CT (Computed Tomography) scans are widely used medical images used to diagnose disease such as cancer. CT Scanners pass x-rays through the body in order to generate cross-sectional images. Unfortunately pro-longed exposure to radiation (via x-rays) can damage the body, and thus one aims to minimize the x-ray dose they receive. However, modern CT scanners produce lower quality images when using low x-ray dose which defeats their purpose as a diagnostic tool. We propose a post-processing algorithm to enhance the quality of CT images produced at low radiation dose.

Developing technology capable of onsite medical diagnostics is crucial for health-care delivery in clinical and emergency settings. To perform on-site diagnostics, health-care practitioners need compact, inexpensive, and user-friendly equipment. Alentic Microscience has developed a system that uses small volumes of blood for cell counting and serum tests, occurring at the site of blood extraction. This system makes single molecular layers of reagents on the sensor surface, which when exposed to light allow the system to provide valuable diagnostics about the sample.

Most ultrasound scans require time-consuming manual scanning of transducer arrays to obtain 2D images of the body. 3D images can be acquired by so-called matrix probes but these are large and bulky, and typically offer inferior image quality. Such probes do not exist in high-frequencies important for pre-clinical applications and to date no wearable 2D probe exists. Our vision is to create wearable flat-form-factor 2D arrays that could be used for longitudinal monitoring of the heart or other critical parameters in a hands-free way.

Aspect Biosystems is developing a novel microfluidic 3D bioprinting technology that has the potential to fundamentally change the way many diseases are treated through the creation of functional human tissue. The technology manages highly complex fluid handling operations and requires sophisticated control systems to deliver reliable and repeatable results. This project is focused on developing such a control system specifically for fluid flow control through the microfluidic printhead.

Heart failure is a prevalent disease affecting 250,000 people in North America alone. This disease can be treated by the transplant of a donor organ, but insufficient donor organs have led to the development of mechanical circulatory support which now provide a reliable alternate treatment option for patients. Unfortunately, many patients that could be helped by a mechanical circulatory support are deemed ineligible due to the invasive, open- heart surgery that is required to install such devices. Puzzle Medical Inc.

High resolution 3D microscopy in combination with tissue clearing techniques such as CLARITY, iDISCO, CUBIC is a rapidly growing area of biomedical research. It also has high potential to replace traditional 2D histology to become a method of choice for the analysis of tissue biopsy samples used in diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. However, currently there is a limited availability of contrast agents that can label organs, biological tissues, and cells in a live animal and are compatible with these techniques.

This project involves designing a portable device for measuring concentrations of certain metabolites in a person’s blood or urine. This is an easy-to-use device that connects to a smartphone to display a final result based on measurements of multiple components to generate a specific health diagnosis. Different tests can be run on the same device. The device works by loading custom-made fluidic chips into the device which contains dried chemical reactions.

Leukemia, lymphoma and other forms of blood cancers are still largely diagnosed every year in Canada. These diseases constitute the second leading cause of cancer related death in young adults and the sixth in adult. The five-year survival rates still range between 42% and 85%. Currently, the main treatment is a stem cell transplantation which unfortunately do not prevent lethal relapse. The goal of this study is to develop and improve a novel cellular therapy aiming to limit and prevent relapse of hematological malignancies.

The aim of this research and development project is to design and develop a bedside point-of-care device to be equipped with the CardiAI’s machine learning technology for heart failure management. Our POC system will include disposable cardiac biomarker strips and an electronic reader.

Today, physiotherapy balls or physioballs play an essential role in treating disability or body damages such as neck, waist, knee and so on. Despite their wide range of applications and importance, it is difficult to monitor the damaged member and propose continuous treatment in the presence of a physiotherapist or physician. This causes several problems and costs for the patient. Therefore, a new generation of physiotherapy balls will be created in this project. The idea is to perform exercises and monitoring without the need and/or the presence of a doctor or physiotherapist.