Browsing by Subject "Institute for Engineering in Medicine"

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    Using Virtual Reality Environments for Medical Devices Design
    (2009-10-07) Konchada, Vamsi; Coffey, Dane; Borazjani, Iman; Sotiropoulos, Fotis; Erdman, Arthur; Interrante, Victoria; Keefe, Daniel F.
    There is an urgent need for improved design methodologies and tools that give designers meaningful and accurate feedback early in the design process; virtual reality can be used to fill this need.  Virtual reality provides a highly engaging environment that allows user to experience and comprehend abstract concepts.  It can allow designers to broadly explore the space of potential design alternatives, and to expand the boundaries of complex designs that are possible given today's computer assisted tools.  Medical device researchers seek to better understand the complexities of cardiac anatomy, visualize how surrounding structures affect device function and deployment, and ultimately design more effective devices. Virtual representation combines visual graphics, virtual reality applications, finite element analysis based on the architecture of a 3D model. Introducing virtual reality based tools into the process of medical device design can significantly improve the process. We present our initial work aimed at developing new immersive visualization and interactive design tools for improving the medical device design process. Our initial work focuses on developing 3-dimensional visualizations of simulated blood flow through mechanical heart valves. Our goal is to develop 3D user interfaces for refining medical device designs within the context of patient-specific anatomy and simulated flow data.
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    Using δ-Opioid Receptor Agonists to Protect Skeletal Muscle against Low pH Hypoxic Damage
    (2010-03-31) Tetzner, Melissa A.
    During many surgical procedures, tissue experiences a period of ischemia which can cause stunning, apoptosis, and necrosis of the tissue. By minimizing this damage, procedural outcomes and patient recovery could be improved. It is unclear as to whether opioid receptor agonists demonstrate protective properties against ischemic injury or not. It is thought that δ-agonists could be beneficial while κ-agonists could be detrimental. Even less is known about μ-agonists. Previous in vitro models that have addressed ischemia/reperfusion injury utilize buffering systems which maintain a constant pH of 7.4. This is not the most accurate representation of ischemia as it does not account for the drop in tissue pH caused by the buildup of metabolic wastes. By creating a high CO2 hypoxic event, thus lowering the pH to 6.5, our model was better able to mimic real-life ischemic conditions.