During External-Beam Radiotherapy in cancer therapy, Bolus, a thick sheet of flexible material, is used to cover the skin surface in order to minimize damage healthy tissues. A significant problem of using bolus is air gaps generated between the bolus and patient’s skin if an inaccurate shape of bolus was made. In this research, an efficient process of shaping and cutting bolus will be developed to improve the efficiency and efficacy of bolus forming in order to minimize the air gap. This new approach utilizes an unfolding and folding method.

Airports in Canada have the difficult tasks of needing to remain open during adverse weather conditions in the winter. The research that we are undertaking is to develop and deploy a fully autonomous snow removal equipment for Canadian airports. Operating a snowplow is a dangerous and exhausting task for human operators, often they are unable to see clearly when they are operating in extreme conditions. Airports are also finding it increasingly more difficult to recruit and retain seasonal workers. A potential solution for these issues is a fully autonomous snow removal system.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is still an underdiagnosed common disorder. Undiagnosed OSA, in particular, increases the perioperative morbidity and mortality risks for OSA patients undergoing surgery requiring full anesthesia. OSA screening using the gold standard Polysomnography (PSG) is expensive and time-consuming. This proposal presents three research projects/points to apply advanced signal processing and machine learning techniques on breathing sounds’ signals for screening OSA disorder during wakefulness.

The development of novel biotechnologies will be a key component of the economic growth and development of Canada’s changing economy. A critical component of this will be fostering the development of start-up companies that can capitalize on these new opportunities. The Myera Group is an indigenous-led company in Manitoba that is developing novel biotechnologies for Canada’s new economy. This project focuses on the development of microorganisms that can produce a profile of novel high-value carotenoids (chemically related to ?-carotene).

It is difficult to perform the dynamic analysis on large scale power systems within a desirable time frame. Most utilities therefore resort to reduce the scale of power system by representing the external system using an equivalent network. This project proposal in conjunction with Manitoba HVDC Research Centre aims to develop simulation based methods complemented with modal methods to obtain a dynamic system equivalent for the external power system.

In this research, a new approach to model Frequency Dependant Network Equivalent (FDNE) will be introduced and implemented in PSCAD/EMTDC. FDNEs are used to accelerate and reduce the size of unnecessary part of the network under simulation. The new approach utilizes Brune’s network synthesis and Tellegen’s extension to create a multiport network whose impedance is the same as the given FDNE. Unlike other fitting methods, the proposed method inherently guarantees the passivity of the fitted network, thus no need for further passivity enforcement.

This project aims to develop an automatic tool/system to install on a parking enforcement vehicle. The vehicle is to mark vehicles in a parking lot or on road via marking their tires in a municipal time enforced setting. The system will feature risk reducing operation eliminating concerns of hurting any nearby individuals or damaging any vehicles during its operation. The project is planned to be covered in three main stages. 1) a motor driven mechanical mechanism will be designed and tested to realize the marking with hand control.

Modern power systems wherein renewable energy sources are prevalent will exhibit larger frequency deviations than conventional power systems due to the diluted share of conventional generation based upon large electric machines with massive spinning rotors. To combat this, power-electronic converters that are used to interface renewable sources need to provide ancillary, such as frequency support and inertia emulation. This research will investigate this functionality for a class of power-electronic converters, namely modular multilevel converters.

Early-years educational programing is linked with greater educational, career and life outcomes. The One Child at a Time One Family at a Time program seeks to assist families in overcoming barriers and giving all children equal access to early-years learning. The home visiting program connects children and their families with individualised support and guidance tailored to a families unique needs and home situation and relevant to their culture and background.