SYSTEM INTEGRATION OF C-ARM ROBOTIC PROTOTYPE USING MOTION CAPTURE GUIDANCE FOR ACCURATE REPOSITIONING

One of the important surgical tools in spinal surgery is the C-Arm X-ray System. The C-Arm is a large “C” shaped and manually maneuvered arm that provides surgeons and X-ray technicians the ability to take quick quality X-rays during surgery. Because of its five degrees of freedom, the C-Arm can be manually maneuvered around the patient to provide many angles and perspectives, ensuring surgical success. This system works fine for most surgical procedures but falls short when the C-Arm must be moved out of the way for complicated surgical procedures. The aim of this thesis is to develop an accurate repositioning method with the use of motion capture technology. This will be a novel approach to creating a repositioning integrated system. To develop a motion capture repositioning integrated system, a set of research tasks needed to be completed. A virtual prototype and a virtual platform were developed that quantified the dynamics of the C-Arm maneuvering. Next, a complete kinematic model of the C-Arm was developed. Third, a fully automatic robotic C-Arm prototype was designed and manufactured to serve as a replacement for the actual C-Arm. Finally, the robotic prototype, the virtual platform, and the kinematic model were all systematically integrated using Vicon motion capture system to perform the automatic repositioning of the C-Arm. Testing of the newly developed repositioning system was completed with successful results

Practicum of Systems Integration in Engineering Education

This project asked engineering students to develop a multi-subsystem design that would produce electricity. Students over the duration of this project learned how to simulate and design systems theoretically using computer tools. Furthermore, students were expected to produce a prototype of their model, thereby self-analyzing the practicality levels and enhancing learning. With the technology available to students advancing, systems integration techniques become more efficient learning experiences to the students. The benefits of systems integration can also be expanded to the professional world these students will soon step into. Therefore, teaching these techniques now will give students a better further insight on real world experience in a classroom setting. When students make the expected leap into the job market, it is important for them to have a solid understanding of system integration and multi-system design. It is this understanding that will make students more desirable to top end employers and set them apart form their peers.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Electrical response of thermoelectric generator to geometry variation under transient thermal boundary condition

A three-dimensional numerical model is applied in this study to illustrate the electrical response of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) during transient heat flux at the hot side. In this work, various types of thermal boundary conditions are considered to evaluate the performance of the TEG. Thus, a TEG under pulsed heat flux is studied numerically, and the numerical model is verified by experimental results. With the consideration of a defined reference geometry, different heat flux frequencies are applied in order to evaluate the corresponding electrical output by the TEG. In addition, variation of the module performance for various TEG leg lengths and its cross-sectional area are studied over a wide range of heat fluxes. The results indicate that the open circuit voltage in the experiment is in a good agreement with the open circuit voltage in the simulation results. The results show that the range of power oscillation reduces at higher frequency of the applied heat flux. Furthermore, the variability of the output power increases as the thermoelectric element length increases and the area of the element reduces. Published by AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.504016