Jeffrey B. Hargrove

Curriculum, equipment and student project outcomes for mechatronics education in the core mechanical engineering program at Kettering University

Abstract Following an NSF grant in 1997 to develop undergraduate mechatronics laboratories and courses, two senior-level elective courses were introduced in the mechanical engineering curriculum at Kettering University. The student popularity of the subject, and relevance to graduating mechanical engineers soon made it clear that mechatronics education belonged to the core curriculum at Kettering. To integrate mechatronics into the mechanical engineering core, two existing sophomore-level courses were redesigned to include significant educational experiences in mechatronics design and prototype fabrication. Introduction to Design (ME-203) previously featured a 6-week student project in which teams of students would design and build an electromechanical device to accomplish functionality defined in design constraints provided by the professor. However, these devices were not mechatronic in nature. In the revised course, the objective is to evolve these designs to utilize embedded microcontrollers, sensors and actuators and achieve much more sophisticated functionality. To accommodate the anticipated increase in time required to complete such projects, the existing sophomore course Instrumentation (ME-204) was revised to incorporate learning objectives from the senior-level mechatronics elective courses. Further, 6 weeks of laboratory time from Instrumentation could then be dedicated to the aforementioned mechatronic projects. As such, both ME-203 and ME-204 have been integrated to form an eight-credit “Introduction to Mechatronics Design” course. This paper details the scope of this course, the specialized equipment developed for it and student project outcomes.

Quantitative Electroencephalographic Abnormalities in Fibromyalgia Patients

There is increasing acceptance that pain in fibromyalgia (FM) is a result of dysfunctional sensory processing in the spinal cord and brain, and a number of recent imaging studies have demonstrated abnormal central mechanisms. The objective of this report is to statistically compare quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) measures in 85 FM patients with age and gender matched controls in a normative database. A statistically significant sample (minimum 60 seconds from each subject) of artifact-free EEG data exhibiting a minimum split-half reliability ratio of 0.95 and test-retest reliability ratio of 0.90 was used as the threshold for acceptable data inclusion. FM subject EEG data was compared to EEGs of age and gender matched healthy subjects in the Lifespan Normative Database and analyzed using NeuroGuide 2.0 software. Analyses were based on spectral absolute power, relative power and coherence. Clinical evaluations included the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Beck Depression Inventory and Fischer dolorimetry for pain pressure thresholds. Based on Z-statistic findings, the EEGs from FM subjects differed from matched controls in the normative database in three features: (1) reduced EEG spectral absolute power in the frontal International 10–20 EEG measurement sites, particularly in the low- to mid-frequency EEG spectral segments; (2) elevated spectral relative power of high frequency components in frontal / central EEG measurement sites; and (3) widespread hypocoherence, particularly in low- to mid-frequency EEG spectral segments, in the frontal EEG measurement sites. A consistent and significant negative correlation was found between pain severity and the magnitude of the EEG abnormalities. No relationship between EEG findings and medicine use was found. It is concluded that qEEG analysis reveals significant differences between FM patients compared to age and gender matched healthy controls in a normative database, and has the potential to be a clinically useful tool for assessing brain function in FM patients.

A Randomized Placebo‐Controlled Study of Noninvasive Cortical Electrostimulation in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia Patients

OBJECTIVE The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of noninvasive cortical electrostimulation in the management of fibromyalgia (FM). DESIGN A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design was used. Setting.  Subjects received therapy at two different outpatient clinical locations. PATIENTS There were 77 subjects meeting the American College of Rheumatology 1990 classification criteria for FM. Intervention.  Thirty-nine (39) active treatment (AT) FM patients and 38 placebo controls received 22 applications of either noninvasive cortical electrostimulation or a sham therapy over an 11-week period. OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measures were the number of tender points (TePs) and pressure pain threshold (PPT). Secondary outcome measures were responses to the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), Beck Depression Inventory-II, and a novel sleep questionnaire, all evaluated at baseline and at the end of treatment. RESULTS Intervention provided significant improvements in TeP measures: compared with placebo, the AT patients improved in the number of positive TePs (-7.4 vs -0.2, P<0.001) and the PPT (19.6 vs -3.2, P<0.001). Most secondary outcomes also improved more in the AT group: total FIQ score (-15.5 vs -5.6, P=0.03), FIQ pain (-2.0 vs -0.6, P=0.03), FIQ fatigue (-2.0 vs -0.4, P=0.02), and FIQ refreshing sleep (-2.1 vs -0.7, P=0.02); and while FIQ function improved (-1.0 vs -0.2), the between-group change had a 14% likelihood of occurring due to chance (P=0.14). There were no significant side effects observed. CONCLUSIONS Noninvasive cortical electrostimulation in FM patients provided modest improvements in pain, TeP measures, fatigue, and sleep; and the treatment was well tolerated. This form of therapy could potentially provide worthwhile adjunctive symptom relief for FM patients.

Long-term outcomes in fibromyalgia patients treated with noninvasive cortical electrostimulation

OBJECTIVE To evaluate long-term outcomes of a noninvasive cortical stimulation technology in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM). DESIGN After trial follow-up survey of subjects who had completed a randomized, controlled, double-blind study of noninvasive cortical stimulation therapy some 45 months previously. SETTING General community. PARTICIPANTS Patients with FM (N=69) who participated in the previous study, 39 of whom were mailed surveys. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Changes in the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. RESULTS There was a 64% survey return rate. The total Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire score was 52.6 at baseline, 35.7 at end of study, and 31.8 at follow-up (P<.001). Subjects reported symptom improvements lasting at least 2 years, with a reduction or elimination of medicine use and need to see physicians for FM. CONCLUSIONS A high percentage of patients with FM treated with noninvasive cortical stimulation continued to experience worthwhile improvement at follow-up.

Radiative Heat Transfer Properties of Electro-Controllable Fluids

Active control of radiation heat transfer in liquids can be accomplished with the use of a class of fluids referred to here as electro-controllable (EC) fluids. EC fluids in general consist of a colloidal suspension of polarizable, micron-size particles dispersed in a carrier fluid with an appropriate dielectric constant. When an electric field is applied, the particles redistribute in the fluid, changing from a uniformly dispersed configuration to a tightly organized chain formation that follows the lines of the electric field, thus causing a change in the thermal radiation transport. In an example application, experiments are conducted and models are developed for thermal radiation transmittance through a composite window featuring a central layer of EC fluid. The specific EC fluids of this study are made of micron-sized Zeolite particles suspended in a light Silicone oil carrier fluid of appropriate dielectric strength. The incident thermal radiation ranged in wavelength between 500 nm and 800 nm, and the strength of the applied electric field ranged from 100 V/mm to 500 V/mm. The models are applicable for both the dispersed organizational state and the field induced chained state