A Novel Brain Stimulation Technology Provides Compatibility with MRI

Clinical electrical stimulation systems — such as pacemakers and deep brain stimulators (DBS) — are an increasingly common therapeutic option to treat a large range of medical conditions. Despite their remarkable success, one of the significant limitations of these medical devices is the limited compatibility with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a standard diagnostic tool in medicine. During an MRI exam, the leads used with these devices, implanted in the body of the patient, act as an electric antenna potentially causing a large amount of energy to be absorbed in the tissue, which can lead to serious heat-related injury. This study presents a novel lead design that reduces the antenna effect and allows for decreased tissue heating during MRI. The optimal parameters of the wire design were determined by a combination of computational modeling and experimental measurements. The results of these simulations were used to build a prototype, which was tested in a gel phantom during an MRI scan. Measurement results showed a three-fold decrease in heating when compared to a commercially available DBS lead. Accordingly, the proposed design may allow a significantly increased number of patients with medical implants to have safe access to the diagnostic benefits of MRI

Common evolutionary origin of acoustic communication in choanate vertebrates

Acoustic communication, broadly distributed along the vertebrate phylogeny, plays a fundamental role in parental care, mate attraction and various other behaviours. Despite its importance, comparatively less is known about the evolutionary roots of acoustic communication. Phylogenetic comparative analyses can provide insights into the deep time evolutionary origin of acoustic communication, but they are often plagued by missing data from key species. Here we present evidence for 53 species of four major clades (turtles, tuatara, caecilian and lungfish) in the form of vocal recordings and contextual behavioural information accompanying sound production. This and a broad literature-based dataset evidence acoustic abilities in several groups previously considered non-vocal. Critically, phylogenetic analyses encompassing 1800 species of choanate vertebrates reconstructs acoustic communication as a homologous trait, and suggests that it is at least as old as the last common ancestor of all choanate vertebrates, that lived approx. 407 million years before present

Common evolutionary origin of acoustic communication in choanate vertebrates

Acoustic communication, broadly distributed along the vertebrate phylogeny, plays a fundamental role in parental care, mate attraction and various other behaviours. Despite its importance, comparatively less is known about the evolutionary roots of acoustic communication. Phylogenetic comparative analyses can provide insights into the deep time evolutionary origin of acoustic communication, but they are often plagued by missing data from key species. Here we present evidence for 53 species of four major clades (turtles, tuatara, caecilian and lungfish) in the form of vocal recordings and contextual behavioural information accompanying sound production. This and a broad literature-based dataset evidence acoustic abilities in several groups previously considered non-vocal. Critically, phylogenetic analyses encompassing 1800 species of choanate vertebrates reconstructs acoustic communication as a homologous trait, and suggests that it is at least as old as the last common ancestor of all choanate vertebrates, that lived approx. 407 million years before present

Rapid establishment of the European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC):The Hot Start experience

A fast track “Hot Start” process was implemented to launch the European Bank for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC) to provide early release of a range of established control and disease linked human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines. Established practice amongst consortium members was surveyed to arrive at harmonised and publically accessible Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) for tissue procurement, bio-sample tracking, iPSC expansion, cryopreservation, qualification and distribution to the research community. These were implemented to create a quality managed foundational collection of lines and associated data made available for distribution. Here we report on the successful outcome of this experience and work flow for banking and facilitating access to an otherwise disparate European resource, with lessons to benefit the international research community. eTOC: The report focuses on the EBiSC experience of rapidly establishing an operational capacity to procure, bank and distribute a foundational collection of established hiPSC lines. It validates the feasibility and defines the challenges of harnessing and integrating the capability and productivity of centres across Europe using commonly available resources currently in the field

FEM Modeling for Biomedical Applications: RF Heating & Microwave Imaging

This dissertation presents significant modeling and hardware advancements in three biomedical applications of Electrical and Computer Engineering. It covers the novel design of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) conditional implantable medical devices based on numerical modeling, the development of novel numerical models for assessing radio frequency (RF) induced heating in biological tissues, and the development of novel RF hardware for Microwave Imaging (MI) systems. This dissertation focuses on 9 journal articles in some leading journals in the field and 2 book chapters where I contributed significantly, either as the first or second author. This dissertation is organized into three separate major chapters, each of which contains a summary of the results to be defended and the texts of the original journal publications

Design of a Multi-Array Radio-Frequency Coil for Interventional MRI of the Female Breast

A new method for the simulation of radio frequency (RF) coils has been developed. This method utilizes the FEM simulation package Ansoft HFSS as a base for the modeling of RF coils with complex biological loading effects. The abilities of this software have been augmented with custom MATLAB code to enable the fast prediction of lumped element values needed to properly tune and match the coil structure as well as to perform the necessary post processing of simulation data in order to quickly generate and evaluate field data of the resonating coil and compare design variations. This method was evaluated for accuracy and implemented in the re-design of an existing four channel breast coil array for clinical imaging of the female breasts. Based on the simulation results, a commercially viable printed circuit board (PCB) implementation was developed and tested in a clinical 1.5 T MR scanner. The new design allows for wide open bilateral access to the breast regions in order to accommodate various interventional procedures. The layout has also increased axillary B1 field coverage with minor penalty to the signal-to-noise ratio of the coil array, enabling high-resolution imaging over a wide field-of-view

Low-power tube guitar amplifier

The goal of this project was to design, build and test a low-power, high quality tube guitar amplifier incorporating several unique features. This project required gaining a full, working understanding of vacuum tubes and their applications in audio frequency amplifiers. Various design options and considerations were researched in depth, and a preliminary amplifier was modeled in PSpice, built and analyzed. A final design was then modeled, built and tested, incorporating several new features including equalization, reverb, tremolo, and a dual-channel footswitch controlled preamp

Virtual museum tour

According to the U.K. Disability Discrimination Act of 1995, museums must provide inclusive access to their facilities and exhibits. Many small, low-income museums, however, cannot modify their premises to provide disabled access, and can satisfy the law by providing a virtual tour. This IQP team, working in London at the Centre for Accessible Environments, visited a variety of museums, conducted research to determine what comprises the museum "experience", and investigated the technologies most suitable to implement that experience into a virtual tour. Finally, the team created a web-based template that will guide small museums in their efforts to provide virtual tours for disabled visitors