3,668 research outputs found

    University of Nebraska at Omaha Department of Biomechanics Annual Report Spring 2019

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    This report contains: A letter from the Director: Dr. Nick Stergiou Articles about Updates: Center for Research in Human Movement Variability Articles about the Updates: Department of Biomechanics Articles on Exciting News Article about Beyond the Boarders Articles on Outreach and Highlightshttps://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/nbcfnewsletter/1015/thumbnail.jp

    Advanced Applications of Rapid Prototyping Technology in Modern Engineering

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    Rapid prototyping (RP) technology has been widely known and appreciated due to its flexible and customized manufacturing capabilities. The widely studied RP techniques include stereolithography apparatus (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), three-dimensional printing (3DP), fused deposition modeling (FDM), 3D plotting, solid ground curing (SGC), multiphase jet solidification (MJS), laminated object manufacturing (LOM). Different techniques are associated with different materials and/or processing principles and thus are devoted to specific applications. RP technology has no longer been only for prototype building rather has been extended for real industrial manufacturing solutions. Today, the RP technology has contributed to almost all engineering areas that include mechanical, materials, industrial, aerospace, electrical and most recently biomedical engineering. This book aims to present the advanced development of RP technologies in various engineering areas as the solutions to the real world engineering problems

    A Multi-Institutional Partnership Catalyzing the Commercialization of Medical Devices and Biotechnology Products.

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    The commercialization of medical devices and biotechnology products is characterized by high failure rates and long development lead times particularly among start-up enterprises. To increase the success rate of these high-risk ventures, the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) partnered to create key academic support centers with programs to accelerate entrepreneurship and innovation in this industry. In 2008, UML and UMMS founded the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2), which is a business and technology incubator that provides business planning, product prototyping, laboratory services, access to clinical testing, and ecosystem networking to medical device and biotech startup firms. M2D2 has three physical locations that encompass approximately 40,000 square feet. Recently, M2D2 leveraged these resources to expand into new areas such as health security, point of care technologies for heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders, and rapid diagnostics to detect SARS-CoV-2. Since its inception, M2D2 has vetted approximately 260 medical device and biotech start-up companies for inclusion in its programs and provided active support to more than 80 firms. This manuscript describes how two UMass campuses leveraged institutional, state, and Federal resources to create a thriving entrepreneurial environment for medical device and biotech companies

    Disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions: an exploratory study of collaboration among healthcare professionals in Amazonia

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    The development and deployment of information technology, particularly mobile tools, to support collaboration between different groups of healthcare professionals has been viewed as a promising way to improve disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions. The effects of global climate change combined with rapid changes to land cover and use in Amazonia are believed to be contributing to the spread of vector-borne emerging and neglected diseases. This makes empowering and providing support for local healthcare providers all the more important. We investigate the use of information technology in this context to support professionals whose activities range from diagnosing diseases and monitoring their spread to developing policies to deal with outbreaks. An analysis of stakeholders, their roles and requirements, is presented which encompasses results of fieldwork and of a process of design and prototyping complemented by questionnaires and targeted interviews. Findings are analysed with respect to the tasks of diagnosis, training of local healthcare professionals, and gathering, sharing and visualisation of data for purposes of epidemiological research and disease surveillance. Methodological issues regarding the elicitation of cooperation and collaboration requirements are discussed and implications are drawn with respect to the use of technology in tackling emerging and neglected diseases

    O-CDIO : Engineering Education Framework with Embedded Design Thinking Methods

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    Technology and its applications have an ever-increasing role in our daily lives. Healthcare, logistics, commerce, manufacturing, and even social interaction, all have aspects of technology embedded in them. The complexity and importance of the technical systems we use varies, yet they are becoming increasingly versatile and more important to the functionality of entire systems and their services. At the same time, the complexity of understanding the future needs of the role that technology plays in such systems and what they are supposed to deliver varies from linear to chaotic. This has had a fundamental impact on the engineering profession. The more complicated, complex or even chaotic a system is, the more innovative and cooperative an engineer needs to be. Thus, engineers also need to understand people. This thesis presents a novel engineering education model, O-CDIO, which is based on an existing framework known as the CDIO framework. The O-CDIO model is derived from the results of the university level engineering education reform enacted in a multidisciplinary science university in Northern Europe, and from the scientific discourse within the domain of the engineering education research and literature. The timeline for the research was fall 2011 to fall 2015. The model that was developed emphasizes the need to educate engineers to become problem definers in addition to educating them to become problem solvers. This can be achieved by integrating human-centered design thinking methods and challenges into engineering courses from day one to graduation. The results of the piloted courses in the reform process show that transferable working life skills, such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, prototyping skills, and tolerance towards ambiguity, were enhanced. These skills are widely seen as necessary for future engineering. The preliminary results also show that the courses provide an opportunity for self-discovery, increased self-efficacy, and result in an increase in entrepreneurial thinking. There were clear limitations to this research. The piloted courses had no control groups. The reflections on and comparisons of the results were achieved by considering the results of similar studies and the literature. Although some of the courses were run for three consecutive years, this research has very little longitudinal evidence. Future research should focus on implementation of the O-CDIO model as a whole, with longitudinal research set as one of its goals.Teknologian rooli maailmanlaajuisesti verkottuneessa teollisuudessa ja yhteiskunnassa on merkittävä ja ennustettavissa olevan tulevaisuuden ajan myös kasvussa. Se on myös enenevissä määrin sekä monimutkainen että moniulotteinen. Terveydenhuolto, teollisuus, koulutus, liikenne, ja internet, jopa sosiaalinen kanssakäyminen ovat esimerkkejä aloista ja ilmiöistä jotka ovat jollain tavalla riippuvaisia niiden sisältämän tekniikan toimivuudesta. Samaan aikaan teknologioiden ja tekniikan roolin ymmärtäminen sen eri konteksteissa on haastavampaa. Tekniikalla ei ole itsetarkoitusta. Sen tehtävä on aina palvella. Tämä asettaa uudenlaisia haasteita diplomi-insinööreille ja heidän kouluttamiselle. Tekniikan koulutus yliopistotasolla on maailmanlaajuisesti kyennyt vastaamaan sille asetettuihin haasteisiin. Tosin lähes poikkeuksetta muutos on syntynyt ulkoisen muutostarpeen aiheuttamana. Mitä monimutkaisemmaksi ja moniulotteisemmaksi tekniikalle ja teknologioille asetetut vaatimukset kehittyvät sitä monipuolisemmaksi pitää myös koulutuksen muuttua. Tämä tutkimus ja tieteellinen raportti perustuu suomalaisessa monialayliopistossa tapahtuneeseen tekniikan koulutuksen muutosprosessiin, tuloksiin sen aikana pilotoiduista kursseista ja alan kirjallisuuteen. Tutkimuksen tuloksena syntyi tekniikan koulutuksen malli joka johdettiin edellä mainituista tutkimuksen tuloksista, olemassa olevasta tekniikan koulutusmallista nimeltä CDIO ja kirjallisuudesta. Mallin ydinidea on kouluttaa diplomi-insinööreistä ongelmanhahmottajia ongelmanratkaisijoiden lisäksi. Tämä tapahtuu integroimalla ihmis- ja käyttäytymistieteisiin perustuvia opettamismetodeja läpi koko koulutuksen ensimmäisestä päivästä valmistumiseen asti. Reformin aikana tehdyt tutkimukset osoittivat että opettamismetodit saavuttivat niille asetetut oppimistavoitteet. Työelämätaidot kuten viestintä-, ryhmätyö-, ongelmanratkaisu- ja prototypointitaidot lisääntyivät. Alustavat tulokset myös osoittivat että opiskelijoiden reflektointikyky ja positiivinen suhtautuminen yrittäjyyteen lisääntyivät. Lisätutkimuksen tarve aiheeseen liittyen on ilmeinen. Tutkituissa kursseissa ei ollut mahdollista käyttää kontrolliryhmiä eikä O-CDIO mallia ole missään vaiheessa testattu kokonaisuudessaan. Lisäksi pitkän ajan vaikutuksia ei voitu tutkimuksen ajallisista kestosta johtuen testata. Pisimpään samanlaisena pysyneeltä kurssilta saatiin tutkimusaineistoa kolmelta eri vuodelta. Lisäksi tämän raportin kirjoittaja vastasi myös lähes poikkeuksetta tutkittujen kurssien ideoinnista, kehittämisestä ja opettamisesta. Tämä on otettu analyysivaiheessa huomioon mutta silti vaikuttaa tutkimustuloksiin. Luonnollinen lisätutkimuksen aihe on tutkia O-CDIO mallia kokonaisuudessaan todellisessa tekniikan koulutuksen kehyksessä ja riittävällä aikajänteellä.Siirretty Doriast

    A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

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    This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed

    Reducing risk in pre-production investigations through undergraduate engineering projects.

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    This poster is the culmination of final year Bachelor of Engineering Technology (B.Eng.Tech) student projects in 2017 and 2018. The B.Eng.Tech is a level seven qualification that aligns with the Sydney accord for a three-year engineering degree and hence is internationally benchmarked. The enabling mechanism of these projects is the industry connectivity that creates real-world projects and highlights the benefits of the investigation of process at the technologist level. The methodologies we use are basic and transparent, with enough depth of technical knowledge to ensure the industry partners gain from the collaboration process. The process we use minimizes the disconnect between the student and the industry supervisor while maintaining the academic freedom of the student and the commercial sensitivities of the supervisor. The general motivation for this approach is the reduction of the entry cost of the industry to enable consideration of new technologies and thereby reducing risk to core business and shareholder profits. The poster presents several images and interpretive dialogue to explain the positive and negative aspects of the student process

    High performance computing and communications: FY 1995 implementation plan

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    Include 2011 : The role of inclusive design in making social innovation happen.

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    Include is the biennial conference held at the RCA and hosted by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. The event is directed by Jo-Anne Bichard and attracts an international delegation
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