Engineering Science & Biomedical Engineering Part IV Project 2008 (ENGSCI 400A & 400B)

NOTES TO STUDENTS :
EngSci & BME project students, please read the list of all Part IV projects. Each project lists a project number, a title, supervisor(s), abstract, skills required for the project and notes which department the project is open to. If the project is open to Engineering Science ONLY then only Engineering Science students may opt for it. If the project is open to Biomedical Engineering ONLY then only Biomedical Engineering students may opt for it. If the project is open to EngSci & BME then students from both Engineering Science and Biomedical Engineering may opt for it. NB Please take note of a project that requires particular skills, such as programming, and only apply if you possess those skills. Once you have read the list, follow the procedure below: Choose a few projects you are interested in. In the period from now until Mar 7th inclusive use the time to contact the members of staff running the project and find out what the project involves. On Thursday 6th an afternoon tea at 4pm will be held to enable you to talk to the staff for a final time before you hand in your selections. By no later than Friday March 7th 1pm, you should email our departmental manager, Dishani Jayasuriya d.jayasuriya@auckland.ac.nz the project numbers of your top 5 choices in order of preference (most preferred on the left to least preferred on the right). The body of your email should use the following format including the commas: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, First Name, Surname, ID Number Eg Titles The first 5 projects are open to Biomedical Engineering students only #1 #2 Human Body Surface Scanning and Shape Analysis How Useful are Lookup Tables for Representing Small-Scale Variables within a Multiscale Skeletal Muscle Model 4, 15, 26, 13, 3, Alfred, Black, 5683950

#3 #4 #5

Micro-CT Imaging in the Ocular Lens Imaging and Modeling Nerves of the Skin Mechanics of membranes using measurements and modelling

The next set of projects, 6 38, is open to both Biomedical Engineering students and Engineering Science students #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22 #23 #24 Patterns Generated by Swimming Micro-Organisms Blood Flow Through Constricted Vessels Fluid-Structure Interactions in the Atomic-Force Microscope Modelling Chaos in the Brain with Chaotic Neural Networks Classifying the Variability of Blood Glucose Level in Newborn & Preterm Babies with Nonlinear Chaotic Invariant Measures. Using Mathematical Models to Investigate the Effects of Clenching and Grinding on Tooth Wear Examining the Effects of Torso Geometry on Simulated Magnetogastrograms. Gasping for breath: Modelling irregular breathing patterns A Kiwi arm wrestling robot actuated using artificial muscles Analysis of human ventricular fibrillation 3D surface measurement using multiple cameras Model of layered soft tissue 3D indentation of soft tissue Simulating breast deformations during clinical imaging: assessing the importance of detail Software to analyse work performed in a MRI ergometer Modelling head/neck injury in motor vehicle accidents The mechanics of vascularised tissue Muscle: Slow-twitch = Fatigue-Resistant, Fast-twitch = FatigueProne. Why? Image stitching of in-vivo corneal nerve images

#25 lens #26 #27 #28

Investigating a method for estimating the shape of the human eye The contribution of lens accommodation to overall vision Truck Scheduling for Forestry Micromechanical Modelling of Fibrous Materials

#29 Investigating the Nesting of Fabrics #30 Modelling the RTM-Light Process #31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #36 #37 #38 A new artificial muscle material based on liquid crystal elastomers Ultrasound- a tool for rapid and safe patient-specific model production Minimising Treatment Time in Radiotherapy The Number of Intensity Levels, Accuracy and Duration of Radiotherapy Treatment Using image analysis to quantify in vitro models of capillary Modelling the response of lung cells to mechanical stretch Computing shortest paths in large road networks Mathematical models of kidney function networks

The final set of projects, 39 69 is open to Engineering Science students only #39 #40 #41 #42 #43 #44 #45 #46 An Algorithm for the Bi-objective Transportation Problem Referee Assignment in Sports Leagues Optimisation of the Northern Busway System Order Picking in a Warehouse Experiments with Storage Area Networks Emergency Hotspots Predicting High Accident Locations for Ambulance Moveup Using GPS Vehicle Tracking Data to Estimate Road Travel Times Efficient solution strategies for the Siren Live Move-up Integer Programming Problem

#47 #48 #49 #50 #51 #52 #53 #54 #55 #56 #57 #58 #59 #60 #61 #62 #63 #64 #65 #66 #67 #68 #69

Staffing for Fullers Ferries Large scale convection in a geothermal field Modelling carbon dioxide in a geothermal field Wind farm layout optimization Optimizing fault-response dispatch A priori optimization of robust supply boat routes Solving minimax problems without auxiliary variables A Cyclic Staffing Model incorporating Fatigue Analysis of spinner data from a geothermal well Benchmarking PEDRO Setting optimal line tariffs for a distribution company Loading Goods intro Trailers for Trucking Companies Generating optimal draws for a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament Equilibrium Modelling of Aucklands Transportation network Equilibrium Modelling of Aucklands Water Network Spilt Tapping at New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) Simulating Massive Storage Networks using OPNET Modeler Production response of stress sensitive oil reservoirs Measuring and calibrating acceleration Modelling the ICM Composite Materials Manufacturing Process Comparsion of radial basis functions and multipoint geostatistics for mapping rock properties in a quarry Arterial Spin Labelling Magnetic Resonance Imaging Computing minzone in the presence of wind

Full Descriptions: The first 5 projects are open to Biomedical Engineering students only #1 Title: Human Body Surface Scanning and Shape Analysis

A number of new initiatives (both commercial and scientific) within the Auckland Biomedical Institute will use the data from a soon to be installed (End March 2008) structured light body surface scanner. This instrument can obtain body surface measurements from an individual within seconds. The output of this scanning device is a cloud of 3-D data points which represents the physical position of the skin surface. This data must then be converted into a more useful skin surface model. This process will involve selecting key landmark scanned data points which will then be used to customise the existing detailed skin surface model. For a diverse range of body shaped individuals detailed skin models need to be developed. From these models key physical measurements are to be extracted (i.e. girth, height, waist, upper forearm etc). A principle component analysis of the key physical measurements will then be performed to determine the minimum number of parameters required to transform between individuals body shapes. The aims of this project are: help obtain body surface scans (being a people person and adapting new technology) use CMISS/CMGUI to create skin models from clouds of data points; determine the body shape transformation parameters using maths.

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Main Supervisors: Dr Robert Kirton, Ass. Prof. Poul Nielsen, Sarah Cox Open to Biomedical Engineering students only #2 Title: How Useful are Lookup Tables for Representing Small-Scale Variables within a Multiscale Skeletal Muscle Model

Multiscale modelling aims to link important features occurring on different scales. For a skeletal muscle model, for example, it is important to link electrophysiological processes on the cellular level (single fibre) with biomechanical aspects of muscle contraction on the whole muscle level. The differences in scales often relates to differences in available/necessary data and computational time. Our recently developed electro-mechanical skeletal muscle model attempts to reduce the amount of computational cost on the cellular level by precomputing template fibres and storing them within a lookup table. The choice of using a lookup table is a trade-off between accuracy, computational time, and storage. The aims of this project are: To understand the linking between stimulation protocols of a single muscle fibres and whole muscle deformations. To analyse and quantify the loss of accuracy (with respect the deformations on the whole muscle) of using a lookup table instead an exact solution. To investigate potential reductions with respect to temporal scales.

1. Main Supervisors: Dr Oliver Rohrle, Prof. Andrew Pullan 2. Open to Biomedical Engineering students only #3 Title: Micro-CT Imaging in the Ocular Lens

The ability of the ocular lens to focus light on the retina is the result of a unique cellular physiology and tissue architecture, which eliminate light scattering and confer the optical properties of the lens. The ocular lens is one of the largest avascular (blood-free) tissues in the human body. Maintenance of lens homeostasis requires special mechanisms, not only to supply the lens fiber cells with nutrients, but also to control the volume and shape of these cells, thus maintaining lens transparency. It has been proposed (Mathias et al. 1997) that the lens operates an avascular, ionically-generated, cell-to-cell micro-circulation system that delivers nutrients to, and removes wastes from, the lens cells, thereby maintaining homeostasis and appropriate cell volume. Failure of this micro-circulation system over time has been cited as a primary cause of lens cataracts, a multi-billion dollar healthcare problem annually in Western countries alone. To develop a better understanding of circulatory features of the lens, a series of imaging techniques have been used to quantitatively assess the hypothesized micro-circulation system. These techniques (two-photon microscopy, MRI, and micro-computed tomography (mCT)) each have their own advantages and

disadvantages. mCT imaging can currently achieve microscopic resolution (~1020 micrometers) while still being able to image and build up a 3-D volume reconstruction over the whole lens in a single experiment. Candidates are invited to apply for a fourth-year project to image the avascular micro-circulation of the ocular lens, using molecular tracers and mCT. This will involve optimizing the mCT scanning parameters and performing a set of imaging experiments trialing different high-contrast tracer reagents (gadolinium, lanthanum, etc.) to image the lens circulation through time using lenses from an animal model, in a controlled environment. Creative approaches to experiment design and quantitative image processing in some widely-used packages (MATLAB, 3D slicer, Scirun, etc.) will be encouraged in order to optimize the protocols for mCT imaging of the ocular lens. The aims of this project are: 1. 2. #4 image the ocular lens, using molecular tracers and micro-CT image the endogenous, avascular lens micro-circulation through time, using lenses from an animal model optimize the mCT scanning parameters and perform a set of imaging experiments trialing different high-contrast tracer reagents analyze image data using quantitative image processing in some widelyused scripting packages e.g. Python, Matlab etc. Main Supervisors: Marc Jacobs, Iain Anderson Open to Biomedical Engineering students only Title: Imaging and Modeling Nerves of the Skin

Students interested in confocal imaging and structure-function modeling are invited to participate in a Part IV project to characterize the 3D spatial configuration of nerve cells in skin. Current research at the Bioengineering Institute seeks to create a family of biophysical models representing different aspects of human skin. Work to date has begun to address the structure-function relationships of dermal collagen, epithelial cells, and the vascular (blood capillary) system. A new initiative is needed to launch a model of the neural system of the skin. Such a model would initially find practical application in the treatment of chronictrauma wounds. For example, a significant proportion of diabetic patients present to clinicians with chronic, non-healing ulcers (open wounds) of the feet. This comes about usually because of neuropathy leading to a loss of sensation in the foot followed by inappropriate, chronic loading and mechanical trauma to the soft tissue. Many such cases end with amputation of the limb.

To mitigate this outcome we want to experimentally image the innervation of skin; use image processing and analysis in a scripting environment (e.g. Python) to extract the neural geometry from the image data; and (time permitting) construct a finite element representation of neural topology and density in the dermis and epidermis, focusing initially on general sensory neuron layout and modeling selective regional neurodegeneration. The aims of this project are: experimentally image the innervation of skin (by confocal microscopy) focus initially on general sensory neuron layout use image processing and analysis in a scripting environment (e.g. Python) to extract neural geometry from the image data construct a finite element representation of neural topology model selective regional neurodegeneration

1. Main Supervisor: Marc Jacobs, Poul Nielsen 2. Open to Biomedical Engineering students only #5 Title: Mechanics of membranes using measurements and modelling

The skin modelling group at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute are developing an integrative bio-computational model in order to investigate the structurefunction properties of skin. Part of this work has involved the development of a 2D multiaxial testing device to record the deformations experienced by, and forces applied to samples of membraneous materials. The aim of this project is to use finite element modelling to analyse the mechanics of membranes based on data obtained using the multiaxial rig. This work will initially involve experimentation and modelling on rubber sheets in order to develop and validate the analysis techniques. The analysis techniques will then be applied to samples of pig skin in order to characterise their nonlinear, anisotropic and possibly heterogeneous mechanical function. This research has potential applications in a wide variety of areas including wound healing, tissue engineering, cosmetics and facial animation. 1 Main Supervisors: A/Prof. Poul Nielsen; A/Prof. Martyn Nash; Jessica Jor. 2 Open to Biomedical Engineering students only The next set of projects is open to both Biomedical Engineering students and Engineering Science students #6 Title: Patterns Generated by Swimming Micro-Organisms

It is of common experience that large shoals of fish or flocks of birds can perform the most mesmerizing displays of collective behaviour. These

spectacles, as impressive as they are, pale in comparison with the intricate patterns generated by some of the smallest organisms, namely algae and bacteria. At such small scales, hydrodynamic effects dominate, and fluidmediated interactions between cells can produce an array of complex patterns, ranging from cascading plumes to swirls and jets that are reminiscent of twodimensional turbulence. The goal of this project is to better understand and reproduce these phenomena through modification of the Lattice-Boltzmann Method. Implementing this approach will involve incorporating recently determined rules which predict how several individual micro-organisms interact, into a large-scale scheme which can simulate thousands of cells.This will provide important insights into how such large scale patterns can enhance transport of nutrients, for instance, in a highdensity suspension of micro-organisms, which has important biotechnological applications, for instance in the design of bioreactors. 1. 2. #7 Main Supervisors: Richard Clarke and Rosalind Archer Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Title: Blood Flow Through Constricted Vessels

Conditions such as atherosclerosis, where plaques form within the blood vessels of the body, have been linked to regions of low shear stress on the vessel walls, and this has driven much theoretical interest in the fluid dynamics of arterial blood flow. Due to the fact that many blood vessels are curved, with a nonuniform cross-section, computing such flows presents a challenging problem. This project will aim to extend a current computational (ADI) code developed in Matlab to treat curved pipes with constant cross-sectional area, to tackle curved pipes where the cross-sectional area varies. The resulting code wil then be used to examine some fundamental fluid-dynamical aspects of arterial blood flow and it is anticipated that the outcomes of this work will greatly benefit the cardiovascular community. 1. 2. #8 Main Supervisors: Richard Clarke and Rosalind Archer Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Title: Fluid-Structure Interactions in the Atomic-Force Microscope

The atomic force microscope (AFM) arguably leads the way in the high-resolution imaging of biological specimens, such as DNA and proteins in their native aqueous environments. The AFM also plays a hugely important role in analysing the folded structure of proteins, and understanding how misfolding can lead to some serious diseases. The AFM consists of microscopic components which move, often rapidly, in a fluid environment. As such, calibration of this device and

accurate interpretation of the results requires a proper understanding of the influence of hydrodynamic effects. Earlier research has investigated the coupled fluid-elastic behaviour of the device components, assuming that the material properties are homogeneous. In fact, a gold coating is usually applied to increase the reflectivity of these components, so that their motion can be tracked more easily using a laser and photoreceptor diodes. Accordingly, this project will extend earlier research to determine the fluid-dynamical response of the components when the material properties are allowed to be non-uniform. 1. 2. #9 Main Supervisors: Richard Clarke and Rosalind Archer Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Title: Modelling Chaos in the Brain with Chaotic Neural Networks

Nonlinear dynamical behaviour, also termed as Chaotic behaviour, has been observed in squid axons and mathematical models of the neuron such as the well known axon models of Hodgkin-Huxley & Fitzhugh-Nagumo. One problem with such models is that their complexity limits them when one wants to model large ensembles of neurons. The chaotic neural network is a low complexity model that allows one to explore such behaviour for large ensembles of interconnected neurons. The aims of this project are: Pyramidal Neurons in vitro To develop a chaotic neural model in Matlab from scratch. To simulate and demonstrate the chaotic behaviour with phase space diagrams. For the keen student, to develop a simple lattice model of interconnected chaotic neurons and to investigate if the lattice synchronises as happens during epilepsy.

1. Main Supervisor: Dr Charles Unsworth 2. Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #10 Title: Classifying the Variability of Blood Glucose Level in Newborn & Preterm Babies with Nonlinear Chaotic Invariant Measures.

The blood glucose level in newborn and preterm babies can vary quite remarkably between individuals and serve as a marker of the health of the child. In this project, we aim to classify the level of health of baby with a nonlinear chaotic invariant measure known as the Correlation Dimension. The project will involve working with Prof. Jane Harding in the Dept of Fetal Physiology in the medical faculty. The aims of this project are:

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To develop a correlation dimension tool in Matlab from scratch. To analysis blood glucose level data sets using the correlation dimension and compare and contrast results to the childs condition.

Main Supervisor: Dr Charles Unsworth Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students

#11

Title: Using Mathematical Models to Investigate the Effects of Clenching and Grinding on Tooth Wear

There are about 30 to 40 million Americans who grind their teeth during sleep. The technical term for clenching the jaw and grinding the teeth is bruxism. Bruxism is an important factor related to a rapid and destructive loss of tooth surface. It is believed that one of the possible causes for bruxism is reflex chewing activity, in which the muscles of mastication (the muscles, which are responsible for chewing) are contracting in an uncontrolled (subconscious) way and cause the lower jaw to move and the teeth to grind. Mathematical models provide a powerful tool to analyse how uncontrolled muscle activity changes the forces acting on the teeth during clenching. Based on the direction and magnitude of the muscle forces during clenching, one can use the equations for force and moment equilibrium to calculate reaction and biting forces. Key inputs to such a model are the direction and magnitude of the muscle force. The aims of this project are: To determine the direction of the force exerted by the masseter muscle (one of the muscles of mastication) using an existing three-dimensional muscle model developed at the BI To use quadratic-programming techniques to solve the equilibrium equations of force and momentum to determine the forces acting on teeth. To investigate the effect of different constitutive parameters, e.g. the level of activity, different fibre geometries of the masseter muscle, or macroscopic constitutive parameters, on the direction of the muscle forces and hence the forces acting on the teeth.

1. Main Supervisors: Dr Oliver Rohrle, Prof. Andrew Pullan 2. Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #12 Title: Examining the Effects of Torso Geometry on Simulated Magnetogastrograms.

Gastrointestinal disorders are difficult to diagnose without invasive measurements. This is in contrast to cardiac disorders which can be easily assessed via a standard 12-lead ECG. Recording and interpreting of electrogastrograms can be unreliable. The accurate interpretation of magnetic activity (magnetogastrograms) provides new opportunities to address this clincal problem. The aims of this project are to: Calculate magnetic fields due to a dipole source in free-space using Matlab or equivalent. Calculate magnetic fields due to a dipole source with a simplified torso model and compare with those calculated an anatomically realistic torso model using CMISS Investigate the effect of parameters (such as the distribution and number of magnetic sensors) on simple inverse algorithms that reconstruct the dipole location and direction given magnetic field information.

This project will suit a student comfortable with strong mathematics and programming skill. 1. 2. #13 Main Supervisors: Leo Cheng, Rie Komuro, Andrew Pullan Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Title: Gasping for breath: Modelling irregular breathing patterns

Respiration in humans is regulated by a feedback control system. The breathing rate and volume are influenced by a number of factors such as the amount of O 2 and CO2 in blood and tissue, acid-base balance in blood, transport time of blood from the lungs to the brain, and stimulation of receptors in the brainstem. Perturbation of these factors can lead to irregular breathing patterns such as Cheyne-Stokes respiration (long periods without breathing followed by rapid breathing) or Kussmaul breathing (very deep and laboured breathing). The aim of this project is to develop a mathematical model of the respiratory control system in order to determine the conditions that lead to different breathing patterns. This project will suit a person interested in mathematical modelling and respiratory physiology. The project will involve programming numerical solutions of ODEs. 1. Main Supervisor: Dr. Vinod Suresh 2. Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #14 Title: A Kiwi arm wrestling robot actuated using artificial muscles

In 1999, Dr. Yoseph Bar-Cohen of NASAs Jet Propulsion Lab, posed a grand challenge to the worldwide research and engineering community to develop artificial muscles based on electro-active polymers (EAP) that would enable a robot to win a wrestling match against a human opponent. Since 2005 there have been several contests but so far nobody has produced a system capable of matching a human, though considerable progress has being made. The ABI's Biomimetics Lab is working to meet this challenge and we hope to showcase our arm at the annual competition in San Diego in 2009. We need a student to Model the mechanics of the system and optimize it with a view to maximizing the force produced Assemble some of the elements we have already developed (muscles, frames, etc.) into a working system, Measure its performance, and establish the reasons for any differences between actual and predicted performance Identify paths to improvement of the Kiwi arm. 1. 2. 3. 4. The project will involve the student in: Lumped-parameter modeling for design calculations Some design drawing and use of state-of-the-art rapid prototyping equipment Fabrication of EAP actuators Experimental measurement of forces and displacements No CAD or prototyping experience is required and full training will be provided. Intellectual and emotional support to the student will be provided by the supervisors and four clever PhD students. Main Supervisors: Dr. Iain Anderson (DES) and Dr. Emilio Calius (IRL) Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Sponsor: Biomimetics laboratory of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute

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#15

Title: Analysis of human ventricular fibrillation

Heart disease is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, and the lethal event is typically ventricular fibrillation (VF). The onset and maintenance of VF remain poorly understood in clinical cardiac electrophysiology research. Collaborators at Londons Heart Hospital routinely record dense arrays of electrograms from the surface of fibrillating human hearts during open-chest surgery. Such data can provide insight into the mechanisms underpinning the maintenance of VF. A range of protocols are explored, including sinus rhythm, ventricular pacing and progressive ischaemia. In some cases, continuous recordings of up to three minutes are available.

The primary objective of this project will be to analyse the spatio-temporal characteristics of VF using the available heart mapping data. Existing software tools (written in C and Matlab) will be used to extract and visualise the cardiac wavefronts and re-entrant sources (cardiac phase singularities). Quantification and spatio-temporal interpretation of the results with regard to the limitations of the experiments, data and analysis will be a key aspect of this project. There is also wide scope for the development of further analysis tools. The experimental data are the first of their kind across the world, and the results of this study will be of high impact in the cardiac electrophysiology community. 1) Main Supervisor: A/Prof. Martyn Nash 2) Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #16 Title: 3D surface measurement using multiple cameras

The human brain is capable of qualitatively estimating the position and orientation of surfaces based on different views of the same scene with two eyes, as well as cues offered by cross-correlating surface patterns or textures. Being able to quantitatively estimate the position and orientation of surfaces is of great interest in a number of applications. A good deal of information can be obtained from multiple camera systems. If two or more cameras can be aimed at a surface patterned with identifiable marker points, it is relatively easy to use projective geometry to estimate the 3D position of each point. In this case, however, each point must be clearly distinguishable from neighbouring points or the reliability of the method will suffer markedly. This usually means that markers must be relatively widely spaced so that only a small number of 3D points can be identified. Much more information can be obtained if the surface is patterned with random dots having average size of approximately 2 pixels in each 2D camera view. In this case every position has a unique pattern in its neighbourhood that can be readily identified. The aim of this project is to determine the 3D position and orientation of the neighbourhood of a point on a surface based on information available from multiple 2D views of a randomly textured surface. This process will make use of a novel cross-correlation technique, developed as part of a research project in the Bioengineering Institute, to obtain very accurate measures (<0.05 pixel) of relative displacement. The resulting measurements of displacement and orientation will then be used to characterise the 3D geometry of the entire surface. Immediate applications of this technique include developing accurate 3D models of the face and facial expressions, development of customised models of the breast, and measurement of surface deformation for identifying the mechanical behaviour of soft tissue. 1. Main Supervisors: A/Prof. Poul Nielsen; A/Prof. Martyn Nash. 2. Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students

#17

Title: Model of layered soft tissue

Modelling soft bodies, where the materials are homogeneous, is reasonably well understood. What happens, however, when the body is made of layers soft material of different stiffness? Recent work by members of the breast modelling group has indicated that there are significant differences between finite element model predictions and experimental measurements of deformations of very simple layered bodies. One possible reason for this anomaly is that the continuity of stress and strain at the interface between layers is not being modelled correctly. It appears that the naive approach of forcing continuity of both stress and strain across the boundary is too restrictive, resulting in a model that is stiffer than reality. The aim of this project is to use finite element models of simple two-layered soft materials to investigate how they behave when appropriate boundary conditions are applied at the interface of two soft, but dissimilar, materials. The model predictions will then be compared with measurements made on silicon gel phantoms. The ability to reliably account for the effects of material heterogeneities such as these will be directly applicable to a wide range of situations, such as modelling the various tissue components that make up the breast (i.e. skin, fibroglandular and adipose tissues). 1 Main Supervisors: A/Prof. Martyn Nash; A/Prof. Poul Nielsen. 2 Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #18 Title: 3D indentation of soft tissue

There are very few data available on the mechanical properties of soft tissue. The main reason for this is that such data must be obtained in-vivo (i.e. while the tissue is still in the living body) making the required measurements difficult to perform and the analysis of data complicated. We have developed several solutions to this problem. Firstly, we have built and tested a novel 3-axis forcesensitive probe that can provide controlled deformations to the surface of soft tissues. Secondly, we have developed analysis techniques, based on finite element modelling and nonlinear optimisation, to identify the parameters that characterise soft tissue constitutive properties. This approach has already been used to identify the material properties of soft membranes. We now need to extend this approach to characterise the mechanics of 3D soft tissues, such as muscle, fat, and skin. The aim of this project is use a 3-axis force sensitive probe to induce controlled indentations in soft tissue. The measured 3D forces and displacements will be used in a nonlinear optimisation loop to identify the best set of parameters that match the predictions of a finite element model with the experimental results. 1 Main Supervisors: A/Prof. Poul Nielsen; A/Prof. Martyn Nash.

2 Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #19 Title: Simulating breast deformations during clinical imaging: assessing the importance of detail

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death among women; its early detection being critical to successful treatment and removal of the disease. While x-ray mammography is the gold-standard for early detection, clinicians are increasingly using additional imaging technologies such as MRI, ultrasound, and CT to make more informed decisions on the state of the breast. However, the breast tissues deform significantly during these imaging procedures, thus no two images show the same picture. We are developing anatomically realistic computer models of the breast that are customized to individuals and can simulate the tissue deformations during the different imaging procedures. These simulations may potentially assist clinicians by mapping tissue locations from one image to another, based on the loading conditions during the imaging procedures and the theory of finite elasticity. Our pilot studies have shown promise in the use of our modeling techniques, but there are important modelling issues and questions that remain unanswered. This project will take the research to the next level by investigating techniques to segment and model the different tissues in the breast. The student will investigate the effect of modeling the heterogeneity in the breast and assess the degree of detail that is required for reliable model predictions. The project will expose the student to the full breath of biomechanical modelling, from image acquisition and model creation to simulation and validation of the computer model. Main Supervisors: Dr Vijay Rajagopal; A/Prof. Martyn Nash; A/Prof. Poul Nielsen. 2 Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students 1 #20 Title: Software to analyse work performed in a MRI ergometer

In adults there is clear evidence that Type 1 diabetes (T1D) changes cardiac structure and function, making the heart less capable of emptying and filling. The evidence is less clear in adolescents. A study, currently underway at the Liggins Institute, aims to: evaluate the cardiovascular function and structure of T1D adolescents at rest and in response to exercise compared to healthy adolescents; and determine whether exercise training improves the cardiovascular function at rest and in response to exercise in T1D and healthy adolescents. We have built a MRI-compatible ergometer that enables subjects to exercise while being imaged within the MR device. However, there is currently no software available to analyse the ergometer measurements and provide feedback to control the level of exercise required of the subject.

The aim of this project is to design a LabView application to record forces and displacements from transducers built in an MRI-based ergometer. This information will be processed to enable continuous measurement of power output and ECG during experiments, enabling feedback to the subject to maintain a target heart rate. This will involve liaising with researchers at the Liggins Institute. 1 Main Supervisors: Dr Andrew Taberner; A/Prof. Poul Nielsen. 2 Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #21 Title: Modelling head/neck injury in motor vehicle accidents

Motor vehicle accidents often impose considerable accelerations on the head, leading to rapid distortions of the vertebrae, neck muscles and other soft tissues. Such distortions can cause muscle-strain, tearing of soft tissue, nerve damage, disc damage, and occasionally rupture of neck ligaments and vertebral fractures. Rear-end crash head/neck injury can be minimized with appropriately designed head constraints. This project will involve 1 Completing a finite-element model of the head neck and upper shoulders, comprising bone, muscle and other soft-tissue information Using the finite-element model to compute the deformation, stress and strain experienced by the head and connective tissue when subjected to typical accelerations experienced in motor vehicle accidents. Supplementing the model to explore the effect of head restraints on head/neck deformation.

Main Supervisors: Dr Andrew Taberner; Dr Kumar Mithraratne; Dr David Budgett; A/Prof. Poul Nielsen. 2 Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #22 Title: The mechanics of vascularised tissue

It is well know that internal fluid pressure of vascularised tissue can dramatically affect its mechanical stiffness. Soft tissue, such as heart muscle and brain, become noticeably stiffer when blood is pumped through it. This phenomenon is known as the garden hose effect. However, little is understood about the relationship between tissue and vessel stiffness and how these properties interact to increase overall stiffness with increased fluid pressure. This project will investigate the garden hose effect by constructing a finite element model of a simple vascularised soft tissue block. The model will then be used to predict overall tissue stiffness as a function of internal fluid pressure. These results will be compared to an homogenisation approach that promises to offer a much simpler and more efficient solution.

1 Main Supervisors: A/Prof. Poul Nielsen; A/Prof. Martyn Nash 2 Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students

#23

Title: Muscle: Slow-twitch = Fatigue-Resistant, Fast-twitch = FatigueProne. Why?

Two broad classes of skeletal muscle exist - slow-twitch and fast-twitch. These two types of muscle fibres are very similar in many respects, but differ markedly in fatiguability, i.e. the progressive decline of force over a period of sustained activity. The Aim of this project is to gain insight into the cellular processes that make one type of fibre fatigue so much more easily than the other. The Method of choice is mathematical modelling. The candidate will: (i) implement the mathematical model recently published by Shorten et al. (2008), (ii) incorporate the much-improved action potential model of Cursons et al. (manuscript in preparation), (iii) with a view to achieving a realistic time-course for the fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle of the mouse, using experimental data provided by Dr Simeon Cairns, before (iv) optimising parameters to simulate published fatigue profiles.
Shorten, PR, OCallaghan, P, Davidson, HB, Soboleva, TK (2008) A mathematical model of fatigue in skeletal muscle force contraction. Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility. (DOI 10.1007/s10974-007-9125-6)

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Main Supervisors: Dr Edmund Crampin Dr Simeon Cairns (AUT) Dr Denis Loiselle Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #24 Title: Image stitching of in-vivo corneal nerve images

Recent work has been done (by the department of Ophthalmology) to map the corneal sub basal nerve plexus (a branching of nerves in the cornea) by in-vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy. This approach is limited by the field of view captured in a single image. As a result, a multitude of images are taken; that need to be arranged into a large mosaic. This process can become a time consuming process for a human operator. Some work has been done (using MATLAB) in an effort to automate the stitching process. This project will look to develop that process further. More specifically, this project will involve: (i) an investigation of image classifcation: ways of deciding whether two images over-lap or not, (ii) collection of image statistics (for the purpose of tuning the process), and (iii) developing an interface that could be used for further research.

It is envisaged that this tool would support further investigation of these structures in the future. Main Supervisors: Dr Jason Turuwhenua, Dr Marc Jacobs, A/Prof Poul Nielsen Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #25 Title: Investigating a method for estimating the shape of the human eye lens. Knowledge of lens geometry is critical for a total understanding of the role of the lens to the optical aberrations of the eye. One way to measure the lens is via the Purkinje-Sanson images; which arise by reflection at the internal surfaces of the eye. Typically, a few such images (of suitably placed source points) are recorded by video camera, from which gross details (such as radius of curvature, tilt) of the lens can be determined. There are instances where standard techniques may fail, for example when source points are placed too close to the eye. A promising approach is being developed that addresses issues with standard methods by combining optimization techniques with exact ray-tracing. The aim of this project then, is to: (i) implement a new algorithm for retrieving lens shape (in MATLAB), and (ii) to assess its performance in a variety of scenarios. It is envisaged that such a method could become a useful tool for the researcher and clinician. 1. 2. Main Supervisors: Dr Jason Turuwhenua, Dr Marc Jacobs, A/Prof Poul Nielsen Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #26 Title: The contribution of lens accommodation to overall vision.

The ability of the eye to focus on both near and far objects is facilitiated by changes in the shape of the lens (accommodation). The power to accommodate gradually diminishes with age, leading to presbyopia; so that optical correction, e.g. reading glasses are often needed. It is therefore, important to know how the mechanical state of the lens influences imaging at the retina. Therefore, a way of simulating the contribution of the lens to total visual acuity is required. This project seeks to simulate changes in imaging caused by changes in accommodation. A toolbox for ray-tracing has been developed (in MATLAB). These codes will be integrated \with geometric models of the lens (CMGUI/CMISS) that have been developed within the Institute. This project is part of general efforts to model the optical function of the eye.

1. 2.

Main Supervisors: Dr Jason Turuwhenua, Dr Marc Jacobs, A/Prof Poul Nielsen Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students # 27

Title:

Truck Scheduling for Forestry

When a section of forest is cut down for timber, the logs are taken by truck from the harvest unit to the customer that will process the logs. These trips all originate at a base and then go from forest to customer throughout the day before returning back to their base. A forestry company in The South Island is currently using an optimisation model to plan the truck trips. Simon Papps from Feasible Solutions wishes to see if a different optimisation model will produce a better solution in less time. The aims of this project are to: 1) Develop an optimisation model that will solve this problem; 2) Determine if this model represents the actual problem faced by the forestry company; 3) Determine which of a number of possible formulations is the easiest to solve; The student should be interested in Optimisation, Vehicle Routing. 1. 2. Main supervisors: Dr S. A. Mitchell, Dr Hamish Waterer Open to Engineering Science students only #28 Title: Micromechanical Modelling of Fibrous Materials

1.5mm

Fibrous materials consist of a large number of very fine fibres bound together in some way. They have a great many applications, from use as reinforcement for advanced composite materials to use in the textile industry (carpets, clothing,

etc.), and their complex response to load is an ongoing topic of interest to many researchers. A number of approaches can be used to predict the response of these materials to load. First, there are the macro-mechanical continuum models, involving elasticity and viscoplasticity theories, and which discount the precise details of the microstructure. Then there are the micro-mechanical models, which attempt to model deformation of the individual fibres. Shown to the right is a crosssection of composite material, revealing the thousands of fibres which can be in in any mm2 sample (the dark patches are polymeric resin which binds the fibres together). Micro-models often use unit cells a small volume of fibrous material with a pattern which is repeated to make up the complete structure. An attempt to predict the response of a unit cell is made and this information is then extrapolated to predict the response of the complete structure (some possible fibre deformation modes are shown below).

It is often assumed in micro-models that there is an evenly distributed repeating loading pattern through the material. However, this might not be the case. One of the aims of this project is to investigate whether preferred force-paths arise through loaded material, which would have important consequences for continuum modeling. Aim of the Project To develop a micromechanical model of deforming fibrous materials. This is to be achieved by (i) using the elementary beam theory with point-force loads to construct simple models and then using the more complex Hertzian theory (ii) investigating the possibility of incorporating frictional effects (iii) developing models involving tows/bundles of fibres 1. 2. Main Supervisor: Piaras Kelly Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #29 Title: Investigating the Nesting of Fabrics

Advanced reinforced plastic composites consist of two components; a polymer resin and a fibrous reinforcement. The latter provides the composites strength and stiffness and typically consists of carbon or glass fibres (diameter in the

range 5-15 m ). The fibrous materials are arranged in many different architectures, for example a continuous filament mat has more or less randomly distributed tows, or bundles of fibres, whereas plain weave (shown below left ) has fibres bundled in very large tows, which are then woven together. A sample of material will consist of a stack of individual layers, each a few millimeters thick. Different numbers of layers are used depending on the application. For example, extra layers can be placed in regions where extra strength is required. During manufacture, the stack is compacted under high stress before infiltration with the polymer resin. The performance of the manufactured composite material depends critically on the type of material used, on its compressibility, permeability, homogeneity, etc. One of the factors influencing the final product is the nesting effect, where the tows of one layer tend to nest, or settle, in between the tows of adjacent layers. The aim of this project is to investigate and quantify this effect.
distribution of stress over a sample of plain weave

plain weave fabric The project involves both experimentation and modeling. Experiments will be performed on Instron universal testing machines, investigating the response of fibrous materials to load/unload cycles of straining. Different materials and different layering patterns will be studied. The Tekscan pressure measurement system will also be used to measure the distribution of compaction stress on the mould plates. Initial measurements are presented above for a plain weave reinforcement. Aim of the Project (ii) to determine relationships between the stress/strain experienced by a material and the number of layers (iii) to determine where in a loading cycle most of the nesting occurs (iv) to determine the variability in the results (v) to develop mechanical models of material deformation which accounts for the layer/nesting effect 1. 2. Main Supervisor: Piaras Kelly and Simon Bickerton (Mech.) Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students

#30 Title:

Modelling the RTM-Light Process

Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) is a composite materials manufacturing process used to manufacture components for aircraft, spacecraft, land vehicles and wind turbines, amongst other applications. In New Zealand specific examples include marine components, bus parts and helmets. The process involves placing a fibrous material (the preform) inside a mold, closing the mold to compact the material, injecting a polymeric resin under pressure to infiltrate the material (as illustrated below left) and then allowing the resin to harden to obtain the final fibre-reinforced product. The process is well understood, involving a Darcy-type fluid flow; typical results from the UoA developed RTM simulation (SimLCM) being shown below right. Flow Front Progression: flow of resin through preform

hard mould

Resin Pressure:

Normal Stress on Mould:

Very large forces are required to compact fibrous materials down to the small thicknesses required. One of the draw-backs of RTM is the expense of the nearrigid moulds required to transmit these large forces through to the compacting preform. For this reason, a variant of the process called RTM-Light has been developed. This involves using more flexible moulds, for example moulds constructed from fibre reinforced plastics, and thus has low investment requirements. The aim of this project is to develop a model of the RTM-Light process which can predict, amongst other things, the manufacturing time and fluid pressure fields. This is a more challenging task than standard RTM modelling, since the fluid-flow is now coupled with elastic deformation of the mould. Aim of the Project To develop a model of the RTM-Light process. This is to be achieved by 1. using beam/plate theory in conjunction with Darcy fluid-flow to develop analytic models of the RTM-Light process

2. 1. 2. #31

to investigate the capability of the COMSOL Finite Element / Fluid-flow software in modelling the RTM-Light process Main Supervisor: Piaras Kelly Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Title: A new artificial muscle material based on liquid crystal elastomers

The Biomimetics lab of the Bioengineering Institute is evaluating liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), produced at the Cavendish Lab Cambridge, for use in artificial muscle applications. Like conventional rubber, a LCE is composed of long chains of molecules that can slide past each other easily and so allow the material to be stretched with little effort. An LCE has attached to these chains smaller rod-like molecules that are usually found in liquid crystals. The elastomer can be processed so that the side chains are aligned parallel to one direction. The resulting material can undergo large length changes when heated. Heating is slow and difficult to control. We are investigating the use of electric fields in place of heating as an actuation initiator. The project will involve the student in: 1) Developing a finite element model of our test specimen that enables us to predict electro-active behaviour. The model will provide a much needed ability to predict how the specimens will behave in an electric field. 2) Experimental measurement of elastomer specimens normally used for artificial muscles and novel LCEs from the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University. Intellectual/emotional support and training (finite element software and test equipment) will be provided by 4 bright PhDs and other Biomimetic lab coworkers. It is envisaged that the experimental and modeling results in this project will provide a big step towards the development of a new artificial muscle material. 1. 2. 3. Main Supervisor: Dr. Iain Anderson (DES); External collaborating supervisors Prof. Eugene Terentjev and Prof. Mark Warner, Cavendish Lab, Cambridge. Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Sponsor: Biomimetics laboratory of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute #32 Title: Ultrasound- a tool for rapid and safe patient-specific model production

Ultrasound imaging is a rapidly developing platform for patient health monitoring and diagnostics. It is safe, as there is no ionizing radiation involved. Portable

ultrasound units are becoming generally available in clinical practice. If a way can be found to get good geometric data from ultrasound it will be possible for a clinician to produce his or her own models of a patients limb or joint. Such a tool will pave the way to much improved patient-health management of locomotor system disease or dysfunction. A pilot study by workers at the Bioengineering Institute has shown that there are good prospects for getting high fidelity geometric data from ultrasound. But there are some specific challenges that need exploring. The project will involve the student in: 1) Assembling a proof-of concept system for data collection. 2) Investigating ways of getting point geometric data from a scan. 3) Using data obtained from the ultrasound system to generate patient-specific models of one or more body structures/organs. Support and training (finite element software and ultrasound instruction) will be provided. It is envisaged that the proof-of-concept system will pave the way to the development of a system for patient-specific modeling in the clinic. 1. Main Supervisors: Dr. Iain Anderson (DES) and Dr. Phil Blyth (Anatomy with Radiology); External collaborating supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Wayne Hing (Head of Research - School of Rehabilitation & Occupation Studies Health & Rehabilitation Research Centre, Discipline of Physiotherapy, AUT). Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Sponsor: Biomimetics laboratory of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute Title: Minimising Treatment Time in Radiotherapy

2. 3. #33

About every third person is expected to develop some form of cancer during her life. Among all cancer patients about 60% undergo radiation therapy. Today, a sophisticated form of radiotherapy called intensity modulated radiotherapy enables high quality treatments to be delivered. This form of radiotherapy uses a device called multileaf collimator (MLC) to control the intensity of the radiation to which the patient is exposed. It is desirable to keep the time the patient is exposed to radiation to a minimum in order to avoid the risk of movements during radiation and to use the equipment more efficiently so that more patients can be treated. The aims of this project are: To understand the working of radiotherapy treatment equipment, in particular the role of multileaf collimators.

To develop an algorithm to find a collimator schedule that allows the delivery of a treatment plan in the shortest possible time. To compare the method with existing algorithms.

Requirements: Good Programming Skills (C, Matlab) 1. 2. #34 Main Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Matthias Ehrgott Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Title: The Number of Intensity Levels, Accuracy and Duration of Radiotherapy Treatment

About every third person is expected to develop some form of cancer during her life. Among all cancer patients about 60% undergo radiation therapy. Today, a sophisticated form of radiotherapy called intensity modulated radiotherapy enables high quality treatments to be delivered. This form of radiotherapy uses a device called multileaf collimator (MLC) to control the intensity of the radiation to which the patient is exposed. The optimal intensity to be used for treatment varies over a cross-section of the beam. It is common practice to discretise the continuous intensities into a predetermined number of levels. It is expected that reducing the number of intensity levels reduces the accuracy of treatment and reduces the time needed to deliver the treatment. The aims of this project are: To investigate the tradeoffs between number of intensity levels, accuracy of treatment and treatment duration; To run experiments on various test problems; To develop a method of recommending an appropriate number of intensity levels.

Requirements: Good Programming Skills (Matlab, C) 1. Main Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Matthias Ehrgott 2. Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #35 Title: Using image analysis to quantify in vitro models of capillary networks This project involves analysing images of capillary-sized blood vessel networks grown in the lab. The structure of such in vitro networks is influenced by a number of factors such as the availability of oxygen and nutrients, the properties of the surrounding matrix, and the presence of secondary cell types that secrete growth factors. Varying these conditions results in the formation of networks that have striking visual differences. The aim of this project is to obtain quantitative information about different structural aspects of the network, such as its size,

spatial uniformity, and distribution of branching points and branch lengths. The project will use CMGUI and ITK to enhance and segment images and Matlab for calculations. 1. 2. #36 Main supervisor: Dr. Vinod Suresh Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students Title: Modelling the response of lung cells to mechanical stretch

The epithelial lining of human alveoli consists of a mixed population of type I and type II cells. Type I cells are large, less numerous, and provide 90% of the surface area involved in gas exchange. Type II cells are small, more numerous, and secrete surfactant necessary for normal alveolar function. Experiments have shown that type I cells respond to mechanical stretch during breathing by releasing chemicals that are transported to type II cells, eventually leading to surfactant secretion. The aim of this project is to use CMISS software to simulate the reaction and diffusion processes involved in the cell response to mechanical stretch. This project is suitable for someone interested in mathematical modelling and numerical solution of partial differential equations. 1. Main supervisor: Dr. Vinod Suresh, Co-supervisor: Merryn Tawhai 2. Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students #37 Title: Computing shortest paths in large road networks

Road networks are an example of massive data sets. Computing shortest paths in such networks can be computationally expensive in both time and memory. Computing all shortest paths a priori addresses the time problem but greatly increases the memory requirements. This approach is allegedly used by a large online mapping site, but is not practical for those with less available storage. Various preprocessing techniques have been suggested in the literature as a means of balancing time and memory requirements. These techniques effectively provide approximations to the results of the all shortest paths problem by assigning additional attributes to the road segments and/or intersections. Preliminary experiments by Geoff Leyland (Incremental Ltd) investigating the use of a new precalculated measure of importance of each a road segment in calculating shortest paths have been very positive. The storage requirements are small and a considerable speed up has been observed. This project will require the student to efficiently implement the approach and identify areas of further improvement, particularly with respect to the preprocessing, but also the shortest path algorithms used. 1.
2.

Main Supervisor: Hamish Waterer and Geoff Leyland (Incremental Ltd) Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students

3. #38

Sponsor: Incremental Ltd Title: Mathematical models of kidney function

Several researchers have proposed mathematical models of kidney function and some have been implemented using either finite difference or finite element methods. Such models are useful for improving dialysis devices and possibly diagnosing kidney disease. The models involve complex reaction- diffusion processes in flow through a porous medium. These are somewhat similar to the processes we model in geothermal reservoirs and it may be possible to adapt our geothermal simulator (TOUGH2) for modelling kidney function. The aims of this project are: To review past research on mathematical models of kidney function To set up simple mathematical models of kidney function To modify the TOUGH2 software package to include processes of importance in kidney function.. Main supervisor Professor Mike OSullivan Open to Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science students The next set of projects, 39 69 is open to Engineering Science students only #39 Title: An Algorithm for the Bi-objective Transportation Problem

1. 2.

Many real world problems can be formulated as network optimization models and often such models need to consider more than one objective function. One particular case of the minimum cost network flow problem is the transportation problem. Despite being an important and fundamental problem in Operations Research there is no algorithm to solve transportation problems with two objectives (such as the cost and time of transportation). The aims of this project are: To understand minimum cost network flow and transportation problems with two objective functions; To use the special properties of the transportation problem to simplify algorithms for the bi-objective minimum cost network flow problem; To implement and test an algorithm to solve the bi-objective transportation problem.

Requirements: At least B+ in ENGSCI 391. C Programming Skills.

1. 2.

Main Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Matthias Ehrgott Open to Engineering Science students only

#40

Title: Referee Assignment in Sports Leagues

A common problem is sports management is to assign referees to scheduled games in amateur sports leagues such as soccer, rugby or netball. The problem can be formulated as an integer programme but because it is claimed that these problems cannot be solved efficiently, various heuristic methods have been proposed in the literature to solve the referee assignment problem. However, the integer programming model turns out to be a specially structured model that is very similar to the rostering models that have been developed for rostering airline crews. Very large instances of these airline rostering models can be solved using optimisation methods and in this project we will investigate the use of these rostering optimisation methods to solve the referee assignment problem. Data has been obtained from Professor Celso Ribeirio in Brazil who recently visited Auckland and spoke about the heuristic methods had had developed. The aims of this project are: 1. 2. #41 To formulate the referee assignment problem using the rostering model form Find the optimised assignment solution. Compare the results with the heuristic approaches that have been developed. Main supervisors Professor David Ryan and A/P Matthias Ehrgott Open to Engineering Science students only Title: Optimisation of the Northern Busway System

Recently the Northern Busway was opened on the North Shore. The busway allows buses to travel without congestion (parallel to the Northern Motorway) and so provides much faster travel times to and from the city. The bus routes currently operating on the North Shore were not designed to take advantage of the busway and it is now clear that there now exists a significant opportunity to redesign bus routes to take advantage of the busway. The redesigned routes are likely to provide feeder services of various forms to stations on the busway where passengers could transfer to buses travelling on the busway. Besides the obvious opportunities for the optimisation of services on the North Shore there is

also now the possibility of designing much more efficient services around the Waitemata habour via the Harbour Bridge and the Upper Harbour Bridge. The aims of this project are: 1. 2. 3. City. #42 Title: Order Picking in a Warehouse To identify some particular parts of the bus system to focus on in the project To develop shortest travel time models for use in finding improved bus routes. Compare the results of the new routes with current travel times. Main Supervisors: Professor David Ryan and Dr Stuart Mitchell Open to Engineering Science students only Project Sponsor: Chris Harris, Public Transport Coordinator, North Shore

Manual order picking is a labour intensive and expensive activity in warehouse operations. Even with the use of sophisticated and automated materials handling systems in warehouses, the cost of manual order picking is estimated to be as high as 55% of warehousing costs. In this project we will investigate the use of optimisation methods in two aspects of order picking. First the pickface design problem involves the layout of items on racks from which orders will be manually picked. The second problem involves the allocation of orders to individual pickers taking into account the pickface layout and the pickers paths around the pickface to avoid congestion. We expect to have data supplied by a Japanese company and also by a UK based company. The aims of this project are: 1. 2. #43 To identify the important features of the order picking process and review literature To consider the two particular problems mentioned above and develop optimisation models and solution methods. To investigate the influence of order book variability on these picking problems. Main Supervisors: Professor David Ryan and Dr Hamish Waterer Open to Engineering Science students only Experiments with Storage Area Networks

Information Technology Services (ITS) are building a test Storage Area Network (SAN) as part of their exploration of future storage technology. This test SAN provides a unique opportunity as we can simulate the network and validate our

simulation AND we can reconfigure the network, simulate and validate again. By allowing us to experiment with their network, ITS are enabling us to experiment with optimisation methods for (re)designing SANs. The aims of this project are: To build a simulation model of the ITS test SAN using OPNET Modeler; To monitor actual traffic on the ITS test SAN using ACE (from OPNET); To add the actual traffic to the simulation and validate against the actual network; To use optimisation to redesign the network; To simulate, monitor and validate the new network. 1. 2. 3. #44 Main supervisors Dr Cameron Walker, Dr Michael OSullivan Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: ITS, University of Auckland Title: Emergency Hotspots Predicting High Accident Locations for Ambulance Moveup

Optima is a university spin-off company that is currently developing a software system known as Siren Live. This software is being used in Melbourne and Toronto to move idle ambulances in real time so that they are better able to respond to future calls. Planning these move-ups requires a good understanding of where calls are likely to occur in the near future, i.e. identifying so-called hotspots for the next hour. This process requires careful statistical analysis of call arrival rates and consideration of their associated confidence intervals. In this project, new statistical models will be developed for call analysis. These new approaches will be tailored to the specific requirements of the move-up optimisation system in Siren Live. Prototype systems will be developed using R. An important area of this work is the visualisation of hotspots to assist users in understanding their data. A number of different methods for this visualization will be experimented with using the GIS (geographic information system) capabilities within R and/or Siren. This work is of great interest to Optima. Optima has a track record of employing good students from Engineering Science. 1. 2. 3. Main supervisors: Andrew Mason, Cameron Walker Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Optima, www.TheOptimaCorporation.com,

#45 Title: Using GPS Vehicle Tracking Data to Estimate Road Travel Times We have developed a simulation system Siren that is used to model ambulance operations. This simulation system includes an underlying transport network that is used to predict the routes taken by ambulance vehicles, and hence the travel times required these trips. Modern ambulance fleets include GPS satellite systems that drop electronic breadcrumbs as the vehicles drive around. We wish to use this data to determine typical road speeds. However, these recordings do not include speed or heading information, and so speeds need to be estimated indirectly from the historic trip data. This involves solving a large optimisation problem to best fit speeds to each road. The problem is complicated by the need to handle variations in the arc travel speeds across the day, the different speeds associated with lights and sirens travel, and the wish to also estimate travel time variability. Role of the Student: Formulate this problem as a least squares optimisation problem. Implement code (either inside Siren, or in a small test environment that uses output from Siren) to solve the least squares optimisation problem. Test this new procedure using various objective functions such as those using absolute or relative errors etc, as well as simple averaging. Solve this problem for different times of the day. Extend the objective function to incorporate desirable solution properties such as smoothness of road speeds across connected links, smoothness of road speeds through time etc. Provide comparisions with existing approaches. Programming will be required in C++ (although experience in C alone would probably be sufficient). This work is of interest to Optima, the university spin-off company responsible for the commercial development of Siren, and a key employer for Engineering Science students. 1. 2. 3. Main supervisor: Andrew Mason Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Sponsor: Optima, www.TheOptimaCorporation.com, #46 Title: Efficient solution strategies for the Siren Live Move-up Integer Programming Problem Optima is a university spin-off company that is currently developing a software system known as Siren Live. This software is being used in Melbourne and Toronto to move idle ambulances in real time so that they are better able to respond to future calls.

The Siren Live system solves an Integer Programming (IP) model to determine the best set of moves for the ambulances. This system runs in real time, with an IP typically being solved every 5 minutes. Each successive IP is closely related to the previous in that the model has the same rows, but a set of different costs on the columns. Column costs are chosen to give similar solutions on each solve so that ambulances are not continuously changing their destinations. For good real time performance, we need to limit the time taken to solve this IP. This project will explore strategies for achieving this. These will include looking at the structure of the model (eg should we add a constraint or reduce column costs to encourage successive solutions to be similar?), looking at how solutions can be (re-)used from previous solves, and (perhaps) looking at how we can re-use branch and bound trees. This work falls under the area of IP Sensitivity, an important new area of research. This work is of interest to Optima, a key employer of Engineering Science students. 1. 2. 3. #47 Main supervisors: Andrew Mason, Hamish Waterer Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Optima, Auckland Title: Staffing for Fullers Ferries

Fullers operate many of the Auckland ferries. Their operations vary substantially from day to day. For example, they recently scheduled extra services to handle the increased passenger volumes for the Devonport Food and Wine festival. In this project, we will develop rostering software to help manage the staffing for these extra events. This software will automatically determine which full time and/or part time staff members should be allocated to these one-offs services while ensuring that roster quality is maintained. Note: This project is provisional until confirmation is received from Fullers. 1. 2. 3. #48 Main supervisor: Andrew Mason Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Fullers Ferries, Auckland Title: Large scale convection in a geothermal field

Our current models of Wairakei geothermal field extend to a depth of about 3kms but the whole of the convective system probably goes much deeper say to 6 or 7kms. We wish to extend our models of Wairakei deeper but first we need to understand for idealised models with simple geological structures what kind of flow patterns exist.

The aims of this project are: 1. 2. 3. #49 To understand the pattern of flow in a large convective plume in an idealised geothermal field. To use the knowledge gained from this investigation to help calibrate a large-scale model of Wairakei To produce a tool for NZAS they can use to determine the number of trucks NZAS should hire. Main supervisor: Professor Mike OSullivan Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Contact Energy Title: Modelling carbon dioxide in a geothermal field

Our current models of Ohaaki and Ngawha geothermal field use an equation of state module that allows for a mixture of water and CO2 depth to move around underground. This means that the shallow zone of the fields cannot be included in our models because they contain water, air and CO2. We wish to be able to predict how the deep production from these fields affects the surface flow of CO2 and therefore our models need to be improved. The aims of this project are: 1. 2. 3. #50 To understand the TOUGH2 geothermal simulator (written in old and poorly constructed FORTRAN) To set up an equation of state module for water-air-CO2. To run modified models of Ngawha or Ohaaki including the shallow unsaturated zone. Main supervisor: Professor Mike OSullivan Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Contact Energy Title: Wind farm layout optimization

There is significant potential for optimizing the design of a wind farm in New Zealand. The complex nature of the wind resource and the larger size of the wind farms being built increase the complexity of the decisions that need to be made, while tight economic margins create a drive for greater efficiency. Current industry practice utilises commercial packages that are heuristic in nature and limited in the types of constraints that can be modelled. A mixed integer linear programming model for optimizing the layout of a wind farm has been developed by award winning Masters student Stuart Donovan that is capable of determining the optimal locations of turbines subject to constraints

on the number of turbines, turbine proximity, and turbine wake. His results have shown that this model produces layouts that are comparable to those from a commercial package. In this project, the student would extend Stuart's wind farm layout model to include more realistic constraints describing the interference between turbines caused by turbine wake, capital budget constraints, noise and line of sight restrictions, constraints relating to wind quality such as maximum gusts, inflow angles and turbulence, as well as reticulation and different mixes of turbines. 1. 2. #51 Main Supervisors: Rosalind Archer and Hamish Waterer Open to Engineering Science students only Title: Optimizing fault-response dispatch

Fault-response companies receive calls from customers with service problems, and must respond to these faults by sending a technician to the fault within a certain time frame. There are several categories of faults, some of which need to be responded to within a few hours, others which can wait for a day or more. The problem facing a dispatcher is to determine when to send which technician to which fault. As high-priority faults arrive during the day, the dispatcher must continually revise their planned dispatch. Last year a model was developed that determined the order in which a list of existing faults should be serviced so as to minimize the total travel time in a robust manner. This project would investigate improvements to the model so as to make it tractable for larger problem instances as well as extending the model to provide insight into questions such as the following. Which current faults would it be beneficial to try to service later? Which faults from the future would it be beneficial to service earlier? Complicating factors that would need to be considered include time windows on when a fault can be serviced, multiple days work, multiple service vehicles, and uncertainty in the data. 1. 2. #52 Main Supervisors: Cameron Walker and Hamish Waterer Open to Engineering Science students only Title: A priori optimization of robust supply boat routes

Statoil is a major oil producer, the world's third largest seller of crude oil. They market two-thirds of all Norwegian gas to European customers, and are the largest retailer of oil products in Scandinavia. This multinational company is the largest operator on the Norwegian continental shelf, a world-class oil and gas province. Each year, Statoil ships over one million tonnes of supplies from supply bases to offshore installations, utilizing some fifty ships. Due to the immense

costs involved, supply bases seek to utilize their supply vessels as efficiently as possible. A very important aspect of their utilization is how they are routed. If the wave height at an offshore installation is too high due to bad weather, then supply vessels cannot dock at the installation. In this case, the vessel must either wait for the installation to open, or choose to not visit the installation at that time. This project will investigate the a priori optimization of robust routes for a single supply vessel in such an uncertain environment. The student will be required to implement an integer stochastic program with complete recourse to solve a probabilistic orienteering problem. The solution to this problem is a robust route from a given starting point that maximizes the expected reward to be collected from open installations. The characteristics of robust routes in deteriorating weather conditions will be investigated. 1. 2. #53 Main Supervisors: Cameron Walker and Hamish Waterer Open to Engineering Science students only Title: Solving minimax problems without auxiliary variables

When solving minimax problems we are interested in minimising the maximum contribution of any variable in the solution for a given objective function. For example, suppose that the allocation of Part IV students to projects where modelled as an assignment problem and you have been asked to rank your preferred projects from 1 (most preferred) to 5 (least preferred). If we were to look for an allocation that minimised the sum of the student preferences, it is possible that the gap between the most preferred allocations and the least preferred allocations could be quite large. That is, some students may be allocated to their preferred projects, at the expense of other students who are allocated to their less desirable projects, so that an allocation with a minimum sum of preferences could be obtained. Alternatively, we could look for an allocation that minimised the maximum student preference. The gap between the most preferred allocations and the least preferred allocations would likely be smaller, and the allocation would be viewed as being more equitable. Typically the solution of minimax problems using linear programming based approaches requires the addition of at least one auxiliary variable and often as many additional constraints as there are variables in the original problem. These additional constraints typically make the problem intractable. This project will investigate an alternative approach to solving these problems in which auxiliary variables (and, consequently, the additional constraints) are not introduced. The student will be required to implement and benchmark the approach. 1. 2. Supervisor Hamish Waterer Open to Engineering Science students only

#54

Title: A Cyclic Staffing Model incorporating Fatigue

Many staff work cyclic rosters in which all staff cycle through a single roster pattern with various offsets that ensure the same staffing levels are maintained from week to week. These patterns can be built using an integer programming (IP) model which combines columns representing sequences of days on and days off to form a complete roster. A new feature in rostering is the development of mathematically-based fatigue models. These systems provide indicative fatigue measurements based on the hours the staff member is working. For an example, see www.faidsafe.com. In this work, we will extend our integer program for cyclic rosters to form a new model that includes fatigue measurements. This will allow us to build quality rosters that give low fatigue scores. This work will involve developing a fatigue model suitable for integer programming, comparing this with existing models, writing a program to produce an integer program incorporating the fatigue model, and then solving this using standard IP software. Modelling will be required to determine the best form of linear program for this new problem. Experiments will be needed to determine the size of problem we can solve using this approach. 1. 2. #55 Main supervisor Andrew Mason Open to Engineering Science students only Title: Analysis of spinner data from a geothermal well

A spinner is a device that is lowered down a geothermal well to measure the flow rate in the well. From the data generated the major feed-zones in the well can be identified and problems with the well such as blockages from silica or calcite deposition can be diagnosed The aims of this project are: 1. 2. 3. #56 To understand spinner tests To set up mathematical models of flow in a geothermal well To produce a software package for analysing spinner tests..

Main supervisor Professor Mike OSullivan Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Contact Energy Title: Benchmarking PEDRO

The Electric Power Optimization Centre (EPOC) has developed 2 versions of the Scheduling, Pricing and Dispatch software (SPD) that is used by Transpower, the grid operator, to schedule the dispatch of electricity generation for each period.

One version is the full blown software (PEDRO)containing the complete NZ grid's nodes and links and the other version is the cut down version (PEDRO-light) where nodes are aggregated so that we deal with an 18 node approximation of the grid. PEDRO-light is used frequently for computationally intensive tasks (such as repeated calls to construct equilibria or with a view to use for stochastic programming in the future). It would be particularly useful to benchmark the performance of PEDRO-light against results from PEDRO to assess if it could be reliably used for any particular set of periods. This project will do a simulation and statistical analysis of the reliability of PEDRO-light in terms of prices, generator dispatches and perhaps line flows. 1. 2. Main supervisors Golbon Zakeri Andy Philpott Open to Engineering Science students only #57 Title: Setting optimal line tariffs for a distribution company

Consumers of electricity are charged not only for electricity but also for incurring line charges. These line charges consist of a fixed rate, a variable rate that applies to the total volume of electricity consumed and a peak rate that is applied to the amount of electricity consumed at peak periods. The revenue that the distribution company makes is dependent on the consumer's usage of electricity and is regulated to be no more than a fixed amount. The cost of the distribution company comes from having to expand the capacity of the lines and this is directly a result of increase of consumption during peak periods. To date we have modelled a consumer of electricity who is assumed to respond to prices and cut down on their consumption if the total price that they are faced with is too high. In this project we will consider a consumer who will shift their consumption pattern (to avoid heavy peak charges), and look at the impact of this consumtion behaviour on the optimal line tariffs. 1. 2. #58 Main supervisor Golbon Zakeri Open to Engineering Science students only Title: Loading Goods intro Trailers for Trucking Companies

This OR projects addresses a problem faced by the OR consultancy ORBIT Systems Ltd of loading goods into trailers as part of a goods distribution problem. The project will consider two interlinked problems: 1. Loading a set of items onto a single trailer in a way that is legal, and maximises some set of quality preferences. 2. Loading a set of prioritised items onto an undefined number of trailers, possibly not sending some of the items.

Issues to consider include the stacking of items of different size, grouping of items together, maximum axle weights and waiting for items to appear for loading to fill up a trailer. Realistic data from a trucking company will be available. The project will explore a mix of heuristic and/or optimisation approaches to these problems. Good programming skills will be required for this project 1. 2. 3. #59 Main supervisors Andrew Mason, Hamish Waterer Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Orbit Systems Limited, http://www.orbitsystems.co.nz/ Title: Generating optimal draws for a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournement

Every 6 months the New Zealand National Brazilian Jiu-jitsu tournament is held. Dr Stuart Mitchell is always given the job of organising the draw (probably because he is a lecturer in Operations Research). Stuart is tired of big sheets of paper with peoples names written on them, and angry coaches complaining about the draws. To make his life easier he wrote a computer program to organise the data for the tournament (shown below). Unfortunately due to time constraints he never wrote the software that would optimise the draws.

1) A good draw will try to implement the following: 2) Competitors from the same club should not fight each other; 3) In the early rounds competitors should be of similar weight; 4) Fighters should have time to recover from their last fight before fighting again. 5) If two competitors have already fought in another division they should not fight again

The aims of this project are to: 1. Optimise a single elimination tournament draw; Determine how to show this information to the user; Implement this system at the BJJ Nationals; Investigate the effects of different models on the success of large and small clubs.

Main supervisors Dr Stuart Mitchell, Dr Hamish Waterer

2. 3.

Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: New Zealand BJJ Federation

#60

Title: Equilibrium Modelling of Aucklands Transportation network

Aucklands transportation network is modelled by various agencies ARC, ARTA etc, as an equilibrium model. These equilibrium models describe the transportation network at various resolutions from the very coarse resolution ART model to a finer resolution APT model. These models require passenger origin-destination data, road capacity data, and a formal description of the road network. An equilibrium model is used to predict network flows when the network is congested. Currently EMME2 software is used to generate traffic flows. This project aims to solve the equilibrium problem using free software. The aims of this project are to: 1) Create a simple model of Aucklands transportation network 2) Use a Python framework to state the model as a equilibrium problem; 3) Investigate different aspects of this network including critical links, robustness estimate the effects of different improvements. Student should be interested in Transportation Modelling, Network Analysis and Computer programming (Python experience is not required). 1. 2. #61 Main supervisors Dr S. A. Mitchell, Dr Judith Wang (Civil and Environmental Engineering) Open to Engineering Science students only Title: Equilibrium Modelling of Aucklands Water Network

Aucklands Water Network takes water from 6 sources and delivers it 160 demand points on local demand networks. In conjunction with Watercare, and Opus this project seeks to build a hydraulic model of the network then find flows by using a equilibrium model. This model will then be compared against the industry standard EPANET software. The aims of this project are to: 1) Create a hydraulic model from Watercare data; 2) Use a Python framework to state the model as a equilibrium problem; 3) Investigate different aspects of this network including critical links, robustness and behaviour as it degrades.

Student should be interested in Network Modelling, Network Analysis and Computer programming (Python experience is not required). 1. 2. 3. Main supervisors Dr Stuart Mitchell Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Watercare, Opus

#62

Title: Spilt Tapping at New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS)

Aluminium ranks seventh in New Zealand as a commodity export earner, but NZAS ranks first as a single operating site. Independent analysis of the economic benefit of NZAS to the New Zealand economy is NZ$3.65 billion. To make Aluminium the smelter must combine the contents of 3 Cells into a Batch that is then made into a commercial grade of Aluminium. The impurities in each of the 3 Cells will contribute to the final impurities in the Batch and therefore the price obtained for the final metal grade. Previous projects for NZAS have assumed that all the Aluminium from a cell will be tapped into a batch, in this project we will look at the effects of splitting a cell between two batches. The aims of this project are to: 1) Adapt an existing Set Partitioning Model of the Cell batching problem to use spilt tapping; 2) Determine if there are any changes to the solution method to solve split tapping more quickly; 3) Determine whether spilt tapping does make economic sense for NZAS. Student should be interested in Integer Programming, , and Optimisation for industry. 1. 2. 3. Main supervisors Dr Stuart Mitchell, Professor David Ryan Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Rio Tinto New Zealand Aluminium Smelters

#63

Title: Simulating Massive Storage Networks using OPNET Modeler

Many organisations, such as Google, handle enormous amounts of data in their everyday operations. These organisations rely on massive storage networks to

enable data management. One possible configuration for these massive storage networks is a ring of switches. The aims of this project are: To build a simulation model of the ring of switches using OPNET Modeler, a cutting edge network simulation software package; To generate traffic loads through the network that represent the typical operation of the network; To use the simulation model and traffic loads to analyse the performance of the network. 1. 2. 3. Main supervisors Dr Cameron Walker, Dr Michael OSullivan Open to Engineering Science students only Sponsor: Storage Systems Research Centre, University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz #64 Title: Production response of stress sensitive oil reservoirs

This project would suit a student who is interested in fluid mechanics, solid mechanics and partial differential equations. The production aims to develop tools to help engineers diagnose when an oil reservoir is "stress-sensitive", i.e. its permeability and porosity depends on the fluid pressure in the reservoir. The goal of this project is to find characteristic signatures in well flow rate and pressure data that signal that this behaviour is happening. Some of the work will be done using a commercial reservoir modelling code, however the student may need to write a small amount of code in Matlab (or the language of their choice). 1. 2. #65 Main Supervisor: Rosalind Archer Open to Engineering Science students only Title: Measuring and calibrating acceleration

Accelerometers are available in semiconductor packages that offer the prospects of miniature devices capable of deriving information on animal movement. This project will integrate an accelerometer to a wireless circuit and provide a system for calibrating the accuracy of the device. C programming for an embedded microcontroller and bioinstrumentation experience is required. This project will include assessment of rodent activity and sleep patterns. The aims of this project are: To integrate the accelerometer with a telemetry circuit To interface the accelerometer with a microprocessor using the SPI bus

 1. 2.

To develop a calibration apparatus to allow the performance parameters to be quantified To compare animal activity derived from accelerometer data against activity derived from video data

Main Supervisors: Dr David Budgett, A/Prof.Simon Malpas, Dr Andrew Taberner, A. Professor Poul Nielsen Open to Proposed by David Russell (Engineering Science) #66 Title: Modelling the ICM Composite Materials Manufacturing Process

This project involves modelling a recently-developed manufacturing process, Injection Compression Moulding (ICM), for advanced fibre-reinforced composite materials. ICM involves placing a preform (a mass of fibrous material) into a large mould; the upper mould is brought down but leaving an air-gap between the mold/preform surfaces, as illustrated below left. Liquid resin is injected into the gap and the mould is then closed, driving the resin through the preform (and compacting the preform) until the preform is completely wetted out. The polymeric resin is allowed to harden to form the final product. upper mould resin injection compaction of preform

lower mould

preform

ICM is presently under research by automotive companies, including BMW in Munich, Germany. The potential for very fast manufacturing cycle times is motivating application in several other industries. A carbon-fibre part for an Audi car is shown to the right The aim of this project is to model the combined solid/fluid ICM process. Accurate models provide useful information to industry, such as predicted time to manufacture, thickness changes occurring in the preform as it is compressed and forces acting on moulds. This understanding allows for more cost effective manufacture of higher quality composite components. The ultimate goal of this research is to incorporate an ICM module into the UoA-developed software SimLCM, which simulates a number of different manufacturing processes.

The modeling will involve analysis of flow through porous media and fluid/solid interactions. Aim of the Project To develop a working model of the ICM process, i.e. given geometry, materials, etc., one can predict fill-time, preform stresses, etc. This is to be achieved by (i) developing some elementary analytic models of the ICM process (ii) creating more realistic models and writing code (MATLAB or FORTRAN) to numerically solve these models (iii) creating and solving more complex models using the COMSOL Finite Element / Fluid-flow software and comparing results with those of (i,ii) 1. 2. Main Supervisor: Piaras Kelly Open to Engineering Science students only #67 Title: Comparsion of radial basis functions and multipoint geostatistics for mapping rock properties in a quarry Efficient development of NZ's quarries is currently very important, since infrastructure projects create a large demand for aggregate materials. Mapping the spatial location of these materials within a quarry is a interpolation problem which must honour both known data from boreholes etc. and geological interpretation. This project will explore the advantages and disadvantages of performing this interpolation using multiple-point geostatistics and radial basis functions. Multiple-point geostatistics are an alternative to traditional variogram based modelling. This technique is gaining popularity in the oil industry because of its ability to incorporate geological structure into rock property modelling work. Radial basis functions are an interpolation approach which uses global (not local) information. Fast radial basis function tools have been commercialised in NZ by Applied Research Associates NZ. A student interested in this project should have some basic statistics knowledge and linear algebra knowledge. Some MATLAB programming will be required. 1. 2. Main supervisor : Rosalind Archer Open to Engineering Science students only

#68

Title: Arterial Spin Labelling Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a commonly used medical diagnostic technique that was originally developed from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A powerful magnetic field is applied to the tissue which causes certain atomic nuclei, such as 1H, to align with the field. When a pulse of

electromagnetic radiation is applied at a carefully selected frequency, these nuclei are excited into a higher energy state. The nuclei emit radio waves as they relax back to their ground state and these are detected by a wire coil and processed to form an image. While MRI provides excellent intrinsic soft tissue contrast, researchers and clinicians who perform angiograms often need to inject contrast agents to enhance their results. A recent development, Arterial spin labelling (ASL) is a non-invasive technique that relies on intrinsic MRI contrast to produce angiographic images without the need for contrast agents. The aims of this project are to: 1. Understand the physics behind ASL and use an existing ASL imaging sequence observing the relatively poor contrast 2. Optimise the sequence by experimental imaging of normal volunteers 3. Make recommendations on how the sequence can be used or improved in further research This project would suit a student with a strong background in physics, good experimental skills and the ability to work and think independently. An interest in neuroscience and/or brain imaging is encouraged but not essential. 1. Supervisors: A/Prof Martyn Nash, A/Prof Brett Cowan (Centre for Advanced MRI) 2. Open to/proposed by Matt Barrett #69 Title: Computing minzone in the presence of wind

The government has an undertaking that the supply of electricity in New Zealand should be secure enough that shortage (such as sustained black outs) would not happen any more frequently than once every 60 years. To assess the risk of shortage in any particular year, the Electricity Commission has produced a tool called minzone. This tool computes the hydro-lake levels for a particular year under different (historical) sequences of inflow and assesses how close we may be getting to a shortage situation. The basic methodology used in the minzone analysis is to set all thermal plants as baseload, such that it runs before all hydro, then dispatch run-of-river hydro, and then use storage to meet demand where required. With the penetration of wind energy into the market, it is important to incorporate energy produced from wind into the computation of minzone. In this project we propose to develop a tool that will not only consider traditional electricity generation from thermal and hydro resources but also intermittent generation (e.g. wind) to compute the minzone. For futher information of the minzone refer to

http://www.electricitycommission.govt.nz/old_news/minzone24april06 1. 2. Main supervisors Golbon Zakeri Andy Philpott Open to (proposed by Kailin Lee)