2006-2007 Coulter Projects at U.Va.
Adipose stem cells for the healing of chronic wounds
 Cell-based therapies for the treatment of chronic wounds offer a novel, multifaceted approach to complex, multi-factor problem. Adipose stem cells from human fat share many of the same characteristics and behaviors as bone marrow-derived cells, with the added advantages of abundance, ease of harvest, expendability, and appeal. In this early-stage project, Shayn Peirce-Cottler (BME) and Adam Katz (Plastic Surgery) are developing a novel cell-based wound dressing that uses a patient’s own adipose stem cells to re-boot the body’s healing mechanism.
Shayn Peirce Cottler, PhD, Biomedical Engineering
Adam Katz, MD, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Quantitative unbiased immunohistochemical signaling pathway analysis (QUISPA): Development and application of therapy-directed classification of malignant gliomas
This early stage project tackles the complex web of signaling in cancer. Jason Papin (BME), James Mandell (Pathology), and David Schiff (Neurology) are working to develop computational tools to make better, unbiased diagnoses and better predictions of ideal drug targets. The initial focus is on a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer, but research will expand to other types of cancer within the framework.
Jason Papin, PhD, Biomedical Engineering
James Mandell, MD, PhD, Pathology
David Schiff, MD, Neurology
Real-time cardiac stress testing using MRI
 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool. However, when it comes to ischemic heart disease, existing imaging techniques are limited. Craig Meyer (BME) and Chris Kramer (Radiology) are developing an MRI stress test of the heart using real-time imaging at 30 frames per second - a demanding goal that will be met by combining highly-parallel MRI with spiral kspace techniques. A reliable MRI stress test - capable of providing real-time, consistent, high-quality, and highly detailed images of contraction during ischemic stress - will significantly improve the noninvasive evaluation of ischemic heart disease, the #1 cause of death in the US.
(Above: Image reconstructed with new reconstruction program)
Craig Meyer, PhD, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Chris Kramer, MD, Radiology/Non-Invasive Cardiology
Ear tube insertion device
 This late stage to very-late stage project will lead to a new device for inserting ventilation tubes in the ears of patients, usually children, suffering from chronic OME, or chronic fluid in the middle ear. Shayn Peirce-Cottler (BME) and Brad Kesser (Otolaryngology) are building a better mousetrap: They are replacing a tray full of instruments and a technically challenging procedure with a one-handed device to perform two key tasks (tube insertion and fluid suction) in a single pass. A 1st-generation device was developed in 2006 as a BME undergraduate design project.
Shayn Peirce-Cottler, PhD, Biomedical Engineering
Bradley Kesser, MD, Otolaryngology
Wallace H. Coulter Foundation
U.Va. Biomedical Engineering
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