Shear-promoted drug encapsulation into red blood cells: a CFD model and μ-PIV analysis

The present work focuses on the main parameters that influence shear-promoted encapsulation of drugs into erythrocytes. A CFD model was built to investigate the fluid dynamics of a suspension of particles flowing in a commercial micro channel. Micro Particle Image Velocimetry (μ-PIV) allowed to take into account for the real properties of the red blood cell (RBC), thus having a deeper understanding of the process. Coupling these results with an analytical diffusion model, suitable working conditions were defined for different values of haematocrit

A Study of Human Balance and Coordination Using a Head Mounted Display

Virtual Reality (VR) is growing with new technologies and applications. The new technologies help the user to feel more immersed in virtual environments, but interaction and immersion is an area that has not been well studied. Immersion is the feeling and reaction of users while they are in a virtual environment. This investigation is focused on the study of the human balance and coordination when human subjects are inside a virtual environment. Over 60 subjects are studied under an experiment, where their trajectory is captured and analyzed to identify possible differences or similitudes between male and female subjects

Biomechanics Annual Report, Fall 2015

This annual report includes: Letter from the Director; B.S. in Biomechanics; QLI Partnership Center for Research in Human Movement Variability: Formation of the Center; Breathing and Walking Coupling Variability in COPD; Gait Variability in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease; Development of Postural Control Variability in Autism; The Effects of Virtual Reality on Gait Variability After Stroke; Pilot Grants; COBRE Research Day; New Hires in the Center Updates: Why Choose the BRB? Where Are They Now? From the Bench to the Market: New Partnership Paves the way to Pre-Symptomatic Disease Detection; Fun Facts; New Quipment Other Projects: Space Navigation; Neuroscience; Prosthetics; Radaux Project; NASA Beyond Our Borders: Greece; Ireland; Czech Republic; Second European Nonlinear Workshop in England; Spain; Japan; Denmark BRB Highlights: New Postdocs and Staff; Awards, Grants, and Scholarship; Seminar Series; Intercultural Senior Center Resistance Program; 2015 NE Science Fest; Conferences, Meetings, and Workshops; Fun Stuffhttps://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/nbcfnewsletter/1012/thumbnail.jp

Using Augmented Reality and Internet of Things to improve accessibility of people with motor disabilities in the context of Smart Cities

Smart Cities need to be designed to allow the inclusion of all kinds of citizens. For instance, motor disabled people like wheelchair users may have problems to interact with the city. Internet of Things (IoT) technologies provide the tools to include all citizens in the Smart City context. For example, wheelchair users may not be able to reach items placed beyond their arm’s length, limiting their independence in everyday activities like shopping, or visiting libraries. We have developed a system that enables wheelchair users to interact with items placed beyond their arm’s length, with the help of Augmented Reality (AR) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies. Our proposed system is an interactive AR application that runs on different interfaces, allowing the user to digitally interact with the physical items on the shelf, thanks to an updated inventory provided by an RFID system. The resulting experience is close to being able to browse a shelf, clicking on it and obtaining information about the items it contains, allowing wheelchair users to shop independently, and providing autonomy in their everyday activities. Fourteen wheelchair users with different degrees of impairment have participated in the study and development of the system. The evaluation results show promising results towards more independence of wheelchair users, providing an opportunity for equality improvement.This work was partly funded by the Spanish Government through projects TIN2012-34965 PIGALL, TIN2011-27076-C03-02 CO-PRIVACY, TIN2014-57364-C2-2-R SMARTGLACIS, TEC2015-71303-R SINERGIA, and TSI-020602-2012-147 IRIS. The authors also acknowledge support from Obra Social “la Caixa” -ACUP through project 2011ACUP00261

Enhancing the mechanical efficiency of skilled rowing through shortened feedback cycles

In elite level rowing competition, the average velocities of medallists differ by less than 1 % over 2000 m. Nations place sporting excellence in high regard and this magnifies the importance of success. As a result, sports science and technology is increasingly used to achieve marginal performance gains. This research considers how to advance biomechanical analysis and skills training provision with a particular focus on the technical and practical delivery of real-time feedback to coaches and athletes, thereby shortening the amount of time between feedback cycles. Underpinning any biomechanical feedback intervention, validated determinants of performance are required. Previous research revealed that, while gross biomechanical measures such as athlete power, stroke rate and stroke length have previously been used as key determinants of performance, elite athletes are nowadays performing within expected ranges and therefore it is no longer possible to easily differentiate crews using these measures alone. This thesis describes workshops held with elite coaches to investigate biomechanical efficiency where the outcomes led to a focus on how a boat accelerates and decelerates during a stroke and hence how the boat's velocity fluctuates. Novel metrics are proposed to quantify aspects of a stroke cycle and used to analyse an elite data set, collected using a standardised protocol. It is shown that individual elite rowers can be successfully differentiated and benchmark values of performance are presented. Consideration of previous research suggests that there is currently no suitably functional and flexible biomechanical real-time feedback system to deliver complex skills training in rowing. Therefore, this thesis describes the research that has led to the development and evaluation of new technology to deliver visual and audible interfaces that support the delivery of concurrent and terminal feedback in water and land-based environments. Coaches and athletes were involved throughout the design process to optimise system suitability and encourage adoption. The technology empowers a coach to intricately manipulate feedback provision, thereby promoting motor control and learning theory best practice. Novel insights relevant to designing interactive systems for use within an elite sporting population are also discussed. This research presents an end-to-end strategy for the applied delivery of real-time feedback to skilled rowers bringing together engineering and social science disciplines. A land-based case series reveals that while statistically significant skill learning was not achieved, participants acquired sport specific technical awareness and heightened motivation as a result of the skills training intervention. Existing motor learning literature was tested as part of the study with a key finding being the lack of support for audible display of stroke acceleration through frequency modulation. Study limitations were identified that explain the lack of an effect of skills training on rower efficiency. The study also acted as a validation of the use of a land-based simulator to monitor and manipulate stroke velocity and a validation of the candidate feedback interfaces that had been implemented. As of result of this work, rowing coaches are able to evaluate their athletes in a novel way, achieving a deeper appreciation of their biomechanical efficiency. Upon identifying athletes with a need for technical development, coaches can intervene with the proposed methodology of skill development making use of the new technologies developed to deliver performance gains. This methodology would achieve enhanced validity through a deeper understanding of the reliability of the new metrics and their relationship to boat speed. Future attempts to test for skill learning should build upon the findings made in this work and, in due course, technology and theory should combine to deliver terminal feedback training during water-based rowing

University of Nebraska at Omaha Department of Biomechanics Annual Report 2020-2021

This report contains: A letter from the Director: Dr. Nick Stergiou Articles about the Department of Biomechanics\u27 reach Articles on research that impacts the community Article about the Movcentr Impact Articles on how the department persevered and responded during the pandemic Article on the people of UNO Biomechanics Student Centered articles and In the News.https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/nbcfnewsletter/1013/thumbnail.jp