Bioengineering at Wayne State University
Welcome to Bioengineering
located at:
818 W. Hancock
Detroit MI 48202
8994
The Bioengineering Center of Wayne State University is a leading laboratory
doing research work in the areas of impact trauma, low back pain and
orthopedic biomechanics. Current projects in impact trauma include research
on side impact, rear end collisions, head injury and lower extremity
injuries. Our work in low back pain looks for causes of back pain and
utilizes methods in neurophysiology to determine the source of pain in
intervertebral joints. In orthopedic biomechanics, we are working on the
causes of hip and vertebral fracture among the elderly, properties of bone as
measured by acoustic microscopy and transmission ultrasound, and computer-aided
insertion of pedicle screws. We offer a graduate program in Bioengineering
through the College of Engineering. Students can pursue MS and PhD degrees in
Mechanical or Electrical/Computer Engineering and major in Bioengineering.
Contact Person:
Albert I. King, Director
Wayne State University
Bioengineering Center
818 W. Hancock
Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 577-1347
(313) 577-8333 (Fax)
king@rrb.eng.wayne.edu
Courses offered in Bioengineering:
ME510 - Engineering Phisiology
ME516 - Biomechanics I
ME517 - Design of Rehabilitation Systems
ME518 - Introduction to Biomaterials
ME618 - Bioinstrumentation
ME710 - Mathematical Modeling in Bioengineering
ME716 - Biomechanics II
ME718 - Biomaterials II
55 YEARS of BIOENGINEERING
Wayne State University is a pioneer in
bioengineering research. This interdisciplinary effort
between the College of Engineering and the School
of Medicine developed in 1939, when engineer H.R.
Lissner and neurosurgeon E.S. Gurdjian initiated a
collaborative effort to study the mechanisms of head
injury. Although their methods were crude by today's
standards, their unique cooperative effort has
prospered to this day. It has given Wayne State
University the honor of becoming the first institution
in the U.S. to perform world renowned research in
impact biomechanics.
Today's principal areas of research are biodynamic
response to impact acceleration, spinal biomechanics,
and human trauma research. Foremost among the
goals of the center is the reduction of highway
fatalities and major injuries. Many of the major
research projects of the center have been related to
automotive safety standards.
RESEARCH FACILITIES
The impact laboratory of the Bioengineering Center
has a pneumatically driven sled code-named WHAM
III (Wayne Horizontal Accelerator Mechanism). It is
used for the simulation of vehicular crashes and is
equipped with a concrete barrier. It can be used to
produce car-to-car, frontal, rear, and side impact,
roll-over simulations and moving barrier tests. Over
60 channels of data can be acquired during a single
impact.
The Center also has a linear impactor for carrying
out regional impacts to various body segments.
Associated equipment includes high-speed film,
cameras, test dummies and instrumentation to
measure acceleration and load. The Center is also
equipped with a bi-axial Instron materials testing
machine for use in measuring the strength of
biological materials.
An Ultrasound Applications Lab has been initiated at the
Bioengineering Center for the characterization of the
material properties of biological tissues. The lab contains an acoustic
microscope, which is a high resolution ultrasonic device
designed to map the elastic properties of hard tissues by
measuring the reflection of sound from the material
surface. The present research focus is for the
development of a quantitative measure of stiffness
from acoustic images. Transmission ultrasound equipment is used
to assess the mechanical and structural properties of materials.
Facilities are available for the preparation of specimens for
ultrasonic and optical examination.
Hutzel Hospital supports a Biomechanics Laboratory
under the direction of Drs. Michele Grimm and Sheu-Jane Shieh. This lab,
which contains a bi-axial Instron materials testing
machine, a portable x-ray machine, and a complete
set of EMG devices to measure the activities of up to
10 muscles simultaneously. There is a precision
stadiometer to measure spinal height. The laboratory
is also equipped with a high pressure air saw and
drill system with all the surgical instruments
necessary for artificial hip and knee replacement.
A complete computer facility is available linking
several SUN workstations to the School of Medicine
and the College of Engineering via a high speed fiber
optic link.
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
Under governmental and industrial sponsorship, the
Center is engaged in side impact research which
seeks to establish human response and tolerance to
impact. Examples include the testing of padding of
suitable stiffness to determine its value as protection
in a side impact collision. A mathematical model has
been developed to aid in the design of side structures
of automobiles for optimal protection of their
occupants. Other projects include the study of the
potential of injuries from restraint systems, such as
the air bag or injuries to the extremities from a knee
bolster.
The study of closed head injury is a very important
area of research taking place at the Center. Brain
injury continues to be the most difficult and
expensive injury problem in America. The National
Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the
Centers for Disease Control sponsors a program to
study the effects of brain motion following a blunt
impact. The outcome of studying brain motion from
head impacts on human cadavers will result in the
development of a realistic finite element model which
will be used to closely mimic the experimentally
observed brain motion. This study seeks to correlate
this brain motion with diffuse axonal injury as seen
in victims of head injury.
A third significant area of research conducted at the
Center is that of low back pain (LBP). Under the
direction of Dr. John M. Cavanaugh, several areas
have been identified within the intervertebral joint
where a combination of mechanical stretch and the
presence of pain fibers can cause LBP, particularly
on the facet joint capsule. Neurophysiological studies
are being conducted to isolate the specific sources
which produce the inflammatory process and the
initiation of low back pain.
A new area of research is the study of bone
mechanics by non-destructive measurements of material
properties. One research initiative is focused on the
development of a better understanding of the
fundamental structure-function relationships in
biological tissues with the use of novel acoustic
microscopy techniques. These techniques may be
used for high resolution, micro-scale measurements of the
mechanical properties of bones as well as for
musculoskeletal research where quantitative analysis
of functional integrity is required.
Finally, sports biomechanics deals with the protection
of athletes from injury to the head, neck, chest and
extremities. For example, the Center studies and
evaluates the effectiveness of prophylactic knee
braces in preventing football related knee injuries.
It has also been a leader in developing helmet standards
for head and neck injury protection. The center continues
to provide helmet and turf evaluations.
BIOENGINEERING STAFF
The Bioengineering Center is administered by the
College of Engineering and draws its faculty from
both the College of Engineering and the School of
Medicine. It is directed by Dr. Albert I. King who
has been engaged in biomechanical research for 35
years.
The Center is staffed by over 30 full-time and
part-time personnel, over half of which are graduate
and undergraduate students.
RESEARCH STAFF AND FULL TIME FACULTY
Albert I. King, Ph.D.
king@rrb.eng.wayne.edu
Impact biomechanics, low back pain
Paul C. Begeman, Ph.D.
begeman@rrb.eng.wayne.edu
Impact biomechanics, neck and ankle injuries
John M. Cavanaugh, M.D.
cavanau@rrb.eng.wayne.edu
Side impact, low back pain
Timothy Walilko, M.S.
walilko@rrb.eng.wayne.edu
Click here to mail
Sports biomechanics
Sheu-Jane Shieh, Ph.D.
shieh@rrb.eng.wayne.edu
Acoustic microsopy of bone,
orthopaedic biomechanics
King-Hay Yang, Ph.D.
yang@rrb.eng.wayne.edu
Finite element modelling,
impact & orthopaedic biomechanics
Michele J. Grimm, Ph.D.
grimm@rrb.eng.wayne.edu
Orthopaedic biomechanics,
ultrasound characterization of bone
CDC Injury Prevention through Biomechanics Symposium
Each year Wayne State University's Bioengineering Center hosts the CDC sponsored Injury Prevention through Biomechanics Symposium at Hutzel Hospital on Wayne State's Medical School campus. Information on the current year's symposium is available.
Other Bioengineering Sites
Mueller Institute of Biomechanics
Canadian Reference Place
Back to Wayne Engineering
Wayne State University