termpaper

BME 516, Principles of Biomedical Engineering - Term Paper Assignments

Updated 11/9/99

Grade will be based on a combination of the oral presentation (25%) and the written review (75%). The combined grades will dictate 25% of the overall grade for the course (see Course Description).

The oral presentation should be 15 minutes long. Please be ready at the start of the class period. Students may use any combination of blackboard, overhead projector, 35 mm slides, and/or a personal computer to make your presentation. If a 35 mm slide projector is required, students should make arrangements for the equipment through the department. Students are expected to give a rehearsed, polished presentation with appropriate
visual aides.

Term paper topics have been chosen so that you should have no trouble finding at least 15 highly relevant research aritcles to review for your project. In most cases there will be many more articles available. It is expected that you will evaluate substantially more articles than those that finally make it into your report - thus those in your report should be the most germane and significant articles for your research topic. To do a good job on this task, your written review will be 10-15 pages single-spaced. Topics other than those listed below may be chosen after consultation with and consent from the course coordinator, with the constraint that the research topic should not be related to the student's thesis research area.

ADDED 11/9/99 - To repeat the discussion from class regarding reference articles, it is expected that you will read, partially read or scan the abstract of many articles as you focus down on the 15 or so highly relevant research articles for your review. You may wish to reference these articles in your review, and if so they should be included in the list of references at the end of your paper. You do not need to turn in all of those articles with your written term paper. However, you must turn in (in a separate folder or notebook) copies of the 15 or so articles that make your "final cut" for detailed review in the term paper. This set of articles is due along with the term paper on 11/23/99.

Here is an example outline for the sections of the your term paper:

INTRODUCTION

Establish the importance of the subject
Overview of current state of the art
Clearly state objective of current critical review

CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Present in detail a review of the scientific literature on the topic
Organize this section intelligently - by research subtopic, for instance
For each study (based on its relative importance to your review), you may want to present

What was done
Why it was done
How it was done (brief)
How it was analyzed (brief)
Major results
Major conclusions and whether justified or not
Strengths and weaknesses

Critically evaluate the presented work (important)

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

This important section should summarize the work on the topic to date
Restate the research review questions that were to be addressed in your report
Identify the overall strengths and weaknesses of the research methods and results obtained to date
Identify what you see as the logical extension of this research topic, and/or identify additional research on existing subtopics in the field (important)

REFERENCES CITED

Example format for citation of a journal article in the References section:

Reneman RS, Arts T, van Bilsen M, Snoeckx LH, van der Vusse GJ: Mechanoperception and mechanotransduction in cardiac adaptation: mechanical and molecular aspects. Adv Exp Med Biol 382:185-94, 1995.

Example format for citation of the above journal article within the body of the text:

Reneman et al. (1995) determined that mechanotransduction most likely takes place at the cellular membrane. The resulting signal is transferred to the nucleus, where it can initiate alterations in gene expression.

Alternativve format for citation of a journal article in the References section:

[23] Reneman RS, Arts T, van Bilsen M, Snoeckx LH, van der Vusse GJ: Mechanoperception and mechanotransduction in cardiac adaptation: mechanical and molecular aspects. Adv Exp Med Biol 382:185-94, 1995.

Alternative format for citation of the above jounral article within the body of the text:

Reneman et al. [23] determined that mechanotransduction most likely takes place at the cellular membrane. The resulting signal is transferred to the nucleus, where it can initiate alterations in gene expression. (here the number [23] refers to numbers that are assigned to the list of references in alphabetical order based on the last name of the first author)

Please consult the course coordinator with any specific questions regarding the written term paper or oral presentation.

TOPICS (FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVE)

GENERAL BIOMECHANICS / CONTINUUM MECHANICS

Continuum description of growth in biological tissues
Assigned to: Gabriel Gruionu
Presentation date: November 30, 1999
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Techniques for the evaluation of the mechanical properties of cells and their contents
Assigned to: Brad Dworak
Presentation date: November 30, 1999
Supervising instructor: Weiss

MECHANOTRANSDUCTION - MUSCULOSKELETAL

Mechanotransduction in cortical and cancellous bone: Empircal data, proposed mechanisms and computational modeling of bone adaptation Assigned to:
Presentation date:
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Mechanotransduction in articular cartilage: Theory and experiments
Assigned to:
Presentation date:
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Mechanotransduction in ligament and tendon: Theory and experiments
Assigned to:
Presentation date:
Supervising instructor: Weiss

MECHANOTRANSDUCTION - CARDIOVASCULAR

Remodeling of the heart in response to mechanical stimuli: Experimental studies and mathematical modeling
Assigned to: Jon Alberding
Presentation date: November 30, 1999
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Responses of microvessels to mechanical stresses
Assigned to: Maria Alonso
Presentation date: December 7, 1999
Supervising instructor: Secomb

MUSCULOSKELETAL

Biomechanical properties of articular cartilage
Assigned to:
Presentation date:
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Engineered replacements for articular cartilage
Assigned to: Mark Schwartz
Presentation date: December 2, 1999
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Engineered replacements for ligament and tendon
Assigned to: David Sickinger
Presentation date: December 2, 1999
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Mechanics, injury and healing of the meniscus
Assigned to: Patrick Marcus
Presentation date: December 2, 1999
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Role of mechanical stress in development of microvasculature in musculoskeletal soft tissues during morphogenesis and healing
Assigned to: Kevin Greer
Presentation date: November 30, 1999
Supervising instructor: Weiss

CARDIOVASCULAR

MRI tagging techniques for assessing myocardial function and cardiac mechanics
Assigned to: Heather Seifert
Presentation date: December 2, 1999
Supervising instructor: Weiss

Radial oxygen transport in blood flowing along microvessels
Assigned to:
Presentation date:
Supervising instructor: Secomb

BME 516 | Classes | Jeff Weiss