Custom mechanical testing device for soft tissue analysis and drug screening
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating joint disease that affects more than 26 million people in the US. During the disease, the articular cartilage tissue covering bones breaks down, leading to pain and disability. Often, this disease is initiated by mechanical trauma, such as during a sports injury or car accident. Despite decades of research, however, OA is still poorly understood and there is no cure or effective treatment.
A collaborative team including the Bonassar Lab (MAE/BME), the Cohen Lab (Physics), and the Fortier Lab (Vet Med) is currently investigating the earliest changes to cartilage after mechanical trauma and testing drugs that may reduce or reverse cartilage degeneration. This research involves fast-camera microscopy of cartilage samples during impact trauma (at 10,000 frames per second!), and confocal fluorescence microscopy and other assays of the biological changes after trauma, e.g. cell viability.
The next step in this research involves building a novel mechanical testing device that can integrate rapid, controlled mechanical stimulus with force measurement, microscopy, and tissue incubation, all while being sterile, user-friendly, and scalable. Students on the project will be tasked with designing and building this device, which will not only enable these important cartilage experiments but will revolutionize how researchers test and study biological tissues. A prototype device powered by a compressed spring has been created (see pictures below) but is inadequate for the task. Depending on the student's interest and background, further opportunities exist, including optimizing data collection and analysis.
This project is well suited for 1-2 students with a background and interest in mechanical design, including 3D CAD. Familiarity with mechanical testing, LabVIEW and Matlab is also desirable, as is an interest in soft-tissue biomechanics and biology.
Interested students should forward a copy of their resume and unofficial transcript to:
Professor Lawrence J. Bonassar
lb244@cornell.edu
607-255-9381
149 Weill Hall
