Projects

Developmental speech and language disorders (DSDs and DLDs) are seen in 1 in 20 preschool children without any neurologic deficits, intellectual impairment, or hearing loss. DSDs affect the clarity of the produced sounds, while DLDs affect language structures, including grammar and semantics. Usually, developmental speech and language disorders (DSLD) coexist. Despite many research studies, no consistent symptom-based prognostic markers have been found yet.

 The project aims to evaluate and compare the impacts of traditional and nontraditional language-based therapy on the dorsal and ventral streams of children who have language and speech disorders. In this study, the traditional way is the therapy given when the participant sits on a chair. The nontraditional way is the therapy in which participants actively use their fine and gross motor skills during language therapy. The project is expected to generate knowledge for pediatric speech-language therapists, pathologists, child psychiatrists, psychologists, and neuroscientists. It will lead to a larger external research project as an evidence-based intervention for children with speech-language disorders. This project is also expected to provide directions for effective interventions and clinical research to improve speech-language therapy practices.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive clinicopathologic form of breast cancer. It has a roughly 55% 5-year survival rate, much lower than most other types of breast cancer, which is about a 90% 5-year survival rate in the United States. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) defines the IBC with erythema (redness), edema, and peau d’orange over at least a third of the breast—often with no underlying tumor mass—with a duration of the first symptom to the diagnosis fewer than six months. In addition, the histopathology of tumor emboli in the breast biopsy indicates IBC. The diagnosis of IBC based on the AJCC criteria is challenging because the presence and extent of erythema, edema, and peau d’orange vary between IBC patients, and there are no solid pathologic criteria to confirm the diagnosis of the diseases. In addition, the AJCC clinical signs are not present in many IBC cases.

Machined surface quality and the surface layer’s physical and mechanical characteristics are complex indicators that determine the performance properties of machine parts. The surface roughness characterizes the surface quality and significantly impacts machine parts and products. Advanced manufacturing technology requires in situ surface finish measurement estimating Ra parameters without removing the parts since mounting and dismounting the parts may cause various errors. Confocal chromatic measurement techniques have shown significant improvement in real-time high-resolution profile measurement during inspection. However, the application of confocal chromatic sensors is still limited for the purpose of inspection in restricted reflective spaces.  The primary and secondary objectives of the proposed work in the 3^rd round of CPM are as follows:

1. Test the developed model for different materials and colors. Revise the software accordingly.
2. Design and implement a setup for measuring Ra inside parts as the sensor acquires data while itself or the part rotates.
3. Revise the existing software based on the new setup.
4. Improve the GUI prototype based on the industry needs and requests.
5. Find the potentials and limitations of the confocal sensor in each condition.
6. Porting MATLAB-based software to Python-based software.
7. Start the physical design of the prototype (1^st prototype).
8. Initiation of machine learning (ML) approach for Ra estimation.