Research
I realized that I've hardly mentioned the research I'm doing over here for independent study. I spend a good portion of my time in the lab, so I figured I'd write a little about it. I've been assigned to a project in the aerodynamics institute. It's mainly graduate students working there. I work with a guy named Thomas in the bio-lab. We're studying airflow in lungs. We use a technique called Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Basically, you have a model with fluid flowing through it. The fluid is seeded with small particles that follow the flow. Then, you use optics to make a laser light sheet, flash it really quickly twice in a row, and take pictures both times, using an expensive camera. You can then compare the two frames; using the distance traveled and the time between exposures, particle velocity can be determined. It's a lot more complicated than that; if you want to know more, start with the Wikipedia article.
For our project, we created a realistic model of human lungs using data from a CT scan. It is a silicone block; the areas of the lung are hollowed out so we can run fluid through it. The fluid we will use is 60.7% glycerin and 39.3% water. This mixture yields the same index of refraction as silicone, making it easier when viewing. We will be testing with steady flow, sinusoidal flow (oscillating, kinda like real breathing), and a flow pattern that mimics a medical ventilator. This is the main endeavor of this project: to improve assisted ventilation. A lot of deaths occur during/because of assisted ventilation. When patients have collapsed alveoli, the ventilator can overinflate the healthy alveoli and thus cause more damage. By understanding how fluid moves through the lungs, hopefully we can make some improvements.
On Tuesday of last week, Thomas and I went to the Uniklinik/hospital. We were going to see some of what the people there were doing for this project. There, we watched some animal research. A pig was laid out on an operating table, hooked up to a ventilator. A guy wearing scrubs had inserted some tube-like structures into the pig's chest where he could stick a microscope in and view the alveoli. The image was up on the computer screen. To
me it just looked like a big gray blob that moved with the rhythm of the breathing. I guess they've had better luck getting clearer pictures from smaller animals whose chests don't move so much.
Then, when they'd captured some video footage of upper and lower alveoli, it was time to say goodbye to Mr. Pig. They cut open its chest and removed the lungs. I watched that pig die right before my eyes. It was so disgusting! They kept telling me I could leave the room, but I stayed; I could handle it. This was a test of a pig with healthy lungs, done for a control; later they will do the same with damaged lungs.
So that's pretty much what's up. Up until now, we've been getting the test apparatus ready, programming the cameras and lasers, etc. Yesterday, I helped make the water-glycerin mixture. Soon, we will actually take some measurements and get to look at some data on lung airflow.
I have to email the professor who oversees my independent study back at MSU every two weeks. He's a bit more strict and expects a lot more than the professors that the other MSU students are assigned to, from the sound of it. After my last email, he wrote back saying, "Excellent! It sounds like things are going very well!" Then he asked if my parents were getting a copy of those emails. They're not; I never even thought to tell them about what I'm doing. But there; now anyone can read about it on my blog.
For our project, we created a realistic model of human lungs using data from a CT scan. It is a silicone block; the areas of the lung are hollowed out so we can run fluid through it. The fluid we will use is 60.7% glycerin and 39.3% water. This mixture yields the same index of refraction as silicone, making it easier when viewing. We will be testing with steady flow, sinusoidal flow (oscillating, kinda like real breathing), and a flow pattern that mimics a medical ventilator. This is the main endeavor of this project: to improve assisted ventilation. A lot of deaths occur during/because of assisted ventilation. When patients have collapsed alveoli, the ventilator can overinflate the healthy alveoli and thus cause more damage. By understanding how fluid moves through the lungs, hopefully we can make some improvements.
On Tuesday of last week, Thomas and I went to the Uniklinik/hospital. We were going to see some of what the people there were doing for this project. There, we watched some animal research. A pig was laid out on an operating table, hooked up to a ventilator. A guy wearing scrubs had inserted some tube-like structures into the pig's chest where he could stick a microscope in and view the alveoli. The image was up on the computer screen. To
me it just looked like a big gray blob that moved with the rhythm of the breathing. I guess they've had better luck getting clearer pictures from smaller animals whose chests don't move so much.Then, when they'd captured some video footage of upper and lower alveoli, it was time to say goodbye to Mr. Pig. They cut open its chest and removed the lungs. I watched that pig die right before my eyes. It was so disgusting! They kept telling me I could leave the room, but I stayed; I could handle it. This was a test of a pig with healthy lungs, done for a control; later they will do the same with damaged lungs.
So that's pretty much what's up. Up until now, we've been getting the test apparatus ready, programming the cameras and lasers, etc. Yesterday, I helped make the water-glycerin mixture. Soon, we will actually take some measurements and get to look at some data on lung airflow.
I have to email the professor who oversees my independent study back at MSU every two weeks. He's a bit more strict and expects a lot more than the professors that the other MSU students are assigned to, from the sound of it. After my last email, he wrote back saying, "Excellent! It sounds like things are going very well!" Then he asked if my parents were getting a copy of those emails. They're not; I never even thought to tell them about what I'm doing. But there; now anyone can read about it on my blog.
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