Projets novateurs réalisés

Developing Smart Technologies for Aging in Place at Home

Transitioning patients from hospital to at-home care is vital for health care operations. However, there is a general concern that these at-risk populations would not be receiving the same level of care at home as they would in a dedicated medical facility. Elderly populations experience a significantly higher risk of readmission after discharge from acute care hospitals. This shows that there is a significant gap in transitioning the care of older adults from hospitals to home/community settings. Adequate and safe rehabilitation requires close monitoring of the patients’ mobility, nutrition, and exercise to complete the recovery process and ensure restoration of independence. This project aims to develop advanced sensing and imaging technologies for smart home monitoring of elderly populations aging-at-home. This includes a full suite of technologies from various sensors, cameras, and other devices that can measure mobility patterns, nutrition intake, as well as provide self-administered physiotherapy in a home setting.

Machine Learning-Based Modeling of Spreading Dynamics in Complex Interfacial Systems

Understanding droplet interactions with surfaces is crucial for large-scale oil recovery, coating industries, and microfluidic devices. To address the remaining challenges, including the need for a universal timescale and improved theoretical and computational models, this project brings together the SoftSimu group at Western University and the Soft Materials Modelling (SMM) group at Aalto University, Finland. The SoftSimu group, led by Prof. Karttunen, specializes in advanced molecular simulations and applying machine learning to bridge theoretical models with practical applications, particularly in elucidating droplet spreading process. The SMM group, a founding member of the Academy of Finland National Center of Excellence in Life-Inspired Hybrid Materials (LIBER), excels in modeling soft materials from the atomistic to mesoscale, leveraging the advanced LUMI supercomputer. In collaboration with experimental groups at LIBER, they have demonstrated the importance of molecular simulations in designing super-slippery coatings. The project aims to (1) develop expertise in simulating surfactant-laden droplets and SAMs-decorated surfaces, (2) enhance daily collaboration with experimental groups at LIBER, and (3) share expertise in modeling wetting dynamics using machine learning. Through this collaborative effort, we aim to advance the fundamental understanding and practical applications of droplet dynamics, ultimately contributing to the development of more effective and innovative technologies.

L’insécurité linguistique chez des enseignant.e.s de français langue seconde et étrangère: une étude comparative Brésil-Canada

Si la recherche est abondante à étudier l’insécurité linguistique chez les locuteurs ayant le français comme langue maternelle, moins nombreuses sont les études intéressées au phénomène chez les locuteurs de français langue seconde et étrangère (FLSE) et particulièrement chez les enseignants de FLSE. Pourtant, quelques études suggèrent que ceux-ci subissent de l’insécurité linguistique en raison de deux idéologies majeures, celle du sujet natif et celle du standard, lesquelles produisent des discours d’exclusion des locuteurs qui n’ont pas le français comme première langue et/ou parlent des variétés non franco-françaises.
Ce projet de recherche a pour objectif d’investiguer, dans le cadre d’une approche comparative Brésil-Canada, les causes de l’insécurité linguistique chez des enseignants de FLSE ainsi que de repérer les effets du phénomène sur la maîtrise de la langue et l’activité d’enseignement. L’analyse comparative permettra également d’établir les facteurs internes (relatifs au contexte sociolinguistique dans lequel le français est inséré) ainsi que les facteurs externes (idéologies répandues dans la francophonie) qui suscitent le sentiment chez les enseignants. Trois outils de collecte de données seront mobilisés : un questionnaire sociodémographique, des entretiens individuels semi-dirigés et des groupes focaux. Environ 20 enseignants récemment diplômés ou en début de carrière seront recrutés dans chaque pays.

Civillian involvement in national security as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Project explores two key aspects of civilian involvement in national security: the evolution of Ukraine’s policies on civilian firearm ownership and the development of “Territorial Defence” institutions in Ukraine and similar “home guard” entities in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Nordic/Baltic region. The goal is to understand how these elements contribute to national security and public safety, particularly in light of the current Russian invasion of Ukraine and potential threats to other European nations. By analysing Ukrainian and foreign press, legislation, and scholarly literature, we aim to provide insights that could inform public policies to enhance national security. While the project is not directly focused on Canada, this country is a Nato member that is committed to the security of its European partners. It thus has an interest in understanding how those countries can better secure their own defence. In addition, some of the policy insights we develop from our research may be broadly applicable to Canada as well. This research is a collaborative effort between the University of Toronto and Ukrainian National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy,” and holds significant value for Ukrainian citizens and broader theoretical implications for conflict societies.

Automatic Quantification of Neutrophil Accumulation within the Alveolar Space in Lung Histology Images using Artificial Intelligence

This project aims to create advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help scientists and doctors better understand and treat severe lung conditions, like acute lung injury (ALI). ALI is a serious condition that can lead to breathing problems and is often difficult to study because the current methods for analyzing lung tissue are time-consuming and rely heavily on human judgment. We plan to develop AI models that can automatically analyze images of lung tissue to count neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that is important in understanding inflammation in the lungs. Using cutting-edge machine learning techniques, including Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Vision Transformers (ViTs), our goal is to create a reliable system that not only speeds up the analysis process but also makes it more accurate. These AI tools will be able to explain how they arrive at their conclusions, making it easier for doctors and researchers to trust the results. Ultimately, this project could lead to better ways to study and treat lung diseases, improving patient care and potentially reducing healthcare costs.

Manifold Learning for Anamoly Detection

Modern data analysis tasks often face challenges of high dimension and thus nonlinear dimension reduction techniques emerge as a way to construct maps from high dimensional data to their corresponding low dimensional representations. Finding such low dimensional representations of high dimensional data is beneficial in several aspects. This saves space and processing time. More importantly, the low dimensional representation often provides a better understanding of the intrinsic structure of data, which often leads to better features that can be fed into further data analysis algorithms. Manifold learning is a subfield of machine learning that focuses on dimensionality reduction, with the goal of capturing the underlying structure of high-dimensional data in lower-dimensional representations. The concept behind manifold learning is that even though data might live in a high-dimensional space, it might be constrained to a lower-dimensional manifold within that space. Methods like t-SNE, Isomap, and locally linear embedding (LLE) are some popular techniques in this category. Our aim of this internship project will be to apply manifold learning on tabular data and transactional graph data and see how it can help in better fraud detection (anamoly), feature engineering, clustering, etc.

Mutualisation et partage des ressources des organisations par l’économie sociale : Opportunités et perspectives

Le Pôle d’économie sociale de la Vallée-du-Haut-Saint Laurent entreprend une étude approfondie des défis territoriaux en évaluant les réponses potentielles par l’économie sociale, en mettant l’accent sur le partage des ressources. L’objectif principal est d’explorer comment l’économie sociale peut répondre aux divers modes de partage des ressources au sein des entreprises d’économie sociale. Cette initiative vise à analyser ces formes de partage afin de comprendre les besoins et les opportunités d’engagement des acteurs locaux, ainsi que leur capacité à favoriser la collaboration et la concrétisation de projets communs. Les objectifs comprennent l’identification de projets potentiels pour mutualiser les ressources entre organismes communautaires et entreprises d’économie sociale, ainsi que l’évaluation de la pertinence de démarrer de nouveaux projets pour répondre aux défis de mutualisation territoriale. Pour ce faire, le programme prévoit plusieurs actions, notamment des études de terrain, des rencontres stratégiques, des analyses de besoins et la conception de prototypes adaptés aux réalités locales.

The Educational Transition of Older Refugee-Background Youth Resettled in Rural Areas of Nova Scotia

Using qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews and a facilitated workshop, the project explores the educational transition experiences of older refugee-background youth (ORBY) resettled in rural areas of Nova Scotia. Research indicates that resettled ORBY face challenges completing high school and post-secondary programs, explained as influenced by duration of school disruptions, addressing family economic need, trauma of self/family, and learning a new language and culture in a new school setting. With past studies based on urban samples, this study focuses on the educational aspirations, school transition experiences, and educational attainment of ORBY resettled in rural communities where refugees receive settlement assistance from sponsor group members rather than settlement services professionals. With sustained increases in immigrants and refugees settling in rural areas of Canada, it is important to learn about the facilitators and barriers that influence the educational integration of older newcomer youth settling in rural Canada. Drawing from project data, the intern will work with the study partner to develop 1) best practices guidelines for rural sponsor groups and schools, and 2) an education transition video for ORBY resettling in rural communities. In addition, this study is likely to generate policy recommendations.

Communication and Business interns working within cross-functional teams to develop and commercialize AI-powered solutions in the Public Services sector (1)

AltaML builds artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled solutions to business problems. We work with organisations, bringing together their data and domain expertise with our AI expertise, to develop AI solutions that are deployed in their operations. We also commercialize AI-enabled products business via industry-specific ventures, yielding scalability from our investment in the first solution. Competition for tech talent is fierce, and our talent strategy includes a talent accelerator program, designed to rapidly equip highly qualified individuals with hands-on work experience in applied AI while providing partners with continuous and cost-effective development of AI solutions. AltaML’s AI Lab for Government, also known as GovLab, is a talent accelerator for public service professionals, post-secondary students and recent graduates. GovLab.ai’s mission is to set a global example of how to transform the public sector through applied AI, and is designed to encourage the growth of technical and business AI skill sets that are in high demand across Alberta and around the world.

Vana Health and Capilano University

VANA Health, a pioneering Canadian-owned company specializing in liquid nutritional supplements, is focused on expanding its presence in the Canadian market. Despite its success in the UK, the company faces the challenge of building brand awareness and trust among Canadian consumers. To address these challenges, VANA Health aims to optimize its online presence for Canadian audiences, secure the necessary funding, and leverage strategic partnerships with Freed Hotels and Resorts and Canada Snowboard. This project will involve a team of Capilano University interns, each bringing specialized expertise in web development, financial management, marketing, sponsorship coordination, and social media strategy. Their collective efforts will ensure VANA Health’s successful transition into the Canadian market, enhancing the brand’s visibility and credibility.

The deliverables of this project are comprehensive and impactful. The interns will redesign VANA Health’s website for Canadian consumers, develop a robust financial strategy, execute targeted marketing campaigns, manage sponsorships and events, and create a Canada-specific social media strategy. These initiatives will position VANA Health as a trusted Canadian brand and contribute to the broader societal goal of improving public health through accessible nutrition. The project’s success will be measured by tangible outcomes, including a fully optimized website, secured funding, effective marketing campaigns, and a solid social media presence, which will play a crucial role in VANA Health’s Canadian market expansion.

Origin Product Monitoring System to Ensure Safe and Effective Medical Device Function

The proposed project aims to improve FluidAI’s system for monitoring the reliability of their medical device, the Stream Platform, which assists in post-operative monitoring of wound drainage. By using advanced digital tools and data analysis techniques, the project will streamline the process of collecting and analyzing data from the device production and use to understand areas of product improvement and satisfy regulatory reporting requirements. This will help FluidAI quickly identify and fix issues, ensuring the device’s safety and effectiveness. The expected benefits include higher product quality, better customer satisfaction, and increased sales as the company expands into new markets.

Incorporating Equity Considerations Into Serious Safety Event Review Processes

Serious safety events (SSEs) are a subset of patient safety events (PSEs) reported in hospitals which results in a severe level of harm. Many of these events are cases of avoidable harm and are investigated during SSE review processes. Systemic inequities are prevalent in healthcare systems and contribute to the occurrence of SSEs, however are frequently overlooked due to the absence of a standardized investigative approach. In this study, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with hospital staff to understand the SSE review process and investigate inequities. Data will be used to develop a standardized approach to consider equity in the SSE review process. Simulations will be conducted during the design process with potential approaches, and feedback will be utilized to iterate the tool. The tool will be evaluated by use of the event review committee over a three month period, and results will be utilized to inform the final design. There is currently no standardized approach to investigate inequity in the SSE review process at the organization, and therefore the designed approach will improve the current process to be able identify these issues, and flag them as potential contributors to SSEs which will result in these issues being recognized as well as addressed through appropriate interventions. This will result in systemic change at the hospital and increased patient safety, especially for marginalized populations.??