Bioengineering Devices Laboratory

NAU Mechanical Engineering Lab

student and professor in Bioengineering surgical lab

The Bioengineering Devices Lab (BDL) is affiliated with the Bioengineering Program and the Mechanical Engineering Department (ME) at Northern Arizona University.

The BDL provides opportunities to PhD, Masters, and undergraduate students interested in neurovascular devices such as new microcatheter designs, ischemic stroke systems, and innovative embolic agents for aneurysms (improving on coils, flow diverters, liquid embolics, etc). The BDL also conducts extensive in vitro cerebrovascular flow model development.

The BDL is directly affiliated with Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI – Phoenix, AZ) and Northern Arizona Healthcare to collaborate on translational medical device research. Undergraduate and graduate researchers from the BDL actively collaborate with small start ups and large-industry leaders in medical device development, publish in internationally-renowned journals, and attend annual conferences to present their work. Conferences regularly attended include BMES – Biomedical Engineering Society, Surfaces – Surfaces in Biomaterials Foundation, and SNIS – Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery.

The BDL focuses on industry-driven research programs as well as government-funded basic research. Among the BDL’s extensive research efforts, the lab also provides engineering students an opportunity to assist with research projects and year-long Capstone projects where student groups design prototype systems for industrial clients. Our goal is to create a new generation of biomedical engineering students with the research expertise to become bioengineering and biomedical engineering industry leaders.

Location: Wettaw Building (88), Room 210

The BDL is one of several labs affiliated with the Bioengineering Program that share equipment and space, housed in NAU’s Wettaw building.

BDL has the following:

600 sq ft space with 4 sinks (DI and MilliQ water), 2 fume hoods, 5 large lab benches/bays, and working space and computer access for up to 12 researchers
1 bench dedicated to the HR2 hybrid rheometer for temperature-controlled rheology and DMA testing:
- Shear and Elastic modulus testing
- Tension testing (up to 500 ºC)
- Tribo-rheometry for wear resistance
- Optics plate – camera for real-time imaging during mechanical testing
- Pull Friction testing for vascular devices
- Magneto-rheology for smart materials and nanoparticle testing.
1 bench dedicated to formulating biomaterials (polymer constructs, hydrogels, and shape memory polymers – SMPs)
1 bench houses the in vitro vessel model for vascular modeling and endovascular surgical procedure simulations
1 bench houses surgical supplies and medical devices
Benches include computer stations (Microsoft Suite, MatLab, Labview, SolidWorks, Photoshop, DICOM, etc.)

Some of the additional resources available to the BDL:

HPC Monsoon supercomputer and multiple computer labs with specialty software – can be networked to the BDL (NAU)
C-Arm Fluoroscope – digital image transfer (DICOM) to the BDL (NAU Biological Sciences Annex)
MakerLab (NAU Cline Library) and RapidLab (NAU Mechanical Engineering) 3D-printing facilities
SEM, TEM, confocal, atomic force, light microscope imaging and histology facilities (NAU Imaging and Histology Core Facility)
Machine shop and CNC lab (NAU Mechanical Engineering)
Sterile laminar flow hood and cGMP cleanroom facilities (NAU and Moonshot AZ incubator facilities)
Neurosurgery research facilities (surgical, fluoro, CT, MRI – Barrow Neurological Institute)
Surgical supplies and device sterilization (Northern Arizona Healthcare)
Refrigerators, freezers (up to -80 ºC), scales, centrifuge, incubator, tissue culter hood, spectrophotometer, holography, etc.