Senior Design

The objective of this project is to optimize the operations system around the kettle boil process step on the brewery lines at both the Gifford Lab and the Ramskeller Brewery.

To develop a pre-distillation process at Anheuser-Busch to make the repurposing of their waste ethanol more efficient and cost effective. The pre-distillation process may be a singular process or a combination of process.

GPR is a reverse phase medium that is mixed with demineralized cortical bone for the improvement of bone regeneration. The current process is titrating the GPR using citric acid to lower the pH to 6.4 – 6.9. Currently this process is done manually. A small amount of citric acid is added at certain time intervals which is time consuming for the technician. Also, this titration needs to be conducted in a cold room. Note that one of the issues with this process is the incoming raw material (granular form) does not have a consistent starting pH. It can vary from 9 – 12. Ideally the system will: - Be fully automated from the point that the technician starts the program to the point that the medium is titrated. - Use citric acid to titrate the GPR medium. - Fit in a fume hood with a height of 53 inches, width of 70 inches, and a length of 75 inches. - Titrate until the solution is of a pH of 6.4-6.9. - Collect and save data after each dispense of citric acid. - Some work has been done and will be shared with the senior design team.

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the US, affecting about 18.2 million American adults. Arterial bifurcation blockages are an extremely common type of coronary artery disease, and there are a variety of procedures to deal with lesions that are proximal to the bifurcation. Most common among these procedures is the kissing balloon procedure, which can be aided with the use of a dual-lumen catheter. Even with the use of a dual-lumen catheter, there still remains a need for a device that can deal with proximal lesions easily, and does so by improving accuracy and maneuverability, as well as ease-of-use for surgeons. This project will explore solutions such as a two-pronged device that can better deal with proximal lesions, and improve on existing balloon angioplasty techniques while doing so.

The purpose of this project is to develop a pilot fuel reactor system for a methanol engine reactor.

The objective of this project is to create a direct carbon capture device that is 1 foot cubed in dimension.

The Anaerobic Digester project consists of feasibility analysis that involves researching the possibility of implementing a zero waste digester on the CSU campus. The digester would be considered an innovation if the use of ethanol amine proves successful to filter out the hydrogen sulfide that is created as a byproduct from the methane production.

The goal of the project is to create a second version of a prosthetic for a CSU student born without arms. The first iteration was a success but further optimization is needed. More information can be found https://engr.source.colostate.edu/engineering-real-world-biomedical-solutions-hits-home-for-business-major-jian-cohen/

Current Simsei laparoscopic surgery training products are made out of silicone which produces a lot of waste when performing single-use procedures. This project would require the students to understand the tactile/mechanical properties of the tissue that we are trying to simulate and develop models with materials that can be recycled or are more eco-friendly than our current products.

Administering accurate medication dosages to pediatric patients in emergency situations is critical for safe and effective care. As dosages completely rely on body weight, the methods used to determine this measurement should have minimal error and a short time to calculate. However, current methods of assessing the weight of emergency pediatric patients possess variable accuracy and are inconvenient. These methods show a dependence on ideal body weight or health data surveys that do not provide adequate accuracy for demographics across the United States. The current techniques employed can include multiple measurements or require visual-based analysis of the patient by paramedics/EMTs. This project will explore solutions such as integration of a weighing system into or on top of the stretchers used in emergency medical response, to increase patient safety and expedite treatment of pediatric patients.

Our goal of the project is to upscale the production of terpineol include alkaloids from catharanthus roseus.

The goal of this project is to create a microfluidic device facilitating rapid immunoassays for the quantification of human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2), a protein linked to breast cancer. This innovative device will apply a voltage to an electrode, inducing light emission at the electrode if HER2 is present, which can be measured and signify a specific concentration of HER2. The microfluidic device should deliver timely and accurate results, ultimately improving patient care and outcomes.

The goal of this project will be to design and build a custom system to induce traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rodents (mice, rats, and guinea pigs) for research purposes. While current models exist, they have limited reproducibility, flexibility for varied injury protocols, and clinical relevance. The development of this system will assist with the study of TBI injury and development of novel therapeutic options that help both human and veterinary patients that suffer from TBI.

Despite recent breakthroughs in targeted and immune therapies, melanoma remains the most aggressive of skin cancers, and will result in an estimated 7,900 deaths in 2023 in the USA alone. However, if diagnosed and removed in the earliest stages, survival rates can exceed 99%, motivating efforts for increasing awareness, screening, and early detection. But with these efforts comes an increase in false positives and biopsies of lesions that turn out to be benign. In addition, for high-risk patients with large numbers of suspicious-looking lesions, taking a biopsy of every potential melanoma may not be feasible. A non-invasive laser imaging alternative, reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) has been around for a while, but clinicians have been slow to adopt the technology because it lacks the clear contrast produced by a conventional biopsy. This year’s project will focus on developing both the next-generation RCM scanner hardware and contrast agents that enhance reflectivity from specific cell and tissue structures.

Creation of shelf-stable crystalized insulin for use in emergency situations with lack of refrigeration options.

Wouldn’t it be cool to breathe into a cellphone and have it screen for diseases or health issues before you see a doctor? Studies have shown that this might be feasible. This project originated as a venture-funded low-cost Covid-19 tester in the 2020-2021 academic year. That year the BME team chose to investigate an electronic nose (e-nose) to smell breath biomarkers, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Research papers showed that e-nose technology could detect many human health conditions including Covid-19, asthma, COPD, liver disease, and lung cancer. By May 2021, the team had designed a first prototype, the Sniftek 5, which used five metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensors. In the 2021-2022 academic year, a new team used the Sniftek 5 device to do extensive testing of VOCs. They also designed an improved device, the Sniftek 36, and filed two provisional patents. 2022-2023 was the last year for venture funding, so the team focused on designing, prototyping, validating, and manufacturing a breath analysis device for a customer that would purchase them. The result was the BreathConnect, which is an internet-connected alcohol breathalyzer. The 2022-2023 team also developed a proof-of-concept model of a better and more accurate test device, called the breath machine. The BreathConnect breathalyzer uses an electrochemical sensor. This product was created to help start Sniftek, Inc, a commercial company, which is paying for the 2023-2024 project.

Non-profit organizations that provide prosthetics to amputees in low-income communities struggle to meet the demand for quality prosthetic feet through their reliance on donations. After beginning the development of an in-house manufacturing process for producing low-cost, high-performance prosthetic feet, Step Up Prosthetics is proposing a continuation senior design project that will improve the performance of the foot, improve the durability of the foot, and find a solution for creating foot shells.

Our team is trying to provide proof of concept for an epinephrine delivery system, alternative to an injector. Last semester we were working on proposing a synthesis for the encapsulation of epinephrine and this semester we are working on the design and modeling of a sublingual administration device.

To improve aspects within the CMP step at Texas Instruments.

Lactide-glycollide copolymer synthesis is a process of interest for healthcare application. The team aim is to better understand this process through polymerization experiments and modeling. Results can be used by Tolmar pharmaceutics to more efficiently, less energy, less resource, less time to manufacture the product.

The goal of our project is to research the microbes living in soil to characterize their nitrogen fixing potential. We hope to find a microbe that fixes nitrogen that can be grown industrially and sold to farmers as a nitrogen source. This will supplement chemically synthesized nitrogen as a sustainable alternative.

We are creating a filtration system to filter waste water through a pumpard activated carbon filter, and collect a sample bottle containing viruses from the waste water. This will be sent to Dr. Susan's lab. where they are using protein crystals to capture viruses like covid-19 and run it through a PCR test.