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 microdevices or "BioMEMS" in conjunction with the Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM). Research labs currently associated with the Biomedical Engineering Program include:

The Biofluid Mechanics Laboratory - Dr. Steven Jones (BEC 233) is used to measure velocities and flows in models of arteries, to test methods of measuring flow velocity through new approaches to Doppler ultrasound, and to examine the effect of mechanical stress and chemical agents on platelet adhesion. The flow 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 cells. The laboratory includes laser Doppler velocimetry equipment, a cone-in-plate viscometer, a data acquisition computer, various PC computers, ultrasonic equipment, an anti-vibration table, a spectrum analyzer, physiological pressure transducers, Carolina Medical electromagnetic flow meters, a transit time flow meter, model manufacturing facilities, a single syringe infusion pump and a 10-syringe infusion pump.

The Cellular Neuroscience Lab - Dr. Mark DeCoster (BEC235) is designed for biochemical and digital imaging analysis of cellular events in brain.  Current planned activities include brain cell inflammatory responses, digital imaging of apoptosis in normal and brain tumor cells and response of brain glial cells to injury. Major equipments include PC- and Mac-based imaging workstations (4); motorized inverted fluorescence microscope with digital camera (Leica).

The NanoParticle Training and Manufacturing Laboratory - Dr. Patrick O'Neal (BEC 136) focuses on biomedical optics and nanotechnology for the support of cancer detection, treatment, and management.  Current activities include optical sensing and imaging, development of optically-active nanoparticles for detection, imaging, and drug delivery, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for bio-assays, and nanomaterial toxicity assessment.  Major equipment includes a PTI Dual Monochromator Fluorescence Spectrometer, fiber optic equipment (Thor Labs), a Beckman Coulter DU-800 UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, and a Raman Systems R3000-HR Raman Spectrometer: portable system with 785nm laser

The Neural Signals and Systems Laboratory - Dr. Alan Chiu (BEC 152) is used to investigate and model the dynamics of neuronal systems for brain function restoration and to design algorithms for the classification, prediction and therapy of neural-pathological conditions.  Current activities include early detection of seizures, neural modeling, stochastic resonance and network synchronization, and control strategies for prosthetic devices.  The lab includes microelectrode array system and patch-clamp recording system.

The Tissue Engineering and Cell Culture Laboratory (BEC 240) has been designed to investigate the effects of hemodynamic phenomena on the behavior of vascular cells, (endothelial cells, platelets, smooth muscle cells, osteoblasts) as related to atherosclerosis, intimal hyperplasia, thrombosis, bone growth, and micromanufactured cell substrates. The lab includes a laminar fume hood, an environmentally-controlled flow chamber, an imaging microscope, an injection-flow apparatus (syringe pump), an incubator, a centrifuge, a refrigerator, and a plate reader. The lab is jointly funded by CyBERS and the School of Biological Sciences.

The Biomedical Engineering Center Shared Instrumentation Lab is a shared facility for Biomedical Engineering Faculty and their students.  Major equipment include PC Digital Image Analysis Workstation; refrigerator freezer (2); chemical hood; lyophilizer; streaming potential instrument; tensile strength instrument; liquid scintillation counter; centrifuge; microbalance-scale; pH meter; upright microscope.