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Special Topics

BME 595B. BIOMATERIALS IN THE DESIGN OF MEDICAL DEVICES

Biomaterials are an integral part of medical devices, implants, controlled drug delivery systems, and tissue engineered constructs. Extensive research efforts have been expended on understanding how biologic systems interact with biomaterials. Meanwhile, controversy has revolved around biomaterials and their availability as a result of the backlash to the huge liability resulting from controversies related to material and processing shortcomings of medical devices. This course specifically addresses the unique role of biomaterials in medical device design and the use of emerging biomaterials technology in medical devices. The need to understand design requirements of medical devices based on safety and efficacy will be addressed. Unexpected device failure can occur if testing fails to account for synergistic interactions from chronic loading, aqueous environments, and biologic interactions. Testing methodologies are readily available to assess accelerated effects of loading in physiologic-like environments. This combined with subchronic effects of animal implants is a potential tool in assessing durability. It is difficult to predict the chronic effects of the total biologic environment. The ultimate determination of safety comes not only from following the details of regulations, but with an understanding of potential failure modes and designs that lowers the risk of these failures. This course will evaluate biomaterials and their properties as related to the design and reliability of medical devices.

ECE 529B. ANALOG CIRCUITS AND INTUITION

The ability to see the simplicity in a complex design problem is a skill that is not usually taught in engineering classes. Some engineers, when faced with design problems, immediately fill up pages and pages of calculations, or do complex circuit simulations or finite-element analyses. One problem with this approach is that if you get an answer, you don't know if it is correct unless you have an intuitive "feel" for what the answer should be. The application of some simple rules-of-thumb and design techniques is a possible first step to developing intuition into the behavior of complex electrical systems. This course outlines some ways of thinking about analog circuits and systems that are intended will help to develop intuition and guide design. The lectures are a mixture of instructional sessions covering new background material, and design case studies. (Prerequisites: Undergraduate background in device physics, microelectronics, control systems, electromagnetism)

ECE 539M INTRODUCTION TO ANTENNAS AND ANTENNA SYSTEMS

This course provides an introduction to the standard metal and dielectric antennas and addresses their most basic characteristics: polarization, directivity, gain, and impedance bandwidth. Both narrowband and broadband antennas as well as basic antenna arrays are considered.  An emphasis is also made on the current modeling software and techniques – Ansoft HFSS and CST Microwave Studio. The course structure is directed toward the practical antenna design for RF and MW engineering and enables senior undergraduate students to take this course. Course topics include: Antenna patterns, gain, directivity, polarization; Effective aperture; Radiated fields ; Linear and planar arrays; Antenna self- and mutual impedance; Broadband and frequency-independent antennas; Dipoles and monopoles; Microstrip antennas; Small antennas.

Prerequisites: undergraduate analog electronics and basic introductory knowledge of electromagnetic theory (ECE 2112 and ECE 3113).

Textbook: "Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design", 3^rd edition by Constantine A. Balanis, 2005, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 047166782-X

PH 597C. Current Topics In Physics

The purpose of this course is to familiarize graduate students with current trends in physics as well as develop presentation and learning skills.  The focal point of this course is the department colloquium series, where outside experts present their recent and exciting work covering a broad range of topics.  Students will be required to attend all talks in the series.  At the end of the semester, each student will present a condensed summary of one speaker and be able to field simple questions from the instructor and peers.  Moreover, students will pair up to spend time entertaining one guest speaker for either lunch, coffee or dinner.  They will then write a synopsis of this speaker's colloquium, that includes a brief review of the relevant background.

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