BMESSENGER Winter 2015 - Biomedical Engineering

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Letter from
the Editor
Hello everyone and welcome to BMESSENGER’s Winter 2015 Issue!
What a great quarter it has been! Not only do we boast record amounts
of members, we kicked things off with our very first Medical
Make-a-thon (read more about it inside!), helped spread knowledge of
Biomedical Engineering through our Outreach program, and held some really fun events for our
members!
Winter quarter is the heart of the school year, and you’ll see that this issue highlights the true heart of
BMES: providing something wonderful for our members and our community! Included in this newsletter
is an article on our very successful Medical Make-a-thon, World News on Biomedical Engineering, our
Outreach events this quarter, and a testimonial from your fellow colleague on how amazing BMES
has been for her. We really hope you enjoyed your quarter as much as we have!
So what are you waiting for? Get that page turning!
As always, if you are interested in writing for the newsletter, contact me at pdomondon@ucdavis.edu!
Cheers,
Philip Domondon
Editor-in-Chief
Medical Make-a-thon
by Nazia Podana
On January 18-19 2015, the Biomedical Engineering Society
(BMES at UC Davis) held an event for students to collaborate in groups
and design a medical device within 30 hours. The purpose of this device
was to help veterinary pathologists study bats with White Nose Syndrome.
White Nose Syndrome is a growing disease affecting hibernating bats in
caves. Fungus develops around their bodies due to the cold, eventually
leading to the bats’ death. Veterinary pathologists needed a steady device
that would be able to collect biopsy samples from the bats’ wings and then
later taken to a laboratory setting for histology studies. In collaboration
with BMES, the clients, Dr. Kevin Keel and Dr. Barbara Shock from the
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, presented this challenge to students at the Medical Make-A-Thon.
There were a total of 60 student participants who grouped together to form 12 different teams. The
competition began early on a Saturday morning, where the participants checked in at 8 am. After
breakfast, the students began fiercely brainstorming potential solutions. Throughout this brainstorm
process, many representatives from industry came to observe and mentor the students at work. One of
the main objectives of this hackathon-type event was not only to push the students to use
computer-aided design (CAD), but also to have them learn the design cycle process and communicate
well with their clients. Several diverse industries were present at the event to see this: Genentech,
Boston Scientific, Shockwave Technologies, Think Surgical, Hantel Technologies, Alto Scientific, and other
private consultants.
Finally after working throughout the day, every group finalized a design at 5pm. Teams were then
given 5 minutes to present their CAD files to judges and explain the function of their proposed device
design. After the presentations, the judges chose 4 out of the 12 groups to move on to the manufacturing
phase, where the 4 chosen teams were able to utilize the TEAM Design, Prototyping, and Fabrication
Facilities 3D printers and laser cutter to create their device. The manufacturing phase began at 7pm at
night, and the 4 teams worked all night to manufacture the final device product. However, the
competition was not over for the remaining groups. Every team still needed to create a PowerPoint to
present their knowledge of the problem, ability to make changes after feedback, and show off their
completed design.
On the second day at 11am, the participants submitted their final presentations. After presentation
submissions, the four groups left for the veterinary medical school to test their devices on real bat wings
to verify that the device actually punctures and was able to take samples. After the verification phase,
every team presented their design and why it would be efficient for collecting samples. Finally, at 3pm the
presentations were over and the award ceremony began. Multiple awards were given; Most Creative to
Team SJSU, Highest Potential to Team Wayne Enterprise, two Honorable Mentions for the USC Travelers
and Team Vaphio, and Best Overall Design. That award went to a group called Team N.A.S.A.L., who
completed a manufactured design. The winning device was an outstanding device that mimicked the
structure of a hand held piercing gun. With the winning device the user should be able to use the device
with only one hand to collect samples from bat wings.
Team Life Spiral
in the Prototyping
Facility with their
finished Product
The outcome of the event was thrilling. One
student, Natalya Shelby, who was part of the
best overall team describe the event as
"a unique experience for everyone involved;
for students like myself it was an excellent
opportunity to not only apply skills that
we've been learning in our classes, but also
gain experience solving a real world problem
with realistic constraints. I was lucky enough
to be a part of the winning team, so we also
got to use the TEAM facilities to manufacture
a finished product. Our device was loosely
based on a piercing gun, and it was the only
Congratulations to Team N.A.S.A.L., overall Winner!
prototype to successfully pierce the bat wing
when we did testing after manufacturing. It was an incredible experience to work alongside so many other talented
students and see all the amazing designs that were produced in such a short amount of time. I can't wait to see what
will come out of next year's Make-A-Thon!"
Team Life Spiral
The Fun-gis
Best Overall Winning Design! By Team N.A.S.A.L.
The USC Travelers
Event Highlight: Suture Clinic
by Jon Chen
Suturing is a skill usually associated with surgeons rather than engineers, but during the Suture Clinic
a dozen of us BME’s were lucky enough to get suturing lessons from real professionals. We learned
the basics from professionals from the UCDMC, who were informative and extremely helpful teachers.
They taught us about the types of needles and the different materials used for thread. They also
explained in detail how to use specific suturing techniques for different types of lacerations, and
how wound healing and aesthetics are affected for different parts of the body.
Even better, all of us got hands-on experience! We practiced suturing on severed pigs’ feet, because
pig tissue is very similar to human tissue. We quickly realized that suturing looks deceptively easy.
Making perfect sutures takes plenty of repeated practice, but I’d say it’s relatively easy to master
compared to something like brain surgery. For me, tying knots was probably the hardest part at
first, but an hour later I had managed to reconnect a severed tendon. By the end of the clinic I
think everyone understood the basics.
Suturing is an essential part of medical treatments, and is easy to pick up with practice. Anyone with
an opportunity to learn should definitely go for it! It might be useful in a zombie apocalypse.
A Glimpse of BMES
at UC Davis
by Jasmine Chen
THE Biomedical Engineering Society.
This name still rings in my mind since I first transferred into UC Davis back
in Fall 2012. It all began with those first General Meetings where I was
able to meet the officers, the Vice Chair of the Department of Biomedical
Engineering, and was moved by how many activities and events that the
Society offers. Because of this I am proud to have been a part of the
Biomedical Engineering Society for 3 years now!
BMES is truly the largest and only organization and resource to our
Biomedical Engineering majors. I applaud them for their success and
longevity since their first establishment in 2008. From their last count in 2009, they increased their
members from 34 to this year’s count of 165! Our chapter at UC Davis has also won 3 of the
Biomedical Engineering Society’s Chapter honors consecutively for 3 years in a row!
Because of BMES, I was able to be familiar with their officers, the faculty, our BME Academic Advisor,
and BMES alumni which allowed me to grow as an individual and strengthen my interest and focus
on why I wanted to become a Biomedical Engineer. I was fortunate to have participated with BMES
at a whole new level when I joined the BMES Officers in 2014 as their Social Media Chair, sharing
and spreading BMES news and events to our students, college, and regional communities. And
besides myself, I’m sure there are many other students that have a similar, heart-warming experience
with BMES as well!
As the organization grew bigger and better, the year of 2014 was when BMES began organizing larger
events that extended our BMES title to the greater Sacramento, CA region, and even across countries
to Germany.
BMES at UC Davis hosted their first conference on April 4th, 2014 and gathered many professionals
to present the most current and innovative imaging research to improving and advancing medicine.
This conference too was the first to be organized by undergraduate students: from inviting speakers
across continents, ordering the meals of the conference, to designing the logo and brochures. It was
a huge success to only motivate BMES even more to organize another large event!
I am thankful to have been a part of The Medical Make-A-Thon, another one of its kind that BMES
had organized this past January. It was great to see the gathering of student teams from across the
CA region to design and fabricate a medical device within 30hrs. Another great success in collaborating
students, faculty, and professionals in working together in a contributing project!
You’re doing great, BMES at UC Davis, and I always look forward to what you have to offer next!
BME World News
by Carlos Sanchez
Why did you choose to become a Biomedical Engineer? Do you want to
make a difference? Leave a legacy? Sometimes it is easy to lose focus when
you’ve got your mind thinking about that next midterm, that group project
you’ve been putting off, that homework you haven’t started. So what’s
keeping you interested? Here are some exciting developments out there in
the field of Biomedical Engineering to remind you to keep that flame going!
Biomechanics
The world of biomechanics, which concerns itself with studying the mechanical and structural properties of
biological tissues, is an absolutely fascinating field, as it allows the scientist to understand how a particular cell or tissue
type will behave and adapt to their environment. From this vital information, one may utilize it for predictive modeling
of the cell/tissue under pathological conditions or towards construction of an optimal microenvironment for tissue
engineering purposes. However, characterizing the complex nature of cell-cell interactions, which are fundamental
in immune processes, such as the trans-migration of white blood cells, can be quite difficult and often require the use
of specialized tools and techniques. In recent news, researchers from the University of Michigan and Korea University
proposed the construction of a novel, deformable microwell array for the capture and study of pairs of heterogeneous
cells. To begin, the researchers developed an L-shaped microwell system composed of PDMS, in where the trapping of
the cells under investigation depends on the elasticity of the PDMS substrate. By allowing the PDMS substrate to stretch
in the two orthogonal directions, two different cells could be captured within the L-shaped microwell. Next, they were
able to computationally observe direct cell-cell signaling, paracrine signaling and autocrine signaling phenomena, using
3D time-dependent diffusion simulation. From their initial experiments, the researchers were able to construct a
high-density (36000 microwells in a 2.25 cm2 area) microwell array and confirm that the geometry of their L-shaped
microwells allowed for the stretching of the PDMS and subsequent capture of the two different cells. Looking forward,
the researchers are confident that their novel L-shaped microwell array could easily integrate into the tools used in
cellular biomechanics and believe that this would be essential for studying hormone communication, cancer cell
metastasis and immune interactions.
Imaging
One of the major challenges in diagnosing breast cancer in women expressing a BRCA gene mutation is the fact
that current imaging modalities can return a negative screening. In order to improve the success rate of our advanced
imaging techniques, researchers from the Radiological Society of North America have combined 2D localized correlated
spectroscopy (L-COSY) with contrast enhanced 3T MRI and ultrasound in order to improve the detection of these
malignant tumors at an early stage. Although patients screened using the 3T MRI and ultrasound showed no
abnormalities, the 2D L-COSY technique revealed distinct regions of change, to which the researchers attribute to
specific biochemical changes associated with early stage cancer development. Through the use of 2D L-COSY, the
researchers have reported the detection of statistically significant metabolic and lipid pathway changes in women
carrying the BRCA gene mutations, which they believe is strongly correlated with pre-malignancy. The implications of
this new MR spectroscopic technique could allow scientists and medical professionals to rapidly diagnose the presence
of probable tumor formation sites and may substantially improve the patient’s odds of successfully surviving the
harrowing ordeal. The next steps for the researchers includes the application of their 2D L-COSY/ 3T MRI techniques
to a larger population of women and a better characterization of what the lipid and metabolite changes actually
represent.
Biomaterials
The development of polymeric materials that are able to withstand the harsh environment of the human
circulatory system without being severely degraded or eliciting a significant immune rejection response is of utmost
importance in a variety of different fields, including drug delivery, tissue engineering constructs and prosthetic implants.
One of the principal ways scientists attempt to disguise their foreign materials is through the use of immunomodulatory
compounds, such as PEG, that allow the material to avert the immune system until reaching their destination. With
respect to this stealthy approach, scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a novel way of
effectively disguising their biomaterials from the ever-seeking, discriminatory gaze of the immune system: molecular
hats. Akin to walking around in a stylish yet unrecognizable hat, the researchers have developed modified RGD peptide
molecules that essentially form molecular cages that obfuscate molecular binding domains that would normally cause
the immune system to activate. They modified the RGD peptide cages with a photoliable DMNPB group located on the
carboxylic acid side group of the aspartic acid residue, which can be removed upon exposure to UV light of wavelengths
350 – 365 nanometers. The researchers confirmed that their novel molecular hat constructs do trigger normal immune
rejection mechanisms (such as inflammation and fibrous encapsulation) when exposed to the UV light and that the
location and timing of molecular hat doffing could be controlled via light exposure through the skin. Subsequent
experiments of their hat peptides also showed that doffing the molecular hats resulted in the vascularization of the
biomaterial, as well as introducing the promise of developing alternative “hats” that would allow for UV light activation
in deeper tissues, thus further extending its applications for a variety of different therapies. With these ambitious goals
in mind, the researchers at GIT are optimistic that their molecular hats will become widely utilized in directed
host-material integration, antigen recognition and tolerance induction and to the study of other complicated pathologies.
Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology can be concisely defined as the creative application of fundamental engineering
principles to design and/or construct biological systems that confer a novel functionality. As such,
synthetic biologists are much more similar to electrical engineers than biotechnologists, in the sense
that, in synthetic biology, we take the underlying genetic building blocks and reorganize them in new,
interesting ways to create a variety of different products, one, in particular, being the construction of
specific cellular biosensors. One particularly interesting use of these cellular biosensors has been towards
the detection of toxic heavy metal contaminants in the environment; for this purpose, researchers have
often referred to development of microbial biosensors, given that microbes possess the innate ability to
sense the presence of these heavy metals and assess their toxicity. However, one of the current challenges
to constructing viable microbial biosensors is how to efficiently and effectively relay bioluminescent data
obtained to a remote collection site. To this end, researchers from Cornell University and the University
of Minnesota have developed a novel arsenic-specific biosensor, using genetically engineered Shewanella
oneidensis incorporated into a bioelectrochemical system (BES). Put quite simply, the BES amplifies the
current output of the genetically engineered Shewanella oneidensis when in the presence of arsenic,
thus allowing for accurate detection of the bioluminescent information from the microbes. On the
genetic side, the researchers modified the metal reduction pathway in Shewanella oneidensis by adding
an arsenic-specific promoter to control its activation, thus ensuring that when the microbes encounter
arsenic in the environment, the metal reduction pathway will generate electrons, thus producing current,
which can be detected and enhanced using a bioelectrochemical system. The researchers have confirmed
that their construct works as theorized and have commented that the modularity of the metal reduction
pathway allows for customization for different analytes, simply by replacing the arsenic-specific promoter
to another analyte-specific promoter.
Cell and Tissue Engineering
One of the principal ambitions of tissue engineering is to successfully reconstruct the tissues of the
body in such a way that the biomechanical and structural properties are indistinguishable from native
tissues.However, one of the major problems with current regeneration tactics is that we have not been
able to recapitulate the features of native tissues, most likely from the imbalance between biologic growth
factors, scaffold and matrix requirements and the multiple cell interactions with these compounds. In
recent news, researchers from Duke University have reported that they have successfully grown human
skeletal muscle that reacts to electrical stimulation and pharmaceutical compounds in a manner similar
to native skeletal muscle. The researchers utilized human skeletal muscle samples and incubated them in
a growth media containing low glucose DMEM, a variety of different supplements and 10% fetal calf
serum. They further expanded the growth of their muscle cell samples using a second growth media,
which contained 5 ng/mL bFGF and 20% fetal calf serum and fabricated their myobundles via methods
described in their paper. The researchers report that their biomimetic muscle tissue exhibited
contractions and calcium channel fluctuations that are similar to native tissues and that their myobundles
can be used to study a wide variety of different muscle pathologies.
Medical Devices
In addition to the rich amount of research-based work observed in the biomedical profession,
there’s also a crucial need for engineers who like constructing novel mechanical, electrical, and
optical devices that will, ultimately, aid and improve a patient’s life. To this extent, the realm of
medical devices is a booming field that allows the biomedical engineer an opportunity to play
around with macroscopic building blocks that will have eventual functionality within or as an
extension to the human body. In recent news, researchers and engineers from the Michigan
Technological University have created a novel, portable robotic prosthetic ankle with a built-in
camera. Despite sounding a tad bit peculiar, the reasoning behind it is simple: the ankle camera
relays the visual data to a computer-controlled actuator, which essentially allows the prosthetic to
identify the topography of the ground. Coupled with a predictive software to determine where the
patient wants to step next, the computer takes in the information from the camera to alter the
stiffness of the ankle and applies the correct angle to the ankle, as would a biological foot and ankle.
Put another way, the camera and computer actuator allow the prosthetic ankle to adapt precisely to
whatever mechanical condition is imposed on the system, whether it be running, climbing, sitting,
walking, etc. In addition, the actuator does not have to be directly mounted onto the prosthesis, thus
allowing it to be easily portable within the confines of one’s pocket or backpack, and it allows for the
user to activate the computer actuator when needed. The engineers hope to market the prosthetic
ankle and make it available to patients around the world in need of a biomimetic prosthetic ankle.
All in all, what a wonderful time it is to be a Biomedical Engineer! There are so many exciting things
happening in our field, and we collaborate with so many professions and industries that it is quite
true when they say that Biomedical Engineers are the Jack of all Trades in Engineering!
So the next time you’re bogged down by stress, just remember you’re gaining the tools to actually
make a difference in this world! Stay strong, study hard, and most of all, enjoy the little things in life!
BMES Outreach Events
by Nickie Sarmiento
The BMES Outreach Committee has been super involved
this past quarter! First, the committee visited the second
graders of Beamer Elementary to do a synthetic biology
activity where they created their own take-home bacteria.
Through this, the students learned about heredity and DNA
manipulation.
The Outreach Committee was also asked to participate in
the Society of Women Engineers Engineering Awareness
Program for high school girls held at the Intel facility in
Folsom. The committee represented the biomedical
engineering group and held a workshop called “Break a Leg,” where they challenged the girls to test
their teamwork and engineer their very own prosthetic leg. Nazia Podana also represented biomedical
engineers on the open panel, where both parents and students asked questions about being a woman
in the engineering field.
If you want to get involved, it’s not too late! There are plenty of upcoming opportunities to join
BMES Outreach events, including Girls’ Night Out with Girl Scouts of America encouraging the
pursuit of careers in STEM and a fifth-grade-classroom visit focusing on circuits! Contact Natalya Shelby
at nashelby@ucdavis.edu for more information.
Oureach:
A Kodak
Moment