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Spinal cord blocking form

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Project Overview

Our client would like to reliably and consistently cut fresh cervical spinal cord tissue (cervical levels C3-C5) of a rat into quarters through specific anatomical landmarks. However, fresh spinal cord tissue is extremely soft and malleable, making manual manipulation and cutting difficult. Therefore, our team is to conceptualize and fabricate a device that would allow for reproducible cutting of tissue blocks with a razor blade, scalpel, or other easily purchased slicing tool appropriate for this application. Of note, the spinal cord tissue must be kept very cold, but cannot freeze as this will damage the cells of interest. This initial project will be designed with specific cervical spinal segments of ~3 month-old, male rats. Nevertheless, the client anticipates the use of this form to other spinal regions, ages of rats, or even other experimental species in the future.

Team Picture

Team members from left to right: Dan Thompson, Alex Lavanway, Dave Hintz, and Mike Schmidt
Team members from left to right: Dan Thompson, Alex Lavanway, Dave Hintz, and Mike Schmidt

Image

Midsemester Presentation
Midsemester Presentation

Contact Information

Team Members

  • Alex Lavanway - Team Leader
  • David Hintz - Communicator
  • Michael Schmidt - BSAC
  • Daniel Thompson - BWIG

Advisor and Client

  • Mitchell Tyler - Advisor
  • Dr. Bradley Wathen - Client
  • Brendan Dougherty - Alternate Contact

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