Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Biological and Agricultural Engineering

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Evaluation of surface damage and quality of biological materials is key to accurate and consistent downstream use of these materials, across a wide variety of applications, while containing unique challenges, driven among other factors, by the natural variation found in biological samples. New methods for quantifying the surface characteristics of biological materials are needed specifically in the fields of agriculture and bone quality. In relation to agriculture, soybeans in the United States are a multibillion dollar industry [1], with a need for new methods to improve the consistency and speed of quality analysis. The USDA oversees a manual inspection process to visually inspect and grade soybeans[2], that can be improved through the development of new machines and methods of analysis for inspectors to use. In relation to bone quality, degenerative bone diseases like osteoporosis increase occurrences of fragility fractures[3], creating a need to better understand the interaction between bone structure and bone’s response to mechanical deformation. Osteoporosis is diagnosed by measuring a patient’s bone mineral density (BMD) using a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan[3, 4], however high BMD does not always equate to being able to resist fracture, leading to a need for further understanding. Through the use of image processing and analysis, this research seeks to explore and develop new methods for soybean surface quality analysis, and to better understand bone structure and damage under loading using mechanical methods.

Date

7-17-2026

Committee Chair

Hoffseth, Kevin

LSU Acknowledgement

1

LSU Accessibility Acknowledgment

1

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Available for download on Friday, July 15, 2033

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