Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Electrical Engineering
Paul Wilson - University of the District of Columbia
Through working with a disease schistosomiasis, where snails carry parasitic worms using the snail as a host, there has been progress in creating a stimulant for this disease. When the stimulant is induced the sensors and probes that are currently available to date are not manufactured to work with the size of objects that are 2 to 3 mm in diameter. The need for the sensor and probe is to take action potential from the snail after the stimulant is induced, because it is found that the worms are dying but there is no way to detect if the snail is dying. The goal is to produce a sensor and probe that will be able to monitor the snails’ lethargic state. This requires the use of ultra-miniature fiber-optic transducer, small enough for insertion into carotid of the snail to capture carotid pulse. The miniature sensor used in this project is the Harvard University FISO sensor, which is about 125 μm in diameter. To eliminate the effect of a microbending of the sensor output, a real-time measurement system, which uses spectrum modulation, filtering, amplification and signal conditioning has been provided for use with the sensor. The signals captured will be processed and analyzed using Matlab software for feature extraction.
Not SubmittedFunder Acknowledgement(s): This research is supported by the UDC STEM Center for Research and Development (NSF/HBCU-UP – HRD 162281
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ososanya, eososanya@udc.edu
Role: I researched the disease and the type of equipment needed for the part needed by the technology people. Found were this type of equipment could be found. I then reached out to the people who were able to assist us in obtaining this equipment and then went through the steps of acquiring it.