Biomedical Engineering
Faculty in the Biomedical Engineering research group use engineering techniques and technologies to address needs within the medical and healthcare industries. Opportunities for education and research exist in areas such as biomechanics, biomaterials, biochemical processing, cellular engineering, imaging, medical devices, micro-electro-mechanical implantable systems, physiological modeling, simulation, monitoring and control, as well as medical robotics.
The faculty group includes Mu Chiao, Peter Cripton, Dana Grecov, Antony Hodgson, Thomas Oxland, Srikantha Phani, Robert Rohling, Boris Stoeber, Machiel Van Der Loos, and David Wilson. Some of the projects currently underway are outlined below.
Dr. Mu Chiao — Bio-MEMS
Current Projects: Micro-energy sources, protein-MEMS interaction, MEMS-based photonic devices, design, and fabrication and packing of MEMS for biological applications.
Dr. Agnes d’Entremont — Biomechanics
Current Projects: Ongoing research into hip and knee biomechanics, including advanced MRI imaging of joint kinematics, loading and cartilage properties, including weight bearing MRI; 3D joint shape and range of motion analysis; and the application of shape, range of motion, and cartilage health measures to childhood joint disorders.
Dr. Dana Grecov — Biofluids
Current Projects: Design of new lubricants and biolubricants, rheostructural and hydrodynamic study of synovial fluid.
Dr. Antony J. Hodgson — Medical Robotics, Biomechanics
Developing tools for computer-assisted orthopaedic surgery based on phase-processing of 3D ultrasound images to provide realtime 3D imaging information and on mini-robotic devices to enhance accuracy and shorten surgical time; designing a 3D scale model of the human eye to study sensorimotor issues; comparing surgical motor performance in simulators and the live operating room to validate simulators.
Dr. Hongshen Ma — Microfluidics and Biomedical Device Design
Current Projects: Microfluidic cell sorting by mechanical deformability, low-cost malaria detection device, microfluidic cell sorting by dielectrophoresis, magnetic endotracheal tube sensor, electrical impedance myography.
Dr. Thomas Oxland — Orthopaedics
Current Projects: Enhancing the understanding, diagnostics, and treatment of musculoskeletal problems such as joint reconstruction, fracture fixation, spinal surgery, and athletic injuries, investigating revision hip replacement and spine fixation strategies, enhancing the outcome of spinal cord injured patients by evaluating treatment options in a patient customized computer model, and biomechanical behavior of orthopaedic implants, and surgical procedures.
Dr. Srikantha Phani — Biomedical Implants
Current Projects: the mechanics of stents and stentgrafts, and the mechanics of biomedical implants
Dr. Robert N. Rohling — Medical Imaging, Biomedical Devices
Current Projects: New acquisition techniques for 2D and 3D ultrasound, medical image processing, medical image guidance systems, and navigating very large medical image datasets. Applications in diagnostics, anesthesia, surgery, and radiation therapy.
Dr. Boris Stoeber — MEMS, Microfluidics
Current Projects: Flow control in microfluidic devices, complex microflows, microflow characterization methods, micro-optical devices, biomedical microdevices, and sensor technology.
Dr. Machiel Van der Loos — Medical Robotics
Current Projects: Development of mechatronic exercise systems for movement therapy and diagnostic technologies for improved sleep quality; research into human-robot interaction, the neurophysiology of standing balance and the field of roboethics.
Dr. David R. Wilson — Sports Medicine
Current Projects: Understanding health and injured knee mechanics and motion, exploring links between bone architecture, joint mechanics, and cartilage degeneration.
Dr. Lyndia C. Wu – Biomedical Devices, Injury Biomechanics
Current projects: human mild traumatic brain injury mechanisms, wearable inertial sensors, wearable electrophysiology sensors, human data mining and machine learning.