In this thesis, three mesh generation software packages have been developed and implemented. The first two were based on structured mesh generation algorithms and used to solve structured surface and volume mesh generation problems of three-dimensional domains. Structured mesh generation algorithms were based on the concept of isoparametric coordinates. In structured surface mesh generation software, quadrilateral mesh elements were generated for complex three-dimensional surfaces and these elements were then triangulated in order to obtain high-quality triangular mesh elements. Structured volume mesh generation software was used to generate hexahedral mesh elements for volumes. Tetrahedral mesh elements were constructed from hexahedral elements using hexahedral node insertion method. The results, which were produced by the mesh generation algorithms, were converted to a required format in order to be saved in output files. The third software package is an unstructured quality tetrahedral mesh generator and was used to generate exact Delaunay tetrahedralizations, constrained (conforming) Delaunay tetrahedralizations and quality conforming Delaunay tetrahedralizations. Apart from the mesh generation algorithms used and implemented in this thesis, unstructured mesh generation techniques that can be used to generate quadrilateral, triangular, hexahedral and tetrahedral mesh elements were also discussed.

The main objective of this project was to develop a method for soft neural probe insertion into a nerve. These soft probes are made of a silicon elastomer that is a few orders of magnitude less stiff than the nerve, which makes the insertion process particularly challenging. To overcome this challenge a tungsten microwire was used as an insertion shuttle to help penetrate the nerve by increasing the overall stiffness of the probe. At a first stage, the insertion process was tested on a nerve phantom (e.g. agarose gel with PDMS membrane) to control the insertion parameters and validate the insertion platform. Once the envisioned insertion method was established, the probe was implanted in a real rodent nerve. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

This diploma thesis deals with static and dynamic capacitated messenger problem and its solving with heuristic algorithms. Different variations of the capacitated messenger problem were considered, with a single messenger or multiple messengers, with one depot or multiple depots in case of multiple messengers. Limited time for route realization was another modification that was considered. Modified nearest neighbour method, modified insertion method and modified exchange method were used to solve the problem. The main contribution of the thesis is deriving heuristics for described types of messenger problem and programming the algorithms in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) in MS Excel. The results of computational experiments indicate that modified nearest neighbour method leads to better outcomes in static multiple messenger problems with a single depot, while modified insertion method is associated with lower values of objective function in static multiple messenger problem with multiple depots. Modified exchange method improves original solutions. Modified insertion method was approved for solving dynamic multiple messenger problems.