue engineering. The course covers the following modules: Elements of Embryonic Development and Tissue Healing in Tissue Engineering; Mammalian Cells (growth, differentiation, gene transcription and translation; and in vitro culture); Cell-Tissue Interactions (types of tissues and extracellular matrix constituents); Biomaterials (classification, properties, surface treatment, and host-induced foreign body response); Diffusion & Mass Transport Issues in Tissue Engineering (Drug delivery and Oxygenation); Cell Signaling and Signal Transduction Pathways; Cell and Tissue Mechanics; and Novel Concepts in Tissue Engineering (Bioreactor Technologies, Gene Therapy, and Stem Cells).
More info and to access the course material can be found on the URMC Blackboard.
BME 101 Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester
Guest Lecturer
Topic: Introduction to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Lecture Description: This lecture serves as a first introduction of the BME freshman class to the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The lecture reviews the principles of tissue engineering and provides exciting examples of advances in stem cells and biomaterials in creating viable artificial tissues and treating hereditary diseases. The lectures are complemented with illustrative schematics and video animations.
BME 295/296 - Senior Design
Spring Semester, 4 Cr.
Course Description: The Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Program (BME 295/296) at the University of Rochester introduces students to a systematic, customer-driven design and problem solving approach resulting in development of prototype medical devices or research instruments.
Supervised Projects:
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ViscQuik
A device to remove the variability involved in manually mixing thickened liquids to be consumed by patients with dysphagia (2013).
Customer:
Jessie Preston, Unity Health System,
Student Team:
Paula Aronson, Peter Carlile, Jamie Gaewsky, Alexander Hance, Danny Lee
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VasoTech Systems
VasoTech Systems aims to create a physical, physiologically accurate model of the lower leg vasculature to be used as a research tool for evaluating clinical interventions for Peripheral Arterial Disease. (2011).
Customer:
Ankur Chandra, M.D., , Dept of Vascular Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center
Student Team:
Adam Kozak, Emily Robbins, Ryan Staupe, Kelli Summers
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Contact Lens Testing
A device to assess materials properties of hydrogel contact lenses (2010).
Customer:
Dr. Ian G. Cox, Bausch & Lomb
Student Team:
Emma Moran, Alex Ringo, Tom Seidl, Nick Vavalle
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PolyNet Technology
The characterization and delivery of a shape-memory polymer as a motion-preserving replacement for a lumbar intervertebral disc (2009).
Customer:
Mitchell Anthamatten, Ph.D. , Department of Chemical Engineering, UR
Student Team:
Cheryl Blechman, Woojin Han, Alvin Lomibao, Charity Wallace
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Soft Tissue ViscoElasticity
Cyclic shear testing to characterize (2008).
Customer:
Steve McAleavey, Biomedical Engineering
Student Team:
Carl Brown, Daniel Gloekler, James Ng
The Problem:
Currently, the most effective method of determining the diseased state of a liver is by invasive biopsy. Changes in the viscoelastic properties of the liver can also indicate the disease status, but the technology for measuring those changes needs to be developed. Dr. Stephen McAleavey’s research on high-frequency ultrasound offers a non-invasive and inexpensive characterization of liver tissue, but there are no devices that can provide validation at those frequencies.
The Solution:
The prototype attempts to characterize the viscoelastic properties of a phantom up to the 2 kHz operating frequency. The sample will be positioned between a two platens, with a moving platen mounted on a low fricton ball slide assembly and a stationary stage. The bottom platen is set on a platform and will be oscillated by an amplified speaker. The displacement of the stage will be measured with a constructed capacitive sensor, in which two copper plates are positioned facing each other; one on the side of the bottom platen and the other affixed to the platform. The shear force on the sample was intended to be measured with strain gauges in a double bridge, which would be top mounted perpendicular to the top platen. These displacement and shear force measurements would provide the shear modulus of the phantom, and allow for calibration of the high-frequency ultrasound. While the prototype will not successfully measure the shear modulus of the phantom, the team believes that with continued progress and incorporating our design improvement suggestions the desired outcome can ultimately be achieved.
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Dex Innovations
An Accessible Medication Dispenser (2006).
Dex Innovations – Team Website
Customer:
RERC Accessible Medical Device Competition
Student Team:
Daniel Boyar, Jaymi Della, Ut-Binh Giang, Sally Jensen
The Problem:
Knowing that an extensive market exists for the wide range of available medication dispensers on the market, we have designed and built a moderately priced prototype to dispense medications. The Dex, an accessible medication dispenser, is designed to increase the independence of users who take multiple medications daily and to assist caregivers in distributing multiple medications. The Dex can be used in either a home or small clinical setting. The focus of the design lies in the accessibility features for the end users. The device has two different means of alerting the end user of dosing time and the retrieval area of the medications is easily accessible. A modified pill-cutter also comes with The Dex to assist individuals who need to cut their medications into either halves or quarters.
The Solution:
The Dex consists of six modular units that each contain twenty-seven dosages of a medication, thus lasting for approximately a week for a medication needed to be taken three times a day. Because the Dex is specifically designed for persons with the previously listed disabilities and diseases, it incorporates greater accessibility options. However, the Dex does rely on an individual to stock the device by placing a pill into all individual compartments and to enter the drug information and dosage times. When used in a home setting, the family or caregiver for the direct user will need to decide who will stock the device; in a nursing home or assisted living facility, an employee will act as the stocker in the user's residence.
Orthopaedic Residents Basic Science Conference
Department of Orthopaedics, University of Rochester Medical Center
Guest Lecturer
Topic: Biomaterials for Orthopaedic Applications
Lecture Description: As part of the basic science education of Orthopaedic residents, this lecture is an introduction to the basics of biomaterial science and mechanics of materials as it applies to commonly used materials for orthopaedic prosthesis.
Orthopaedic Residents Basic Science Conference
Department of Orthopaedics, University of Rochester Medical Center
Guest Lecturer
Topic: Basic Orthopaedic Biomechanics
Lecture Description: As part of the basic science education of Orthopaedic residents, this lecture is an introduction to the basics of biomechanics of joints and mechanics of materials as it applies to biological tissues such as bone and cartilage.
PTH 510 – Pathways of Human Disease
Department of Pathology, University of Rochester Medical Center
Guest Lecturer
Topic: Cartilage and Bone Biomechanics
Lecture Description: This 90 minute lecture and laboratory demonstration is designed to educate non-engineering graduate students about structure-function relationships in load bearing skeletal tissues such as cartilage and bone, and basic biomechanical principles as they apply to these tissues in the context of common diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, respectively.
Recent Publications
- (2013 May 01). Engineering superficial zone features in tissue engineered cartilage. Biotechnol Bioeng. 110, 1476-86.
- (2013 Apr 09). Comparison of an All-Inside Suture Technique With Traditional Pull-Out Suture and Suture Anchor Repair Techniques for Flexor Digitorum Profundus Attachment to Bone. J Hand Surg Am. In press.
- (2013 Mar 01). PTH-enhanced structural allograft healing is associated with decreased angiopoietin-2-mediated arteriogenesis, mast cell accumulation, and fibrosis. J Bone Miner Res. 28, 586-97.
