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Talk Summaries
Elucidating the mechanisms of tendon fatigue damage with injury and healing through novel mechanical and image-based measures
Achilles and patellar tendon injuries affect both athletes and the general population, and their incidence is rising. In particular, these tendons are subject to high dynamic loading during activity, and fatigue induced damage is likely a contributing factor to ultimate tendon failure. Unfortunately, little is known about how injured tendons behave under fatigue loading during healing, and image based measures to evaluate tendon damage are currently lacking. Previous studies have used various imaging modalities to study the accumulation and progression of fatigue-induced damage. However, such studies have not been designed to characterize the load and region dependence of structural properties. This information remains critical to best evaluate tendon damage induction and the ability of the tendon to maintain mechanical properties with repeated loading. This research reinforces the concept that fatigue loading is an essential metric to assess tendon healing. Collagen organization assessed during tendon healing and fatigue loading was correlated to mechanical properties. Such structural measures will be investigated in future studies to further define when it may be safe to resume activity following tendon injury.
2) Carlos Aspetti (MSE)
Silicon Photonics: Turn off the dark.
As Moore’s law reaches its limits, computing with optical devices (that operate at the speed of light) offers a viable alternative. Moreover, the perfect solution will build upon the semiconductor industry’s decades of silicon processing research. Unfortunately, silicon, the backbone of modern electronics, is a traditionally “dark” material. In other words, when charge carriers are excited in silicon, their energy is converted much more readily to heat than to light, which is why we have commercial silicon electronics, but not silicon photonics. Using antennas designed to operate at optical frequency, we are able to extract orders-of-magnitude greater light emission in a broad range of colors and on ultra-fast time scales. Originally, developed as means of tuning light emission in optical materials (cadmium-sulfide), we recently extended this concept to the most ubiquitous electronic material, silicon, representing a significant leap towards the “holy grail” that is all-optical, all-silicon computing and photonics.
3) Denise Wong (MEAM)
Micro Bio Robots: Actuation and Sensing at the Microscale
Microscale robots offer an unprecedented opportunity to perform tasks at resolutions approaching 1 μm. At this scale, it is difficult to provide on board actuation, sensing, signal processing and feedback. Micro Bio Robots (MBRs) look to address these challenges by utilizing bacteria. MBRs are synthetic microstructures with a monolayer of flagellated bacteria adhered to the surface. I will discuss two systems, firstly, a bacteria actuated system where the flagella of the bacteria propel the microstructure causing it to rotate and translate in a fluidic environment on a planar surface in the absence of external forces. Secondly, I will discuss a system where synthetically engineered E.coli are used to create cell-based programmable mobile sensors, with signal processors and memory units. These sensors are integrated with a micro magnetic robot to allow manipulation of the sensors to provide spatial detection. This cross-disciplinary research is at the intersections of mechanical engineering, robotics and synthetic biology and has important implications for integrated micro-bio-robotic systems for applications in biological research, nanomedicine and beyond!
