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Biomedical Engineering : Research Department/Center Research The Biomedical Engineering main office is located in Bogard Hall on the main campus of Louisiana Tech University . Closely associated with the Biomedical Engineering Program is the Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science (CyBERS). The center consists of two buildings, the Biomedical Engineering Center (23,000 square feet) and the Biomedical Engineering Center Annex (40,000 square feet). These facilities are physically joined together by a passageway. The facilities and equipment have an estimated value of $4,000,000. This complex houses classrooms, instructional laboratories, faculty and administrative offices, and research and service laboratories. Recognizing the important function that maintenance and support services play in the activities of the Center, the layout of the building includes spaces for a machine shop, a woodworking shop, an electronics shop, a computer facility, drafting and design rooms, and a media production facility. As the activities of the Program have grown, expansions and renovations have facilitated the development of shops/facilities that are more responsive to the needs of the faculty and staff. Today the space assigned to maintenance and support services exceeds 3,215 square feet. These areas are staffed with full-time employees including a adaptive, an electronic technician, and a media/production specialist. These employees are funded from state funds and other resources available to the Center. Research Activities 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 micro/nano devices in conjunction with the Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM). Research Laboratories Artificial Intelligence This 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. Micromanufacturing and Instrumentation Research This 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 (IfM) . The laboratory is also used for general biomedical instrumentation projects. Current projects involve microfabrication, modeling and testing of a variety of devices and systems. Electrode Fabrication This laboratory is used to build 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. Microcirculation/Microsensors This laboratory has the capacity for two experimental test areas and is presently used to calibrate, test and use pH electrodes (microsensors). The laboratory is used to study small organs. Equipment available includes a computer monitored dual electrometer, chart recorder, water bath, balance, and manipulators, and basic trouble-shooting equipment. Mass transport This laboratory contains one experimental work station and contains the equipment to study oxygen mass transport in brain slices and in heart papillary muscle. Equipment includes a computer monitored and controlled piezoelectric manipulator, picoammeter, vibration isolation apparatus, water bath, chart recorder, oscilloscope, and digital multi-meter. Tissue Engineering and Cell Culture Laboratory This laboratory has been designed to investigate the effects of hemodynamic phenomena on the behavior of vascular cells, (endothelial cells, platelets, smooth muschle cells, osteoblasts) as related to atherosclerosis, intimal hyperplasia, thombosis, and bone growth. 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 de-ionized water source. Biofluid Mechanics Laboratory This laboratory 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 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, and distilled water generator. 
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