Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4
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- All Subjects: Epilepsy
- Creators: Harrington Bioengineering Program
Description
In epilepsy, malformations that cause seizures often require surgery. The purpose of this research is to join forces with the Multi-Center Epilepsy Lesion Detection (MELD) project at University College London (UCL) in order to improve the process of detecting lesions in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. This, in turn, will improve surgical outcomes via more structured surgical planning. It is a global effort, with more than 20 sites across 5 continents. The targeted populations for this study include patients whose epilepsy stems from Focal Cortical Dysplasia. Focal Cortical Dysplasia is an abnormality of cortical development, and causes most of the drug-resistant epilepsy. Currently, the creators of MELD have developed a set of protocols which wrap various
commands designed to streamline post-processing of MRI images. Using this partnership, the Applied Neuroscience and Technology Lab at PCH has been able to complete production of a post-processing pipeline which integrates locally sourced smoothing techniques to help identify lesions in patients with evidence of Focal Cortical Dysplasia. The end result is a system in which a patient with epilepsy may experience more successful post-surgical results due to the
combination of a lesion detection mechanism and the radiologist using their trained eye in the presurgical stages. As one of the main points of this work is the global aspect of it, Barrett thesis funding was dedicated for a trip to London in order to network with other MELD project collaborators. This was a successful trip for the project as a whole in addition to this particular thesis. The ability to troubleshoot problems with one another in a room full of subject matter
experts allowed for a high level of discussion and learning. Future work includes implementing machine learning approaches which consider all morphometry parameters simultaneously.
commands designed to streamline post-processing of MRI images. Using this partnership, the Applied Neuroscience and Technology Lab at PCH has been able to complete production of a post-processing pipeline which integrates locally sourced smoothing techniques to help identify lesions in patients with evidence of Focal Cortical Dysplasia. The end result is a system in which a patient with epilepsy may experience more successful post-surgical results due to the
combination of a lesion detection mechanism and the radiologist using their trained eye in the presurgical stages. As one of the main points of this work is the global aspect of it, Barrett thesis funding was dedicated for a trip to London in order to network with other MELD project collaborators. This was a successful trip for the project as a whole in addition to this particular thesis. The ability to troubleshoot problems with one another in a room full of subject matter
experts allowed for a high level of discussion and learning. Future work includes implementing machine learning approaches which consider all morphometry parameters simultaneously.
ContributorsHumphreys, Zachary William (Author) / Kodibagkar, Vikram (Thesis director) / Foldes, Stephen (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Epileptic encephalopathies (EE) are genetic or environmentally-caused conditions that cause “catastrophic” damage or degradation to the sensory, cognitive, and behavioral centers of the brain. Whole-exome sequencing identified de novo heterozygous missense mutations within the DNM1 gene of five pediatric patients with epileptic encephalopathies. DNM1 encodes for the dynamin-1 protein which is involved in endocytosis and synaptic recycling, and it is a member of dynamin GTPase. The zebrafish, an alternative model system for drug discovery, was utilized to develop a novel model for dynamin-1 epileptic encephalopathy through a small molecule inhibitor. The model system mimicked human epilepsy caused by DNM1 mutations and identified potential biochemical pathways involved in the production of this phenotype. The use of microinjections of mutated DNM1 verified phenotypes and was utilized to determine safe and effective antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for treatment of this specific EE. This zebrafish dynamin-1 epileptic encephalopathy model has potential uses for drug discovery and investigation of this rare childhood disorder.
ContributorsMills, Gabrielle Corley (Author) / Kodibagkar, Vikram (Thesis director) / Rangasamy, Sampath (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
In this study, the entrainment of brain dynamics in epilepsy was investigated in a thorough, systematic way. In the first part of the study, diagnosis of epilepsy, elements from the theory of chaos were used to measure the brain dynamics over time from EEGs (electroencephalograms) recorded in humans with either epileptic or non-epileptic seizures. In the second part of the study, treatment of epilepsy, data from rats undergoing VNS (vagus nerve stimulation) treatment were analyzed in the same way. The results suggest that a) the differential diagnosis in humans with epileptic and non-epileptic seizures can be significantly improved by analysis of brain dynamics, and b) the Vagus Nerve Stimulation may be working by controlling the entrainment level of brain dynamics.
ContributorsRoth, Austin Edward (Author) / Iasemidis, Leonidas (Thesis director) / Tsakalis, Kostas (Committee member) / Spano, Mark (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Epilepsy is a medical disorder that is difficult to diagnose given the current available protocols and procedures. This project looks at the potential economic impact of a new digital screening technology developed by EpiFinder, Inc. Utilizing a thorough literature review, this thesis generated a concept based clinical utility function comprised of the essential functional aspects of a seizure assessment. EpiFinder’s digital screening tool was then inserted into the clinical utility objective function based on its capabilities. In order to evaluate the potential impact of this model, hospital discharge data from Phoenix Children’s Hospital was assessed for costs relating to procedures performed. This was estimated using average charges for Medicare Part B in 2018. Patients were categorized based on the severity of their seizure presentation into groups of well-controlled, intermediate-controlled, and uncontrolled seizures. Due to a limited data set for well-controlled seizure patients, only intermediate-controlled and uncontrolled groups were compared through the clinical utility model. There was an average cost savings of $227.92 for the uncontrolled group with digital screening and $131.94 for the intermediate-controlled group. The findings of this feasibility study for the economic impact of digital screening suggest further work to refine the model and improve the quality of cost estimates. Clinical utility of seizure assessment procedures and protocols should be quantified through claims data and field specialists opinions to broaden the scope of digital screening’s impact across the continuum of care for epilepsy patients. Comparisons of clinical utility and the creation of an objective function to assess new medical technologies is becoming a common practice for analyzing new medical technologies entering the market. This is the first such attempt in regards to adding a digital screening tool into the current seizure assessment protocols.
ContributorsSilverman, Bernard (Author) / Baldwin, Marjorie (Thesis director) / Mehta, Neel (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05