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- All Subjects: Finite Element Analysis
- Creators: Fisher, Rebecca
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
While there is extensive information available about organizations that receive donated organs for transplant, much less is known about those that accept tissue and whole bodies for medical education and research. Throughout the United States, nontransplant anatomical donation organizations exist within an ambiguous sector of the donation industry, unencumbered by federal regulations. Although these companies adhere to the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, the lack of a single entity responsible for overseeing their operations has led to public skepticism and animosity among competing businesses. Legislation has the potential to legitimize the industry. For it to be successful, however, the intricacies of a complex market that deals directly with the movement of human remains and intangible issues of human integrity and morality, must be thoroughly understood.
ContributorsGlynn, Emily Sanders (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Fisher, Rebecca (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Animals have always been a source of inspiration for real-life problems. The octopus is one such animal that has a lot of untapped potential. The octopus’s arm is without solid joints or bone structure and despite this it can achieve many complicated movements with virtually infinite degrees of freedom. This ability is made possible through the unique morphology of the arm. The octopus’s arm is divided into transverse, longitudinal, oblique, and circular muscle groups and each one has a unique muscle fiber orientation. The octopus’s arm is classified as a hydrostat because it maintains a constant volume while contracting with the help of its different muscle groups. These muscle groups allow elongation, shortening, bending, and twisting of the arm when they work in combination with each other. To confirm the role of transverse and longitudinal muscle groups, an electromyography (EMG) recording of these muscle groups was performed while an amputated arm of an Octopus bimaculoides was stimulated with an electrical signal to induce movement. Statistical analysis was performed on these results to confirm the roles of each muscle group quantitatively. Octopus arm morphology was previously assumed to be uniform along the arm. Through a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study at the proximal, middle, and distal sections of the arm this notion was disproven, and a new pattern was discovered. Drawing inspiration from this finding and previous octopus arm prototypes, 4 bio-inspired designs were conceived and tested in finite element analysis (FEA) simulations. Four tests in elongation, shortening, bending, and transverse-assisted bending movements were performed on all designs to compare each design’s performance. The findings in this study have applications in engineering and soft robotics fields for use cases such as, handling fragile objects, minimally invasive surgeries, difficult-to-access areas that require squeezing through small holes, and other novel cases.
ContributorsAhmadi, Salaheddin (Author) / Marvi, Hamidreza (Thesis advisor) / Fisher, Rebecca (Committee member) / Xu, Zhe (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023