Biomedical Engineering Speakers

Title: Using acoustically active particles to enhance focused ultrasound therapy outcomes 

Abstract: Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a non-invasive and non-ionizing technology. It converges ultrasound beam at a point, which results in bio-effects such as ablation, neuromodulation, and opening of blood brain barrier. FUS is currently FDA approved for ablating uterine fibroids, performing thalamotomies to relieve essential tremor due to Parkinson’s diseases, and for providing pain relief for bone metastasis. While potential of FUS is FDA approved for many applications, there are certain limitations. These limitations can be overcome by pairing FUS with acoustically active particles, such as nanodroplets and microbubbles. One of the limitations is that FUS ablation needs high pressures, which can result in off-target heating of the areas that are in the path of the FUS beam. By coupling FUS with nanodroplets, which are very efficient with acoustic absorption, we can ablate tissues at lower pressures, thereby reducing heating of the tissues in the beam path. Another limitation of FUS is that it is primarily targeted using MRI, which is costly and does not have the ability to monitor particle activity. Monitoring activity of nanoparticles and microbubble during FUS procedures can enhance safety of FUS therapies as it can enable us to intervene at the right time such that no irreversible tissue damage occurs during therapy, especially during FUS brain therapies. By combining FUS with microbubble mediated ultrasound imaging, we can create all-ultrasound system. This system can make transcranial anatomical images of the brain, which can then be used to target FUS with microbubble to open blood brain barrier and monitor procedures with ultrasound imaging.

Bio: Aparna Singh, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Biomedical Engineering department at Columbia University. She holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering and a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University. Her research interests focus on combining focused ultrasound with imaging ultrasound with emphasis on performing focused ultrasound mediated blood brain barrier and neuromodulation. In addition to her doctoral and postdoctoral research, she has engaged in imaging and therapeutic research at Mayo Clinic, Dartmouth College, and Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.  

Topic: Human Performance Monitoring and Augmentation:  Optimizing Health and Wellness of Athletes, Servicemembers, and the General Population 

Technological advancements in micro and flexible electronics, IoT, handheld computing power, and data analytics has empowered all of us to have health and wellness (literally) at our fingertips.  What is the current state of these consumer technologies?  How can this information be utilized to optimize health and wellness?  How is this information used for different populations, from elite athletes to everyday people?  Most importantly, once you have this information, how can you action it? 

We will discuss these topics, as well as specific use cases in different populations, and an exciting and emerging field of recovery science. 

Bio: Dr. Hagen has worked in the field of biosensors since his graduate research began 21 years ago, and additionally in the field of Human Performance research for the last 11 years at the Air Force Research Laboratory for the US Government and in academia at West Virginia University and Ohio State University.  This research involves the optimization of Human Performance in athletes, military, and clinical populations through the measurement of physiology, data analysis to provide a deep understanding of the data, and finally research in augmentation therapies to maximize performance. 

Dr. Hagen is the Faculty Director of the Human Performance Collaborative under the Office of Research at Ohio State University.  The HPC has a mission to improve the lives of Athletes, Military, and Patient populations through research and translational science.  Within the Human Performance research area, Dr. Hagen leads 2 core research components:  Sports and Tactical Performance Science, and Recovery Science.  This includes both in-lab controlled and field-based applied research studies consisting of physiological measurements from heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep, blood based biomarkers (acute, chronic, and epigenetic markers) to name a few.  Performance tests such as VO2 max, aerobic and anaerobic power testing, biomechanics screening, cognitive testing etc. will be conducted both in the lab and in the field.  Through detailed study design, reliable data collection, and in-depth and novel data analytics, all led by HPC researchers and graduate students, we can achieve our goals of maximizing the health, wellness, and performance of athletes, military, and clinical patient populations. 

A primary motivation behind Dr. Hagen’s research, and a driving factor behind the HPC is to help the population through the advancement and transition of the science behind human performance, health, and wellness.  We have the distinct privilege of working directly with military personnel, both active duty and veterans, athletes, both collegiate and professional, and the general population.  It is our mission and duty to help all of the groups stay healthy and perform at a high level.   

Medical Device Design - Best Practices and Pitfalls

Product design is a complex, multi-faceted endeavor with varied and often mutually exclusive goals. Medical device design can be particularly challenging as the list of stakeholders has to be expanded to include various regulatory agencies in addition to the customers directly impacted by the product and the people building, selling and servicing the devices. This presentation will highlight some of the best practices as well as the pitfalls of navigating the medical device design process through a case study of bringing one device from concept to market and the challenges encountered along the way.

Bio: Principal Mechanical Design Engineer at Medtronic and was previously the Director of Operations at SonarMed 

Innovation Inside the Box 

The traditional view of creativity is that you need to think “outside the box” to be truly original and innovative. Start with the problem and then brainstorm without restraint. Go wild making analogies to things that have nothing to do with your product, service, or process and you’ll come up with a breakthrough idea.  

Our comprehensive study of the most successful innovations, and our practice with some of the most successful companies in the world, proves just the opposite. More innovation—and better and quicker innovation—happens when you think “inside the box.”  (1) work inside your familiar world, (2) generate solutions independent of any specific problem, and (3) use just five simple techniques to generate those solutions—subtraction, unification, multiplication, dependency, and division.  

These techniques form the basis of the innovation method called Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT). In the twenty years since its inception, the method has been expanded to cover a wide range of innovation-related phenomena in a variety of contexts. The techniques are based on patterns used by mankind for thousands of years to create new solutions. These patterns are embedded into the products and services you see around you almost like the DNA of a product or service. SIT allows you to extract those patterns and reapply to other things. By learning to use SIT, you can learn to innovate at any time and at any place on command. 

Bio: Drew Boyd, a 30-year industry veteran, brings a wealth of experience and success to his work in innovation. He served as a marketing executive for 17 years at Johnson & Johnson, one of the most admired and innovative companies in the world. As director of Marketing Mastery at J&J, he created and led an internal marketing university that taught executives the skills of innovation, strategy and persuasion.  

Today, Drew trains, consults, and speaks widely in the fields of innovation, persuasion, and social media. He is Professor-Educator of Marketing and Innovation at the University of Cincinnati. His work has been featured in numerous business publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Industry Week, Psychology Today, and Strategy Business. Drew hosts the podcast "Innovation Inside the Box. He is also the co-author of the Inside the Box: A Proven System for Creativity and Breakthrough Results and the author of So You Want to Be a Professor: How to Land Your Dream Job in Academia and Adding Prestige to Your Portfolio: How to Use the Creative Luxury Process to Develop Products Everyone Wants.