Jeffrey Vipperman, PhD

Vice Chair

Professor, Mechanical Engineering Professor, Bioengineering

504 Benedum Hall | 3700 O’Hara Street | Pittsburgh, PA 15261 P: 412-624-1643

jsv@pitt.edu

Modeling and Testing of Systems

My lab group has been conducting intricate computational/numerical studies, with experimental validation, of vibration, of acoustics, controls, and signal processing. Projects include acoustic cloaking, thermoacoustic power sensing, modeling of blood coagulation and precision motion control. Acoustic cloaks can make something acoustically invisible (no reflections or “shadows”). This has major ramifications for devices that either need defy detection, such as submarines, or for quieting noisy devices, such as a piece of machinery in a factory. Our modeling methods have shown that some of our proposed discretization approaches for realizing cloaks are feasible, and can be manufactured with 3D printing. Thermoacoustic power sensors (TAPS) were developed by Westinghouse and Idaho National Lab. They are wireless and are installed inside the core of a nuclear reactor, making nuclear power safer and more economical. Next-generation reactors will have very high temperatures, and be cooled by gases, liquid metals, or molten salt. The sensors don’t need external power and temperature). We are developing measurement methods and signal processing techniques to interpret vibrations that are measured externally. Another exciting project is developing an advanced model of blood clotting in order to develop a decision support system for emergency medical care. Administering a coagulant or anticoagulant medication at the wrong time can have fatal consequences. Our models are lending insight into the early, rapid detection of blood clotting disorders, coagulopathies, and their interventions. New, point of care blood testing methods will likely result.

Medical Device Development

My lab is equipped with a number of capabilities for developing medical devices, including 3D printing, embedded systems programming, prototype creation, electronics design, and signal measurement and processing. One device, “SoundSentinel” listens to the sound of a cranial drill and alerts the surgeon as he or she nears the dura. Unintentionally drilling into the dura increases morbidity and mortality. Our device measures acoustic and vibration signatures, processes the signals, and then uses a classifier to decipher whether the dura has been reached. Another device consists of novel ways of doing bipolar RF ablation, which will allow for much better control of the cutting process. The technique could result in safer and more efficient laparoscopic resection and then removal of organs. A third device is monitors nerve impulses during brain surgeries in an effort to better protect the nerves during tumor extraction and predict the amount of sometimes inevitable nerve damage that has occurred. The final device provides an articulable column which provides single point retraction in a matter of seconds. In addition to efficiency gains, the device is fast enough to use for trauma units. It can also be used as a laparoscopic tool holder. Both this device and SoundSentinnel are in the early stages of commercial development.