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Description
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms are revolutionizing the field of healthcare by offering new opportunities for improved diagnosis and treatment planning. These technologies have the potential to transform the way medical professionals approach patient care by analyzing vast amounts of data, identifying patterns, and making predictions. This overview highlights the current state of research and development in the field of AI and ML for diagnosis and treatment planning, as well as explore the ethical benefits and challenges associated with their implementation.
ContributorsShankar, Kruthy (Author) / Arquiza, Jose (Thesis director) / Sobrado, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
DescriptionNavigating Germany is a website for STEM students at ASU that provides resources regarding academic and research opportunities in Germany. The project includes essential information, practical tips, and cultural insights to help students effectively navigate academic, social, and logistical aspects of life in Germany.
ContributorsHelfrich, Bayley (Author) / Murphy, Megan (Co-author) / Reves, Christiane (Thesis director) / Sadowski-Smith, Claudia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Transcription factors play a crucial role in gene expression regulation, directly interpreting the genome to influence cellular functions and processes. Understanding Transcriptional Regulatory Networks (TRNs) provides insights into gene expression dynamics and regulatory mechanisms, critical for comprehending biological processes and disease states. Through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), analyzing gene expression at single-cell resolution offers opportunities to elucidate cellular heterogeneity and expression at a higher resolution. This paper presents preliminary validation of scRegNet, a novel network inference pipeline designed for single-cell transcriptomic data analysis, integrating correlative and causal inference methods to construct TRNs. Here, the pipeline incorporates Pearson correlation and Granger causality testing along with a comprehensive TF-target gene database and trajectory inference algorithms. We demonstrate scRegNet's efficacy using a mouse pancreatic endocrinogenesis dataset, identifying key TFs associated with endocrine cell differentiation. Comparison with literature-based TFs validates scRegNet's accuracy, while novel TFs offer hypotheses for further experimental validation. Our results reveal benefits of integrating multiple causal inference methods and trajectory analyses for robust TRN inference across unique datasets. This study highlights scRegNet's potential as a versatile tool for deciphering gene regulatory mechanisms in diverse biological contexts, paving the way for future applications in single-cell transcriptomic research.
ContributorsBakall Loewgren, Emma (Author) / Plaisier, Christopher (Thesis director) / Lewis, Erika (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This thesis project explores the US healthcare landscape to describe and explain some of the defining trends and models in use today, and discusses how they might be improved. Specifically, it focuses on the areas of healthcare delivery and payment and aims to answer the question: “What does healthcare delivery and payment currently look like in the United States, and why isn’t it working?”
ContributorsBillingsley, Grace (Author) / Cortese, Denis (Thesis director) / Smoldt, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
As the need for whole heart transplantation to treat heart failure grows faster than the supply,
alternative methods are in increasing demand. Transplantation of cardiomyocytes to replace
injured myocardium after MI has shown promise. Myocardium is notoriously ineffective at
proliferating after switching from hyperplastic to hypertrophic growth. FOXM1 has been
established as having a strong role in cell cycle regulation in cancerous tumors and
cardiomyocytes, and these experiments show the relationship between FOXM1 and
iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte proliferation and attempt to improve a treatment option for heart
failure through manipulation of this gene. Our experiment concludes that FOXM1 knockout
increases iPSC-CM cell proliferation, and can be further explored to better increase
cardiomyocyte proliferation.
ContributorsKresin, Zachary (Author) / Hatfield, Jax (Co-author) / Weaver, Jessica (Thesis director) / Tang, Ling (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Stroke survivors must overcome motor deficits that greatly impede their balancing ability, thus stunting their independence and overall quality of life. Robot-aided rehabilitation is a new approach to balance therapy presenting notable advantages in efficiency, precision, and consistency. Prior studies have demonstrated the success of visual feedback, force plates, surface perturbations, and compliant surfaces in improving balance control for people with neuromuscular disorders. However, this study is the first to investigate the effect of incorporating each aspect into a stroke balance training program. The side-specific robotic platforms used could generate perturbations while also simulating compliant surfaces. During the 6-week study, 2 subjects each completed 9, 2-hour long training sessions, along with a clinical pre- and post-assessment. Subjects utilized visual feedback of center of pressure and weight distribution to strive for successful balance, and the platforms perturbed if balance was maintained for a sufficient time period. To increase training difficulty, platform stiffness decreased with increased performance. Improvements in functional postural balance for both subjects were demonstrated by the Berg Balance Scale, Mini-BESTest, Timed 10-Meter Walk Test, and 5 Times Sit-to-Stand Test. Decreases in Time to Perturb and Time to Stabilize were suggestive of improved dynamic postural balance. Decreased platform stiffness indicated sustained improvements in increasingly challenging environments, and a 3-month follow up revealed retained functional balance improvements. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of patient-adaptive perturbation-based robotic training on compliant surfaces in improving postural balance for chronic stroke patients.
ContributorsOleen, Ellory (Author) / Lee, Hyunglae (Thesis director) / Hwang, Seunghoon (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Industrial, Systems & Operations Engineering Prgm (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This thesis project was inspired by healthcare disparities between rural and urban communities. This topic was operationalized in this paper through a comparison of dental care access in rural and urban areas of both Panama and Arizona. The significance and origin of the research were first introduced, followed by a literature review to establish baseline care access information in each of the locations. The methods of the research conducted include on-site observational data collection as well as patient interviews and conversations summarized by thematic analysis. Data showed different primary barriers to care in each location with an emphasis on geographic and policy variables. The results were discussed in terms of the factors identified as contributing to the disparities in access between the rural and urban communities in each location, and further, through a comparison of these disparities and their root causes, between Panama and Arizona. Recommendations were detailed for steps to continue this study and expand its scope, as well as suggested measures to minimize the access disparities faced by rural communities.
ContributorsMartinez, Jacob (Author) / Kizer, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Maupin, Jonathan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This thesis investigates the impact of extended use of exoskeletal boots on fatigue levels during physical activity. The study examines the effects of exoskeletal boots on physiological responses, including heart rate, R-R intervals, VO2 levels, and walking durations, compared to conditions without the boots. Participants underwent walking tasks while wearing the boots and performed physiological assessments. Results indicate that exoskeletal boots may mitigate fatigue and enhance endurance, as evidenced by longer walking durations and potentially reduced metabolic demand compared to conditions without the boots. Furthermore, analysis of heart rate and R-R interval data suggests modulation of autonomic nervous system activity with the use of exoskeletal boots. These findings offer insights into the potential benefits of exoskeletal boots in reducing fatigue and improving performance during prolonged physical activity, with implications for various domains including sports, rehabilitation, and military applications. Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and optimize the utilization of exoskeletal boots for enhancing human performance and well-being.
ContributorsByrne, Emily (Author) / Lockhart, Thurmon (Thesis director) / Arquiza, J.M.R. Apollo (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
For the last two decades, a consistent statistic in the United States is that one out of every six people report experiencing at least one migraine every three months. The Neural Microsystems Laboratory at Arizona State University has developed a wireless implantable neurostimulator (WINS), which they believe can be used to treat these widespread, episodic attacks. This device is about the size of a grain of rice and contains micro circuitry that generates an electric current when exposed to ultrasound. One problem facing the lab is that there is no process to place the WINS inside of the human body. For this Honors Thesis/Creative Project, I invented a tool that can be used to inject the WINS into the body, while addressing key issues of positioning, repositioning, and orientation. After testing was conducted on an artificial skin model and imaged with an optical microscope, the implantation tool proved to be successful. The tool made it easy to inject the WINS perpendicular to an artificial occipital nerve for every trial of the testing, also maintaining a proper alignment of the device so that it could receive maximum exposure to external ultrasound. Successful testing of this prototype shows that it is ready to be redesigned for mass production so that it can deliver the WINS to as many victims of migraine attacks as possible.
ContributorsVoeller, Oscar (Author) / Muthuswamy, Jitendran (Thesis director) / Towe, Bruce (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
In the study of brain development, culturing cells at atmospheric oxygen levels is the norm despite oxygen levels being much lower in the developing brain. Instead of culturing cells at 1-8% oxygen, the concentration of oxygen in tissues throughout the body, cell culture models are typically modeled at 20% atmospheric oxygen. My research evaluates metabolic changes in organoids cultured at 20% O2, 8% O2, and the influence of a reactive oxygen species (ROS) inhibitor, N-Acetyl-L-cysteine.
ContributorsNguyen, Tran (Author) / Andrews, Madeline (Thesis director) / Beeman, Scott (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05