2023 Projects
High Throughput Screening of Cardiomyopathy in 3D Engineered Tissues
Mentor: Francisco Sanchez
Department: Photonics
Project Description: The project would involve using our 96 well-plate platform with microtugs to assess tissues from cells produced by the Adam Helms lab. We will compare results measured on our high throughput platform with those measured with Helms’ 2D micropatterning muscle bundle system. The Helms group will thaw and transduce the iPSC-CMs at UM, re-freeze, then ship, so they’d be directly ready for making tissues
Continue reading about the project.
Coupled Oscillator Simulations
Mentor: Ian Bouche
Department: Materials Science and Engineering
Project Description: The Bishop lab is building a new highly-sensitive force sensor, based on a technology called coupled oscillators. During this RET project, I hope to have Nahuel help make simulations of the working principle behind these new sensors, to better understand the design space in preparation for the creation of the first prototypes.
Continue reading about the project.
Automated Hybrid Manufacturing of Electrical Objects
Mentor: Kayla Wolfe
Program: RET
Project Description: The overall goal of this project is to implement hybrid manufacturing capabilities into an automated assembly line at BU and to develop a lab manual that enables students to utilize this new capability. The Automated Design and Manufacturing Laboratory (ADML) is an automated assembly line located in BU’s Engineering Product Innovation Center that serves as the lab component for a couple of courses at BU on automated and advanced manufacturing. Currently the ADML is limited to milling and robotic assembly but recent efforts have been made to add other forms of manufacturing. This RET project will focus on fulfilling this work with the application of automated hybrid manufacturing of 3D electronic objects. The project will be finalized by writing a lab manual that takes the students through the design, programming, and manufacturing process and assesses the learning outcomes.
Continue reading about the project.
Electrochemical Biosensing of Neurofilaments
Department: Photonics Business Innovation Center
Project Description: Our research lab, in Boston University Photonics Center’s Business Innovation Center, is focused on the development of new diagnostic tests to support personalized therapeutic strategies for patients suffering from neurological conditions. Given the increasingly decentralized nature of healthcare and clinical trials, in part accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for easy-to-use, cost-effective remote monitoring tools in near-patient settings. To address this unmet need, we are focused on developing an electrochemical-based microfluidic platform to bridge the gap between multiple-biomarker strategies—that are more optimistic with complex, multifactorial diseases/conditions like Multiple Sclerosis—and their implementation as a part of routine clinical care/trials. Our platform—based on novel electrochemical sensing technology developed at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute—selectively detects protein biomarkers captured by antibodies that are coupled to a nano-composite coating on the electrode surface. The goal of this project will be to characterize binding interactions on the surface of a biosensor designed to detect neurofilament protein biomarkers for Multiple Sclerosis. Researchers working on this project will learn about the application of protein biomarkers for neurological conditions and some of the interdisciplinary challenges associated with developing near-patient diagnostics.
Continue reading about the project.
Robotic Stabilization for Beating Heart Procedures
Mentor: Jacob Rogatinsky
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Project Description: The RET will assist the Ph.D. lead in developing a multifunctional robotic platform for beating heart surgery.
The robotic platform is capable of stabilizing against large blood vessels that lead into the heart and guiding surgical instruments toward a target anatomical structure.
Specifically, the RET will take charge of the re-design and fabrication of the platform’s stabilization component, making it better suited to navigation through curved blood vessels. This will require them to learn Autodesk AutoCAD and fabrication equipment and processes. Additionally, the RET will work on automating the deployment of the stabilization component through motor integration and force feedback via pressure sensors. The RET will then design and conduct tests in conjunction with the Ph.D. lead to validate the device’s mechanical and functional properties.
Continue reading about the project.
Characterizing Flow Through Cylindrical Constriction Devices
Mentor: Oliver McRae
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Project Description: When blood flows through a constriction, red blood cells within the whole blood can become damaged (hemolysis). This project involves the study of fluid dynamics through cylindrical constriction devices. A glycerol-water mixture, designed to mimic the behavior of human blood, will be driven by a syringe pump through the constriction device. A high precision load cell, adapted for use with the pump, is employed to measure the force, and thereby the pressure inside the syringe. The project further encompasses the use of computational fluid dynamics (COMSOL) to model the flow within the constriction device, comparing these simulations with experimental results. The project will then proceed to computationally simulate human blood as the working fluid. This will offer insights into the experiences of red blood cells traversing the device, thereby contributing to the larger goal of accurately modeling hemolysis in fluid flows.
Continue reading about the project.