A new system that uses a wireless implant has been shown to record for the first time how brain tissue deforms when subjected to the kind of shock that causes blast-induced trauma commonly seen in combat veterans.
"Blast-induced traumatic brain injury, already one of the most significant wounds throughout Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, has become increasingly prevalent," said Riyi Shi, a professor in Purdue University's Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. "About 167,000 blast-induced traumatic brain injury cases have been documented during both deployments alone."

Three women with Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering connections--Jessica Huber, professor of speech, language, and hearing sciences; Alyssa Panitch, the Leslie E. Geddes Professor of Biomedical Engineering; and Sherry Harbin, professor of biomedical engineering, serve as role models and mentors for faculty and student researchers who seek to transition their ideas into commercial products.

A Purdue innovation that could help improve efficiency and lower the costs of selective scientific imaging equipment is being commercialized by High Performance Imaging LLC. Charles Bouman, a professor in Purdue's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and a co-founder of High Performance Imaging, said that the company's technology can be of great value in advanced scientific imaging by reducing cost and increasing access.

Sherry Harbin, professor of biomedical engineering and basic medical sciences, was named winner of the 2015 Outstanding Commercialization Award for Purdue Faculty. The award is given annually to a faculty member in recognition of outstanding contributions to, and success with, commercializing Purdue research discoveries.

A Purdue University startup is developing tissue "building blocks," also referred to as Collymers, that self-assemble to form collagen fibrils resembling those found in the body tissues.

Tamara Kinzer-Ursem, an assistant professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University has been selected among seventy of the nation's most innovative, young engineering educators to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's seventh Frontiers of Engineering Education (FOEE) symposium. This symposium is designed to facilitate the sharing of best practices in research and education to bring about improvements in each participant's respective institution.