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Biomedical Engineering : Facilities
Assistive Technology Services Laboratory Rehabilitation Device Information Center Driver Assessment Seating and Positioning/Mobility Augmentative Communication Independent Living Skills Biomedical Engineering Research Labs The Program has an established national and international reputation in areas of systems physiology and rehabilitation engineering. In addition, the Program is developing the area of biomedical microdevices or "BioMEMS" in conjunction with the Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM). Research labs currently associated with the Biomedical Engineering Program include: The Rehabilitative Neuroscience Laboratory (VAMC-Shreveport) is used to quantify human movement especially as it relates to spasticity and joint biodynamics. Equipment in this laboratory includes devices to deliver precise displacement or torques to the ankle, knee or shoulder joints. Portions of this laboratory are located at the V.A. Medical Center in Shreveport where palmtop computers are used as interface devices for quantifying spasticity. The SLIP/FALLS Laboratory (VAMC-Shreveportand CyBERS Room 400) is used to study the psychophysics of balance and neurologically intact and neurologically impaired states. Equipment in this laboratory includes the Sliding Linear Investigative Platform For Assessing Lower Limb Stability (SLIP/FALLS) which is capable of making vibration-free linear translations from 5 µm to 12 cm at accelerations of up to 2.5 mm/sec**2. This lab also has a Tek-Scan pressure-sensitive floor mat system. The Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is equipped with hardware and software appropriate for neural network modeling and expert system development. Its purpose is to develop novel solutions to problems in decision-making utilizing fundamental domain knowledge, a systems modeling approach, and appropriate artificial intelligence techniques. Primary applications are ECG interpretation and cognitive orthotics. The Nitric Oxide Sensor Fabrication Laboratory (CyBERS 206) is used to construct, test, and apply nitric oxide electrosensors. This includes a rapid cyclic voltammeter. This laboratory is supported by the Chemistry Program. Biomedical Engineering faculty members use this laboratory in collaboration with Chemistry faculty members on the sensing of nitric oxide, serotonin and superoxide during platelet adhesion. The Micromanufacturing and Instrumentation Research Laboratory is used in a variety of research activities related to the fabrication of micro-sized devices, sensors and structures for use in biomedical applications. Design and testing takes place in this laboratory with fabrication being performed at the Institute for Micromanufacturing . The laboratory is also used for general biomedical instrumentation projects. Current projects involve microfabrication, modeling and testing of a variety of devices and systems. The Electrode Fabrication Laboratory (CyBERS 211) is used to build nitric oxide, pH and oxygen glass electrodes (microsensors). The hardware available includes microscopes, a computer-controlled horizontal electrode puller, an electrode beveler, electroplating apparatus, and various types of meters used in the process. The Mass Transport Laboratory (CyBERS 207-209) contains one experimental work station and contains the equipment to study oxygen and nitric oxide mass transport in brain slices and microbubbles. This laboratory is used to calibrate, test and use microsensors. Equipment available includes includes a work station with low-light video capture for microscope (and light source), picoammeter, vibration isolation apparatus, dual electrometer, chart recorder, water bath, balance, and manipulators, and basic trouble-shooting equipment. The Acute Animal Research Laboratory (CyBERS 314) is a new animal research laboratory that is fully equipped to do acute surgery on small animals. The adjacent small room (CyBERS 315) will be used as the cleaning room with large sinks. Each protocol and procedure handling the animals will be reviewed by the Animal Care Committees at Louisiana Tech and LSU Medical School in Shreveport. The funding for this facility is provided by the Whitaker Foundation. The main components of the surgery room will include heated-top surgical tables, floor-stand surgical lamps and microscopes, mechanical ventilators, blood pressure measurement, ECG, and end-tidal CO2 measurement devices, a gas (Isoflorane) anesthesia machine, emergency equipment, a stereo-taxic frame, a 1.8 GHz computer and upper airway fiberoscopy imaging system, a data acquisition board (NI), and LabVIEW software installed, neural amplifiers (Bionic Inc. and Grass) and digital data recorders (Instrutech), an Intrinsic Optical Imaging system, and all the necessary supplies for surgery. The Tissue Engineering and Cell Culture Laboratory (Bogard Hall 117A) has been designed to investigate the effects of hemodynamic phenomena on the behavior of vascular cells, (endothelial cells, platelets, smooth muscle cells, osteoblasts) as related to atherosclerosis, intimal hyperplasia, thrombosis, bone growth, and micromanufactured cell substrates. The lab includes a laminar fume hood, an evironmentally-controlled flow chamber, an imaging microscope, an injection-flow apparatus (syringe pump), an incubator, a centrifuge, a refrigerator, and a plate reader. The lab is jointly funded by CyBERS and the School of Biological Sciences. The Biofluid Mechanics Laboratory (Bogard Hall 106) is used to measure velocities and flows in models of arteries. The models may be three-dimensional representations of human artery bifurcations, or they may be more idealized models which are used to study specific responses of blood-borne or vascular cells. The purpose of the laboratory is to determine the hemodynamic mechanisms involved in arterial adaptation and disease. The laboratory includes laser Doppler velocimetry equipment, a cone-in-plate viscometer, a data acquisition computer, a Pentium personal computer which runs Autocad, ultrasonic equipment, an anti-vibration table, spatial analyzer, physiological pressure transducers, two Carolina medical EMF flowmeters, a transit time flow meter, model manufacturing facilities, and a distilled water generator. Biomedical Engineering Support Facilities The facilities listed below are housed within the CyBERS. Electronic Shop: The facility contains a variety of testing, monitoring, and repair devices. The available devices provide a medium-level capability for testing, repairing, and fabricating electronic components. Graphics/Media Studio: The studio includes a graphics computer and scanner, color and black and white printers, graphics layout table, various still and motion cameras, digital still and video cameras with supplementary lenses, and necessary lighting equipment. There is also an editing area for producing classroom and training video tapes. Metal Shop: The facility contains light metal working power tools, including a sheet metal bender and an TIG welder. The available tools provide the capability for low-level tooling and fabrication, with the higher level milling and tooling capability having been transferred to the Institute for Micromanufacturing facility. Wood Shop: The shop contains a variety of general wood working power tools, both portable and stationary. The available tools provide the capability for moderate-level tooling, fabrication, and finishing. Facilities at the Institute for Micromanufacturing The Institute for Micromanufacturing central research and development component consists of 41,000 ft2 of laboratory and office space dedicated to meet the research and development needs of academia and industry in the area of miniaturization and micro-manufacturing. Laboratories occupy 20,000 sq. ft. of environmentally controlled workspace, containing 5,000 sq. ft. of modular clean rooms with fully certified class 1000 and class 100 working areas. The laboratory facilities provide a full suite of micro and nanofabrication processing capabilities (e.g., e-beam, X-ray, and optical lithographies, bulk and surface micromachining, ion and laser processing), and measurement and characterization tools (e.g., SEM, AFM/STM, RST, etc.) and a complementary Micromachining Processes Laboratory (diamond, microdrilling/ milling/EDM, laser, etc.). In addition the lab area houses a laboratory-based teaching and training facility, electronics assembly/test laboratory, a hot embossing/ injection molding laboratory, a nine station plating laboratory. Throughout the laboratory facility are offices and smaller labs where guest researchers may reside. Additionally, there is a dedicated area for teaching and training of undergraduate and graduate students, industrial participants, visiting researchers, and IfM faculty and staff. Within the IfM, the primary laboratory associated with the Biomedical Engineering Program is the BioMEMS Laboratory (IfM L7). This facility is designed for the testing and analysis of microfabricated biomedical devices. The lab focuses on the testing of two main types of components: fluidic and optical. For microfluidic systems, the lab includes a variety of pumps, flow control devices, optical and electrical particle detectors, sample injection systems, and data collection systems. For optical systems, the lab includes optical tables, optical spectroscopy systems for fluorescence, absorption and scattering, fiber optics, filters, lasers, and associated components. The lab also includes more than 5 data collection and analysis stations that include computers, multimeters, power supplies, function generators, oscilloscopes, computers with data acquisition or GPIB cards, and associated components for testing. Stations are also available for wet chemistry, electronics testing, and hot embossing. The Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM) provides the resources for Louisiana Tech University to be an international leader in the development of manufacturing technologies for micro-structural devices. Micromanufacturing is a set of processes for the creation of structures, devices, or systems with feature sizes typically on the order of micrometers. The transfer of technology to industry, government, academia and the education of students, particularly graduate students, are given high priority. The IfM was initiated as a result of planning, construction, and equipment money provided by AT&T, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the State of Louisiana totaling in excess of $12M. To date, over $30M has been invested in IfM facilities. The IfM consists of three components. The focal point of the Institute is the research and development facility located on the Louisiana Tech University campus in Ruston. A second component is the X-ray lithography micromachining capability at the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The third component is the Technology Transfer Center, a 20,000 square foot conference and classroom center at the ShrevePark Industrial Campus in Shreveport, LA. There is strong interaction among the 3 components of the Institute and each of the components interacts, to varying degrees, with industries, universities, and research centers within the nation and around the world. The IfM has provided resources for recruiting highly qualified faculty and staff from around the world with expertise in lithography, VLSI design, micromachining, plating, metrology, microscopy, chemical deposition, thin films, surface physics, optics, materials science, and microfabrication. These faculty have developed research and graduate courses which serve as the core components of the Ph.D. in Engineering, as well as important electives for students in the Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering program. Many BmE undergraduates have worked as research assistants in IfM laboratories. Some of these students have included the results of their research in other course projects, and in published papers. The New BIEN Building On behalf of Louisiana Tech University, Dr. Dan Reneau (President and Professor of Biomedical Engineering) has requested capital outlay funds for a new Biomedical Engineering Building. This request has received the highest funding priority from the Board of Regents. In fact, it was the only new building recommended for construction in higher education by the Board. The envisioned building will be located near the Institute for Micromanufacturing and will contain animal and human research facilities, rehabilitation/clinical service laboratories, classrooms, teaching laboratories, and faculty/staff offices. The new building would be located on the main campus, close to the affiliated faculty in the COES, close to the Biological Sciences faculty, and close to the IfM. The new building will contain a small animal, sterile surgical facility and staff at a location close to its engineering and microfabrication resources for the development and testing of new neural, orthopedic, micromanufactured devices. The current tissue culture facilities located in Bogard Hall will be upgraded and relocated into the new facility. Research and teaching laboratories for rehabilitation neuroscience (for both in-vivo and in-vitro neural and orthopedic research) and for rehabilitation engineering design will also be included in the building. Partial funding of the research equipment for this building has been obtained through the Whitaker Foundation, and is being sought from the Louisiana Board of Regents Health Excellence Fund and other sources. These proposals require an education component that will result in a further increase in the number of non-administrative tenure-track faculty in Biomedical Engineering, and a significant increase of both undergraduate and graduate courses. New classrooms and educational technology will be included in the building to meet these needs as well. 
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