| Biomaterials
 Biomaterial
combines both material sciences and biomedical aspects.
A biomaterial replaces a part or a function of the body
in a safe, reliable, economic, and physiologically acceptable
manner. A variety of devices and materials is used in
the treatment of disease or injury. Common examples include
sutures, needles, catheters, plates, implants, artificial
skin, implantable devices and tooth fillings. A biomaterial
is a synthetic material used to replace part of a living
system or to function in intimate contact with living
tissue. A biomaterial deals with the design, synthesis
and applications of both living and non-living materials
for temporary and permanent replacement of human tissues.
Current faculty research projects related to Biomaterials
include:
Bluestein:
- Artificial heart valves
- Role of flow dynamics and turbulence in atherosclerosis
and heart valve cardioembolism
Clark:
- Granulation tissue induction in cutaneous wound
repair
- "Smart" matrix for wound repair
Entcheva:
- Scaffold material and topography effects on cell
function
Hadjiargyrou:
- Development of a cell and gene delivery biodegradable
scaffold for the accelearation of bone regeneration
Rafailovich:
- Polymeric liquids
- Phase transitions
- Thin film wetting phenomena
| 
 Pictured
above is a numerical simulation of blood flow
past a St. Jude Medical mechanical heart valve
prosthesis (at right).
|
Biomechanics
Biomechanics implements broad knowledge of mechanical
and civil engineering in solving biomedical problems.
Biomechanics has a long history and has built a foundation
for modern biomedical engineering. Mechanics is the
engineering science that deals with studying, defining,
and mathematically quantifying "interactions" that take
place among "things" in our universe. Our ability to
perceive the physical manifestation of such interactions
is embedded in the concept of a force, and the "things"
that transmit forces among themselves are classified
for purposed or analysis as being solid, fluid, or some
combination of the two. What makes echanics biomechanics
is the fact that biomechanics is the science that deals
with the time and space response characteristics of
biologic solids, fluids, and viscoelastic materials
to imposed systems of internal and external forces.
The principles of biomechanics have been applied and
used for monitoring physiologic function, processing
the data thus accumulated, theories to explain the data,
diagnosing why the human "engine" malfunctions as a
result of disease, aging, and ordinary wear, repairing
and rehabilitating body parts, and supporting ailing
physiologic organs.
Current faculty research projects related to Biomechanics
include:
Demes:
- Locomotion and skeleton physiology
- Biomechanics
- Functional morphology
- Scaling effects on locomotion
Judex:
- Quantification of bone's mechanical environment
at the tissue and microstructural level
- Identification of mechanical parameters capable
of stimulating trabecular and cortical bone formation
- Loss of bone quantity and quality during simulated
weightlessness
Khalsa:
- Soft tissue indentation
- Spinal biomechanics
- Neural encoding of mechanical stimuli
Krukenkamp:
- Optimization of cardiac valve placement and suturing
techniques
Larson:
- Functional morphology of human and nonhuman primate
locomotor systems
Qin:
- Function of solid and fluid phase biomechanics in
bone remodeling.
- Computational biomechanics
Ross:
- Morphological adaptation of the skeleton to functional
loads
Rubin:
- Cortical and trabecular bone adaptation to novel
mechanical stimulation
- Functional influences on musculo-skeletal adaptation
Sokoloff:
- Biomechanics of joint lubrication, aging, arthritis
Stern:
- Human muscle function in relation to athletic activity
and orthopaedics
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