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Engineering Biomedical Technologies for the Developing World

Author
Vemulapati, Sasank
Abstract
The global healthcare landscape is experiencing a shift with an increasing demand for decentralized testing. Diagnostic testing is moving from the benchtop to the bedside and there is a need for translational medical tools to help usher in the generation of personalized medicine. Point-of-care medical devices have become a powerful tool to help address this growing need and can help deliver high-quality diagnostic testing at lower costs and greater convenience in comparison to conventional laboratory techniques. Point-of-care devices have also emerged as a suitable platform for use in resource limited settings where access to state-of-the-art medical equipment is scarce. In this dissertation, I detail the design and development of three unique biomedical technologies: Nutriphone, H.E.R.M.E.S and cAST. These technologies were created and developed with the specific intention of advancing diagnostic testing at the point-of-care with extended application for use in resource-limited environments. While there are similar themes in the design philosophy of the three technologies, they address entirely different areas of interest; Nutriphone enables rapid assessment of Vitamin D deficiencies, H.E.R.M.E.S enables quick and efficient pre-diagnostic sample preparation for blood-based testing and cAST offers accelerated assessment of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial organisms. I will highlight the underlying technical principles and the key innovations that we were able to demonstrate along with initial clinical results that make them promising platforms worthy of further development.
Date Issued
2019-08-30Subject
Design; Biomedical engineering; Mechanical engineering
Committee Chair
Erickson, David
Committee Member
Mehta, Saurabh; Singh, Ankur
Degree Discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Degree Name
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering
Degree Level
Doctor of Philosophy
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Rights URI
Type
dissertation or thesis
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution 4.0 International