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Description
The Larynx plays a pivotal role in our ability to breathe and to speak. It is in our best interest to continue improving the status of tissue regeneration concerning the larynx so that patient voice quality of life can be less hindered in the face of laryngeal cancers and diseases.

The Larynx plays a pivotal role in our ability to breathe and to speak. It is in our best interest to continue improving the status of tissue regeneration concerning the larynx so that patient voice quality of life can be less hindered in the face of laryngeal cancers and diseases. Modern technology can allow us to use CT scans for both diagnosis and treatment. This medical imaging can be converted into three-dimensional patient specific models that are actualized through 3D printing. These implants improve upon the current state of the art because they can be produced in a timely manner, are developed with materials and methods ensuring their biocompatibility, and follow architectures and geometries best suited for the patient to improve their voice quality of life. Additionally they should be able to allow patient speech in the case of partial laryngectomies where the arytenoid has been removed by acting as a permanent vocal fold This treatment process for laryngectomies aligns itself with personalized medicine by targeting its geometry based on that of the patient. Technologies and manufacturing processes utilized to produce them are accessible and could all be used within the clinical space. The life-saving implant required for the laryngectomy healing and recovery process can be ready to implant for the patient within a few days of imaging them.
ContributorsBarry, Colin Patrick (Author) / Pizziconi, Vincent (Thesis director) / Lott, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
Many industries require workers in warehouse and stockroom environments to perform frequent lifting tasks. Over time these repeated tasks can lead to excess strain on the worker's body and reduced productivity. This project seeks to develop an exoskeletal wrist fixture to be used in conjunction with a powered exoskeleton arm

Many industries require workers in warehouse and stockroom environments to perform frequent lifting tasks. Over time these repeated tasks can lead to excess strain on the worker's body and reduced productivity. This project seeks to develop an exoskeletal wrist fixture to be used in conjunction with a powered exoskeleton arm to aid workers performing box lifting types of tasks. Existing products aimed at improving worker comfort and productivity typically employ either fully powered exoskeleton suits or utilize minimally powered spring arms and/or fixtures. These designs either reduce stress to the user's body through powered arms and grippers operated via handheld controls which have limited functionality, or they use a more minimal setup that reduces some load, but exposes the user's hands and wrists to injury by directing support to the forearm. The design proposed here seeks to strike a balance between size, weight, and power requirements and also proposes a novel wrist exoskeleton design which minimizes stress on the user's wrists by directly interfacing with the object to be picked up. The design of the wrist exoskeleton was approached through initially selecting degrees of freedom and a ROM (range of motion) to accommodate. Feel and functionality were improved through an iterative prototyping process which yielded two primary designs. A novel "clip-in" method was proposed to allow the user to easily attach and detach from the exoskeleton. Designs utilized a contact surface intended to be used with dry fibrillary adhesives to maximize exoskeleton grip. Two final designs, which used two pivots in opposite kinematic order, were constructed and tested to determine the best kinematic layout. The best design had two prototypes created to be worn with passive test arms that attached to the user though a specially designed belt.
ContributorsGreason, Kenneth Berend (Author) / Sugar, Thomas (Thesis director) / Holgate, Matthew (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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Description
A much anticipated outcome of the rapidly emerging field of personalized medicine is a significant increase in the standard of care afforded to patients. However, before the full potential of personalized medicine can be realized, key enabling technologies must be further developed. The purpose of this study was to use

A much anticipated outcome of the rapidly emerging field of personalized medicine is a significant increase in the standard of care afforded to patients. However, before the full potential of personalized medicine can be realized, key enabling technologies must be further developed. The purpose of this study was to use enabling technologies such as medical imaging, image reconstruction, and rapid prototyping to create a model of an implant for use in vocal fold repair surgery. Vocal fold repair surgery is performed for patients with great difficulty in phonation, breathing, and swallowing as a result of vocal fold damage caused by age, disease, cancer, scarring, or paralysis. This damage greatly hinders patients' social, personal, and professional lives due to difficulty in efficient communication. In this project, the image reconstruction of a subject's vocal fold in 3D is demonstrated utilizing NIH-funded advanced image processing software known as ITK-SNAP, which uniquely allows both semi-automatic and manual image segmentation. The hyoid bone, thyroid cartilage, arytenoid cartilage, and empty airway of the larynx were isolated using active contouring for use as anatomical benchmarks. Then, the vocal fold mold, including the vocal fold, a superior extension along the thyroid cartilage, and an inferior extension along the airway, was modeled with manual segmentation. The configured, isolated, and edited vocal fold model was converted into an STL file. This STL file can be imported to a 3D printer to fabricate a mold for reconstruction of a patient specific vocal fold biocompatible implant. This feasibility study serves as a basis to allow ENT surgeons at the Mayo Clinic to dramatically improve reparative surgery outcomes for patients. This work embodies the strategic importance of multidisciplinary teams working at the interface of technology and medicine to optimize patient outcomes.
ContributorsPatel, Anjana Ketan (Author) / Pizziconi, Vincent (Thesis director) / Lott, David (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05