Planar Biaxial Device for Ex Vivo Imaging
Team Members:
Megan Wu
Armando Ramil
Michael Megally
Andrew Harris
Mentors:
Dr. Daniela Valdez-Jasso
Becky Hardie (co-mentor)
Abstract
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a prevalent medical condition in which the right ventricle of the heart undergoes structural remodeling characterized by changes in collagen fiber orientation. We have developed a low-cost and easy-to-use planar biaxial device made of PLA and resin capable of being stretched to λ = 10% and is compatible with the UCSD Microscopy Core multiphoton microscope. This device applies load in one direction along each principal axis to more closely mimic the conditions in which the tissue’s material properties are characterized and the collagen fiber orientation expected in vivo. We obtained preliminary images of collagen fibers for fiber angle analysis using MATLAB in a stretched and unstretched tissue state. Future work would incorporate linear actuators to improve stretching precision.
Abet Addendum
Megan Wu
Michael Megally
Armando Ramil
Andrew Harris
The Team