TECHNICIAN
tuesday october
19 2010
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Robotic heart catheter aims to improve treatments Due to the collaborative efforts of pro- through the heart to reach defective areas, fessors N.C. State and Duke University, the mainly near the pulmonary vein. Accordmedical world will soon see a new and im- ing to Buckner, the catheter tube can only move in two directions and a lot of skill is proved version of heart catheters. A normal human heart works mainly needed in order to use it. “First of all, it is an open heart surgery,” due to the electromagnetic impulses that run throughout it. There are many reasons Buckner said. “Risks are involved in it.” Another complication of the surgery is why hearts malfunction. Sometimes, certain cells in the heart create their own im- due to the length of the surgery. The papulses and cause disturbances, according to tient and the doctors are exposed to long Gregory Buckner, professor of mechanical durations of X-ray radiation. According to Buckner, the main funcand aerospace engineering, and one of the tion of the device the chief engineers in this professors are proposproject. ing remains the same, “This can be to cut down or scar the thought as analogous defective cells. However, to a couple of memthe new part in it is that bers in a band going it will be computer conout of order. Even if it trolled. is just the two of them, “The doctor just needs it is sure to cause disto feed the input paramturbance amongst eters to the software in others,” Buckner said. terms of some specific This condition is Gregory Buckner, professor points and then comknown as atrial fibrilmand the computer to lation and may cause heart problems to certain individuals due finish the circle. The computer then traces the path and cures the defective tissue,” to lack of oxygen supply. “Pharmaceuticals and drugs are available Buckner said. There are companies that have commerto arrest these sudden impulses, but they may not always work very well. The patients cialized their own robotic catheter designs, may have intermittent or long chronic com- but these require multi-million dollar capplaints of atrial fibrillation,” Buckner said. ital investments and customized catheter The Cox Maze procedure is currently used laboratories. “We are working with some of the manuto treat this type of ailments. A catheter which is manually maneuverable is moved facturers of catheters to commercialize the
“With further refinements in the design we expect it to be ready for market sometime in 2012.”
product in near future,” Buckner said. “The price of our product is expected to be competitive with the already available manual heart catheter in the market.” The main advantage of Buckner’s proposed robotic catheter is that it will reduce surgery time. The robotic catheter uses of “shake memory alloys,” also known as “smart materials,” as the main probe with six to eight segments that make up the rest of the probe. This material contracts when heated and expands when cooled, allowing it to bend and rotate in any direction by regulating the amount of current flowing through the segments. Salim Idriss, assistant professor of pediatrics, cardiology and biomedical engineering from Duke University, is one of the team members for the robotic heart catheter. “I feel that this collaboration between Duke and N.C. State University is a great one. My role as a human physiologist in this project is to provide essential translation between the engineering and clinical aspects of it,” Idriss said. The research team also includes College of Veterinary Medicine faculty members Bruce Keene, clinical sciences professor, and Guillaume Chanoit, clinical assistant professor. “It is a two-year project. Our next aim is to do trial experiments on pig hearts in early 2011, as they closely resemble to the human heart. With further refinements in the design, we expect it to be ready for the market sometime in 2012,” Buckner said.
CELEBRATE WHAT’S GREAT
PHOTO COURTESY OF GREGORY BUCKNER
The robotic heart catheter as compared to a dime. The robotic heart catherter is going to be tested on animals in 2011.
QUESTIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SUCCESS TASK FORCE The chancellor has begun work on the University’s Strategic Plan. The plan is divided up between nine task forces, one of which is Undergraduate Student Success. The Technician will be asking students their opinion about undergraduate student success each day leading up to the Strategic Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
HOW DOES THE UNIVERSITY PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS? HOW DOES THE UNIVERSITY PROVIDE THE FLEXIBILITY IN EDUCATION REQUIRED IN THE FUTURE?
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WILL ENSURE A RICH UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF CLASSES (E.G., INTERNSHIPS, RESEARCH)? To submit your responses to the Technician, email: letters@ technicianonline.com. To submit your input to the Undergraduate Success Task Force, visit: http://info.ncsu.edu/strategicplanning/task-forces/undergraduatestudent-success/. To voice your opinion in front of the University, attend the Chancellor’s Forum on Oct. 26, at 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., in Stewart Theater.
Installing: Chancellor Randy Woodson DANIELLE NEUJAHR/TECHNICIAN
Lauren Gerringer, a freshman in First Year College, screams with her dad as the “Vortex” spins her upside down at a hieght of over 100 ft. The ride was five tickets but Lauren said “It was totally worth it!” as she came off the ride. The N.C. State Fair located near Carter Finnely Stadium was full of rides and games for all ages.
Overall progress: 23%
Estimated time remaining: 1 week Destination location: S:/buildings/HolladayHall/offices/chancellor/Woodson
Director claims Census isn’t cost-efficient, but important Dr. Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, spoke with faculty and graduate students about the twenty-third U.S. Census. Brooke Wallig Staff Writer
Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, presented to a packed room of graduate students and faculty in Mann Hall on Monday about the recent summation of the 2010 census. The U.S. Census, which formally ended on Sept. 8, is a major campaign undertaken every ten years to calculate the abundance and distribution of people living in the United States, according to Groves. According to Groves, the main purpose of the census is to correctly represent the U.S. population. “I say this all the time,” said Groves. “What I want is to count every resident once, and only once, and in the right
creation of a list of names and adplace.” Groves said the census has never dresses of people who need to be been able to completely count every contacted. Of those people consingle individual in the United States, tacted, approximately 72 percent due to factors including illegal immi- of them returned the initial mailed survey, an increase from the 2000 gration. “Since no one has an exact number census. Groves said he contributes this of undocumented immigrants in this country we are actually going to re- increase to multiple factors including the shortport several difened length ferent statistics of the new in this census,” census, efsaid Groves. “As forts to cross statisticians, we language are excited about barriers, and this, but we are t he ef for t s probably the only to work with ones who are.” Robert Groves, director of the U.S. communities Groves, whose Census Bureau. to increase presentation was participation. hosted by N.C. “Not only is this census much State’s Department of Statistics, focused mainly on the design of the shorter than any other, it is the first census, the collection of accurate data, year we have included bilingual and the various factors that affect the forms and language assistance guides, which have helped to indata collected. According to Groves, the process started in November 2009 with the CENSUS continued page 3
REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE STATUS QUO
Some information about intalling the chancellor: Randy Woodson is N.C. State University’s 14th Chancellor. He came to N.C. State from Purdue University where he was the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. Woodson was named Chancellor on Jan. 8 and officially assumed the Chancellor position on April 5. Woodson will be officially installed Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. in a ceremony. The ceremony will have the theme of “Locally responsive. Globally engaged,” and will kick off more than a week of celebrations and activities to honor Woodson. SOURCE: CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE
insidetechnician
Cole enjoys breakout season See page 8.
“No one thinks about bridges until they fall down. Statistics is like that,”
Designers aint Warhol-inspired tribute to dead See page 6.
viewpoint features classifieds sports
4 5 7 8