2015-16 Catalog

Undergraduate research with a written report at the end of each term; supervised by a Caltech faculty member, or co-advised by a Caltech faculty member and an external researcher. Graded pass/fail.

All PhD degree candidates in Medical Engineering are required to attend all MedE seminars. If there is no MedE seminar during a week, then the students should go to any other graduate-level seminar that week. Students should broaden their knowledge of the engineering principles and sciences of medical engineering. Students are expected to learn the forefronts of the research and development of medical materials, technologies, devices and systems from the seminars. Graded pass/fail.

The goal of this course is to introduce engineering scientists to medical physiological systems: with a special emphasis on the clinical relevance. The design of the course is to present two related lectures each week in a case study format: An overview of the physiology of a system followed by examples of pathophysiology as well as diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. The Final two weeks of the course will be a mini-work shop where the class explores challenging problems in medical physiology. The course ultimately seeks to promote a bridge between relevant clinical problems and engineering scientists who desire to solve them. Graded pass/fail.

This Product Design class focuses on people with Disabilities and is done in collaboration with Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. Students visit the Center to define products based upon actual stated and observed needs. Designs and testing are done in collaboration with Rancho associates. Speakers include people with assistive needs, therapists and researchers. Classes teach normative design methodologies as adapted for this special area.

This course combines three parts. First, it will cover fundamental aspects of kinetics, mass-transport, and fluid physics that are relevant to microfluidic systems. Second, it will provide an understanding of how new technologies are invented and reduced to practice. Finally, students in the course will work together to design microfluidic systems that address challenges in Global Health, with an emphasis on students' inventive contributions and creativity. Students will be encouraged and helped, but not required, to develop their inventions further by working with OTT and entrepreneurial resources on campus. Participants in this course benefit from enrollment of students with diverse backgrounds and interests. For chemical engineers, suggested but not required courses are ChE 101 (Chemical Reaction Engineering) and ChE 103abc (Transport Phenomena). Students are encouraged to contact the instructor to discuss enrollment.

Analysis and design of analog circuits at the transistor level. Emphasis on design-oriented analysis, quantitative performance measures, and practical circuit limitations. Circuit performance evaluated by hand calculations and computer simulations. Recommended for juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Topics include: review of physics of bipolar and MOS transistors, low-frequency behavior of single-stage and multistage amplifiers, current sources, active loads, differential amplifiers, operational amplifiers, high-frequency circuit analysis using time- and transfer constants, high-frequency response of amplifiers, feedback in electronic circuits, stability of feedback amplifiers, and noise in electronic circuits, and supply and temperature independent biasing. A number of the following topics will be covered each year: trans-linear circuits, switched capacitor circuits, data conversion circuits (A/D and D/A), continuous-time Gm.C filters, phase locked loops, oscillators, and modulators. Offered 2015-16.

Introduction to the mechanical behavior of solids, emphasizing the relationships between microstructure, defects, and mechanical properties. Elastic, anelastic, and plastic properties of crystalline and amorphous materials. Polymer and glass properties: viscoelasticity, flow, and strain-rate dependence. The relationships between stress, strain, strain rate, and temperature for deformable solids. Application of dislocation theory to strengthening mechanisms in crystalline solids. The phenomena of creep, fracture, and fatigue, and their controlling mechanisms.

Introduction to selected topics in mixed-signal circuits and systems in highly scaled CMOS technologies. Design challenges and limitations in current and future technologies will be discussed through topics such as clocking (PLLs and DLLs), clock distribution networks, sampling circuits, high-speed transceivers, timing recovery techniques, equalization, monitor circuits, power delivery, and converters (A/D and D/A). A design project is an integral part of the course.

This course will cover the basic principles of biological and medical imaging technologies including magnetic resonance, ultrasound, nuclear imaging, fluorescence, bioluminescence and photoacoustics, and the design of chemical and biological probes to obtain molecular information about living systems using these modalities. Topics will include nuclear spin behavior, sound wave propagation, radioactive decay, photon absorption and scattering, spatial encoding, image reconstruction, statistical analysis, and molecular contrast mechanisms. The design of molecular imaging agents for biomarker detection, cell tracking, and dynamic imaging of cellular signals will be analyzed in terms of detection limits, kinetics, and biological effects. Participants in the course will develop proposals for new molecular imaging agents for applications such as functional brain imaging, cancer diagnosis, and cell therapy.

Part a, students will design and implement biosensing systems, including a pulse monitor, a pulse oximeter, and a real-time polymerase-chain-reaction incubator. Students will learn to program in LABVIEW. Part b is a student-initiated design project requiring instructor's permission for enrollment. Enrollment is limited to 24 students. BE/EE/MedE 189 a is an option requirement; BE/EE/MedE 189 b is not.

Subject matter will change from term to term depending upon staff and student interest, but will generally center on the understanding and applying engineering for medical problems.

This course provides a broad coverage on the frontiers of medical diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and devices based on multidisciplinary engineering principles. Topics include biomaterials and biomechanics; micro/nanofluidics; micro/nano biophotonics and medical imaging; medical electronics, wireless communications through the skin and tissue; electrograms and biotic/abiotic interface; biochips, microPCR and sequencer and biosensors; micro/nano implants. The course will focus on the scientific fundamentals specific to medical applications. However, both the lectures and assignments will also emphasize the design aspects of the topics as well as up-to-date literature study.

New Frontiers of Medical Technologies is an introductory graduate level course that describes space technologies, instruments, and engineering techniques with current and potential applications in medicine. The main thrust of these medical engineering elements development has been toward space exploration. Spinoff applications to medicine has been explored and proven with various degrees of success and maturity. This class introduces these topics, their intended original space applications and the medical applications. Topics include but not limited to multimodal imaging, UV/Visible/NIR imaging, imaging spectrometry, sensors, robotics, and navigation.

Internal flows: steady and pulsatile blood flow in compliant vessels, internal flows in organisms. Fluid dynamics of the human circulatory system: heart, veins, and arteries (microcirculation). Mass and momentum transport across membranes and endothelial layers. Fluid mechanics of the respiratory system. Renal circulation and circulatory system. Biological pumps.

Qualified graduate students are advised in medical engineering research, with the arrangement of MedE staff.