Thesis (Ph.D)--Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Barbara Boyan; Committee Member: Andres Garcia; Committee Member: Anthony Norman; Committee Member: Nael McCarty; Committee Member: Zvi Schwartz. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 1998. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1995. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Undergraduate honors paper--Mount Holyoke College, 2007. Dept. of Art. / CD-Rom includes images of art work. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 12).

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Dentistry))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Community Dentistry / unrestricted

This thesis presents a multi-stage rectifier for wireless power transfer in biomedical implant systems. The rectifier is built using Schottky diodes. The design has been simulated in 0.5µm and 130nm CMOS processes. The challenges for a rectifier in a wireless power transfer systems are observed to be the efficiency, output voltage yield, operating frequency range and the minimum input voltage the rectifier can convert. The rectifier outperformed the contemporary works in the mentioned criteria.

Recent developments in implantable medical devices (IMDs) have created a need for communication systems integrated directly into the implant with feedback data for various sensing systems. The need for modern communication techniques, power delivery systems, and usable interfaces for smart implants present an interesting challenge for engineers trying to provide doctors and medical professionals with the best resources available for medical research. This dissertation will cover the design of an integrated CMOS transceiver and near-field inductive link used for an IMD and the accompanying CMOS front end for the application space of neural recording in the brain of lab mice. The design process of the CMOS IC, along with thinning techniques, the nearfield inductive link, and the design of an external reading system will be discussed in detail. The various wireless power and data telemetry techniques applicable for IMDs and their strengths and weaknesses will also be described. Software techniques and implementation for real-time analysis of a high data rate communication system from the designed IMD will be covered. Finally, transceiver verification will be given for both power and data telemetry under various scenarios, with front end verification performed via controlled lab bench experiments using input sinusoidal wave forms.

In neuroscience, optical techniques have become the leading method over electrophysiological techniques because of their ability to target defined populations upon tagging both for in vivo recordings using genetically encoded calcium or voltage indicators and stimulation using optogenetic opsins at the single neuronal level. Additionally, optical imaging has a smaller tissue displacement factor, the ratio of displaced neuronal tissue to field of view (FoV), thus accelerating the ability to simultaneously record from a larger volumes of neurons whereas electrophysiology arrays are limited in the total number of recordable neurons by the amount of sustained tissue damage. Conventional optical approaches, however, typically rely on microscopy techniques which require the subject to be head-fixed thus limiting the applicability especially at the chronic setting, raising the need for fully implantable optical interfaces. As a result, multiple lens-based miniature microscopes have been developed in academia and industry. Nevertheless, a truly implantable optical neurotechnology has remained intractable because traditional miniaturized fluorescence microscopes require an opening in the dura and skull that matches or exceeds the FoV and chronically extends outside the skull, resulting in a poor overall displacement factor. To overcome these limitations, I developed and characterized various implantable optoelectronic platforms designed to optically record from large neuronal FoVs in a minimally invasive implantable form factor. These works culminated in the SCOPe (Subdural CMOS Optical Probe) platform which was validated in multiple in vivo demonstrations involving mouse and nonhuman primate.

Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) is characterized by chronic venous hypertension from blood pooling in the lower limbs. The resulting symptoms include leg pain, varicose veins, fatigue, venous edema, skin pigmentation, inflammation, induration, and ulceration. Reflux from incompetent venous valves is a factor in up to 94% of individuals with CVI. Current treatments of CVI include compression stockings, drug therapy, vein disabling, venous stenting, and surgical correction with varying rates of success. However, a minimally invasive correction of deep venous reflux does not currently exist. A transcatheter prosthetic venous valve has the potential to be an effective, minimally invasive treatment for deep venous reflux which could treat up to 1.4 million individuals in the United States suffering from venous ulceration and make more than 1.7 billion dollars each year. Previously developed prosthetic venous valves have had problems with competency, patency, thrombogenicity, biocompatibility, and incorrect sizing. To meet the clinical need a prosthetic valve needs to be developed which succeeds where previous valves have failed. This thesis describes the design, analysis, pre-clinical testing, and evaluation of a novel prosthetic venous valve. Design specifications for an effective prosthetic venous valve were created. Verification tests were developed and performed which demonstrated that the valve met every design specification. Finite element and computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed to analyze the valve and calculated a maximum shear rate of 2300 s-1 in the valve during the high forward flow after a Valsalva maneuver. The valve is made of a biocompatible material that has low thrombogenicity, Poly(vinyl-alcohol) cryogel. On the average, the valve allows less than 0.5 mL/min of reflux at low and high retrograde pressures even after 500,000 cycles, indicating that it will reduce the reflux of individuals with venous reflux by more than 99.4%. The valve closes in less than 0.07 seconds and allows the distal pressure to rise to an average of 7% of the equilibrium pressure 30 seconds after a simulated ankle flexion. The valve increases the outflow resistance an average of 2.3 mmHg*min/L which is much less than obstruction levels,≥ 5 mmHg*min/L. The valve can fit in a 16 French catheter and is capable of percutaneous delivery. The base of the valve is 1.5 times the diameter of the vein in which it is to be implanted to help correct orientation upon deployment. Fluid behind the valve’s leaflets is ejected with a forward flow rate of 400 mL/min, suggesting that thrombus formation will not occur at this location. A stented valve remained patent in a porcine blood flow loop for 3 hours. The valve remains competent without buckling in a constricted vein at rest. The valve can expand to fit a vein with a maximum diameter 1.4 times the valve's initial diameter with low risk of tearing or leaflet prolapse. An IACUC protocol for a 12 week study to test the valve in sheep was prepared and approved. A study to evaluate the valve in humans is proposed with endpoints that can be tested for statistical significance and compared with other treatments for CVI. A set of valves which will correct reflux in the majority of common femoral, femoral, and popliteal deep veins is proposed and a sizing guide for surgeons is provided. The minimum distance between prosthetic valves placed in the same vein segment is 13 cm. A comparison of this valve with previously developed prosthetic venous valves and recommendations for work to be performed in the future are given. The valve proposed in this work is the only valve to meet all design specification for an effective prosthetic venous valve, and therefore shows great potential to be a minimally invasive treatment for deep venous reflux.