Alternative Power Supply for Surgically Implanted Pacemakers
Fred Shuber - First place - Graduate 

My research paper will discuss pacemaker technology and alternative 
power sources for surgically implanted pacemakers.  Currently, 
pacemakers come in two flavors: external and internal.  
This paper shall deal strictly with internal pacemakers.

The internal pacemaker is surgically implanted in the body, usually 
in the abdomen or just below the collarbone.  With operating 
lifetimes of about 3 years, the average pacemaker patient must 
have the battery surgically replaced 6 times in his/her lifetime.  
This paper will explore the possibility of a reliable, rechargeable 
pacemaker battery.  A rechargeable battery would dramatically reduce 
medical costs, inconvenience to the patient, and provide for a more 
independent lifestyle for all pacemaker patients. 


Computerized Abstraction of ECG feature variability in 
Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) and normal populations
Arthur Skupinsky - First place - Junior

A new computer-assisted method for automatically measuring the 
RR interval, QT interval and the QRS complex duration over a 
500-heartbeat span has been developed.  The analog signal from an 
ECG machine is further amplified, filtered and converted to a digital 
signal by means of an A/D converter card.  The resultant data is 
transferred into a personal computer.  A graphical program designed 
in LabView automatically defines the QT, RR and QRS intervals by 
using an algorithm employing an adaptive method of smoothed 
derivatives and thresholds.  This process virtually eliminates the need 
for operator adjustment or calculations before the data has been 
taken.  Data is acquired over an epoch of heartbeats and interval 
means, standard deviations and HF/LF ratios of the power spectrum 
of the various interval series. To validate the algorithm a 4-lead single 
channel ECG analysis was performed on 6 patients known to have 
Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) and a control group of 45 volunteers.  
Since the Mitral Valve is now known to have muscle and nerve 
tissues it is postulated that there is Sympathetic/Parasympathetic 
System Balance involvement in the Mitral Valve Prolapse. 

Implementation and Description of Said and Pearlman Codec
Beeta Tarokh - Second place - Senior

Image Compression is a fundamental issue of growing importance in the 
field of Digital Signal Processing. Recently the field of Image 
Compression has seen exponential growth due to its ability to reduce
 the required bandwidth for transmission of images and video 
streams over communication networks, such as the Internet. 
Numerous algorithms have been developed both for lossy and lossless 
compression of images including the JPEG and JBIG. Recently much 
effort has been spent on wavelet based lossy compression of images. 
The SPIHT algorithm (Set Partitioning In Hierarchical Tree), 
introduced by Said and Pearlman, is a landmark in the field of 
image compression. My proposal is to provide both an implementation
 and a description of this computationally simple technique of 
image compression. Examples of uncompressed images with 
their compressed versions will be provided, 
demonstrating the compression ratio of the algorithm.            


Air Flow Sensor
John Papadopoulos - Third place - Senior

This project encompasses the construction of an airflow sensor using an
 op amp, temperature sensors, and resistors to measure the heat loss of 
a semiconductor as a measure of airflow or loss of airflow. 

The application of this unit is intended for air handlers of HVAC units.  
It will indicate loss of airflow due to various causes.  It may be used 
to indicate when service is required, preventing possible damage due to 
operation without established air flow.

This set up will be fed from the low voltage control circuit of the 
unit it is mounted in.  In addition, it will activate with airflow, 
which can be used to indicate loss of airflow.  This output can be 
tied into an indicator light or an alarm.  


Design of a Music Synthesizer using a TSL230A Phototransducer
Lauren Porr - Runner Up - Senior

The purpose of this experiment is to design a musical instrument that will 
play two octaves of sound.  This will be based on a light source 
shining into an enclosure and onto a circuit based on the TSL230A chip,
 which changes varying light waves into square waves.  The 
frequency of the square waves, which is proportional to the 
intensity of light, is determined by the adjustable settings on the chip.

These square waves will then be converted into sound by filtering the output 
to attain the proper range of sound desired and also converting 
the square waves into sine waves.  The output will then 
be amplified and sent into a small speaker.

Alterations to this simple design include using a constant light source, 
as opposed to an adjustable one, and varying the light source.  
Also, the output may be altered by using different filters to vary 
the sound, to perhaps imitate the sound of an actual musical instrument.