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IEEE EMB Society Atlanta Chapter | |
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CHAIR
Dr. Rosana Esteller
(Business) 770-630-2105
resteller@neuropace.com
OTHER OFFICERS
Vice-Chair: Dr. Philip FitzSimons
President, FitzSimons Automation, Inc.
(Business) 770-935-8649
www.fitzsimonsautomation.com
fitzsimo@mindspring.com
Treasurer: J. Lucas McKay
j.lucas.mckay@ieee.org
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
You are invited to the next meeting of the Atlanta Chapter of the
IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Information regarding all chapter activities will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.
PAST ACTIVITY
On April 1, 2008, Dr. Julian Alexander Bragg presented at the quarterly meeting. Information regarding that presentation follows.
Abstract: "From Engineering to Medicine: Threshold Tracking"
While the majority of medical school applicants still enter with a
degree in life sciences, a small but significant number of them have
an engineering background. This engineering training leads not only
to a different initial fund of knowledge, but a fundamentally
different way of approaching clinical problems. An engineering
education, with its training in systems-level thinking and problem
solving despite incomplete information, provides a solid intellectual
base for both clinicians and clinician-scientists.
One recent example of applying engineering techniques to clinical
problems is the development of threshold tracking techniques for
studying the excitability of peripheral nerves. While conventional
nerve conduction studies measure only the nerve's conduction velocity
and maximum response amplitude, threshold tracking allows noninvasive
determination of nerve excitability and how that excitability changes
with exposure to various stimuli. These techniques are being
investigated by multiple groups in hopes that they will serve as more
sensitive indicators of nerve dysfunction for diagnostic purposes and
also clarify the electrophysiologic abnormalities underlying various
peripheral nerve disorders.
Biography: Dr. Bragg received a B.S. in electrical engineering
from the George Washington University in Washington, DC in 1995; a
Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Georgia Institute of
Technology in Atlanta, GA in 2002, and an M.D. from the Emory
University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA in 2004. He is currently
a resident in the Department of Neurology at Emory University.
Dr. Bragg's current research interests include the use of threshold
tracking techniques to noninvasively measure peripheral nerve
excitability and the use of stimulus artifact elimination techniques
to improve the quality and versatility of neuromuscular
electrodiagnostics.
On January 29, 2008,IEEE-EMBS Distinguished Lecturer Dr. Yongmin Kim presented on
"Electronic House Calls: High-Tech Medicine at Your Doorstep" on the Georgia Tech Campus.
The traditional healthcare system is characterized by hospital or clinic-based
face-to-face contacts between the patient and care provides, which frequently occur
at times and locations that are inconvenient or difficult for the patient. The
healthcare delivery in the future needs to be provided in a distributed,
patient-centered manner. The distributed diagnosis and home healthcare (D2H2)
will benefit patients, particularly those with chronic disease, e.g., diabetes,
arthritis, and high blood pressure, by improving the quality, convenience and
efficiency of care, reducing the healthcare cost, and preventing medical errors,
thus leading to increasing access to affordable and effective healthcare. There are many
opportunities for engineers and scientists to innovate and contribute to this
21st century healthcare system.
Dr. Kim's biographical information is available online at
Dr. Kim's bio
On Thursday November 8, 2007 Dr. Pamela Bhatti, Assistant Professor, School of ECE, Georgia Tech
spoke on Cochlear Implants: Past, Present and Future. Dr. Bhatti’s current research interests are
in the general area of biomedical sensors and subsystems, bioMEMS, and microelectronics.
Specifically, she is interested in implantable cochlear electrode arrays, vestibular prostheses,
and the integration of controlled-release drug delivery technology with flexible neural
recording/ stimulating arrays.
Her speech gave a description of the ear and the function of cochlear
implants, explaining that they are only used in patients with hearing loss in both ears. She
briefly described the past and present of cochlear implants. Present systems typically use
signals at several megahertz to communicate from external microphone circuitry to the receiver
implanted in the cochlea and to power the implant. Post-surgery capabilities exist for Neural
Response Telemetry which helps determine how the nerve is responding to the implant. The largest
company is Cochlear Limited in Australia, and names used here are their device
names. The other manufacturers (MedEl and Advanced Bionics) have similar devices. Dr.
Bhatti said that the future of hearing improvement may include items from the following list that
are either enhanced uses of devices that are already approved for usage or new research devices.
These include:
- improvements in Electro-Acoustic stimulation to keep the patients low frequency hearing and
supplement it by improving their high frequency hearing;
- improvements in BAHA Bone Anchored Hearing Aids;
- improvements in ABI Auditory Brainstem implants which connect directly to the auditory nerve;
- developing TIKI Totally Implantable Cochlear Implants;
- developing cochlear hair cell repair;
- and developing neurotropin delivery for treatment of neuron damage affecting the inner ear.
The EMBS Atlanta chapter is grateful to Dr. Bhatti for taking the time to give us her presentation.
On Thur Aug 2, 2007 we held a "planning/brainstorming" meeting for the Atlanta IEEE-EMBS chapter.
We discussed possibilities of job fairs, lab tours, student activities, local outreach to K-12,
hosting a regional biomedical engineering meeting, organizing a future meeting around the topic of
"Building Bridges Between Clinicians and Engineers," and scheduling an expert speaker funded by the
IEEE.
On April 23, 2007 Dr. Bill Hunt, Professor, School of ECE, Georgia Tech spoke about Acoustic Wave
Biosensors for Molecular Recognition and Detection of Conformational Change. The presentation was
given at Southern Polytechnic University.
Acoustic wave devices coated with a biolayer represent one biosensor approach for the
detection of medically relevant biomolecules. In a typical application, the acoustic wave device
is connected in an oscillator circuit, and the frequency shift Delta-f resulting from a
biomolecular event is recorded. Work has included the use of Rayleigh wave surface acoustic wave
devices for vapor phase
detection as well as ZnO resonators and quartz crystal microbalance devices for liquid phase
measurements. For most of the results presented the biofilm on the surface of the acoustic
wave device consists of a layer of antibodies raised against a specific target molecule or
antigen. Results were presented for the vapor phase detection of small molecules such as
uranine, cocaine, TNT and RDX as well as liquid phase detection of small proteins, lipids and
DNA. The data from these various experiments is the signature associated with the
biomolecular recognition events; that is, Delta-f(t). Also presented were the results of the
time-dependent perturbation theory work, which gives a potential method for
resolving the acoustic wave biosensor signature into information relating to molecular structure
changes during a molecular recognition event.
The IEEE EMB Society is grateful to Dr. Hunt for giving this presentation.
On Mon January 29, 2007, Dr. Rosana Esteller talked about recent developments in
neural stimulation for control of epilepsy advanced by Neuropace. Dr. Esteller holds a Ph.D.
in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech. She is currently employed by Neuropace,
a company founded to design, develop, manufacture and market implantable devices for the treatment
of neurological disorders by responsive brain stimulation. Information about Neuropace can be
found at www.neuropace.com. The IEEE EMB Society is grateful to Dr. Esteller for giving this
presentation.
On October 30, 2006, Dr. Melody Moore Jackson, Director, Georgia Tech BrainLab Graphics,
Visualization, and Usability Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
spoke about Direct Brain Interfaces: Communicating with Brain Signals. A Direct Brain-Computer
Interface (DBI) is a system that detects minute electrophysiological changes in brain signals,
and uses them to provide a channel to control computers and other devices. For people with
severe physical disabilities, such as locked-in syndrome and the aftermath of strokes, DBIs
can offer a channel of communication that does not depend on muscle movement. The BrainLab is
devoted to exploring the possibilities of real-world applications for DBI and other biometric
interfaces, both for assistive technology and mainstream applications. Dr. Jackson outlined
several approaches to both invasive (surgically implanted) and non-invasive (non-surgical) DBIs,
and presented the assistive technology systems that the BrainLab is currently researching.
The IEEE EMB Society is grateful to Dr. Jackson for giving this presentation.
On Aug 1, 2006 at the Chamblee Branch of Dekalb Public Library, the inaugural meeting of the IEEE EMB
Society Atlanta chapter was held. Michael Fonseca, Director, MEMS Operations, CardioMEMS spoke about
the technology and products behind CardioMEMS.
CardioMEMS is an Atlanta-based medical device company that makes wireless pressure sensors.
This past year they received FDA marketing approval for their first product.
More info is at http://www.cardiomems.com
The IEEE EMB Society is grateful to Michael for giving this presentation.
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