Projets novateurs réalisés

Veterinary Disease Detection Using Machine Learning and Deep Learning Architectures

In recent advancements, researchers are leveraging deep learning and machine learning for improving medical care, particularly within the veterinary field. The development of smart, wearable biosensing devices, equipped with non-invasive sensors and integrated with machine learning algorithms, facilitates real-time health monitoring. Continuous monitoring of health data through these devices offers valuable insights into adverse health events, such as seizure and syncope patterns, allowing for early detection of subtle physiological changes. This leads to timely veterinary interventions and personalized care, significantly enhancing the quality of life for canines. This research aims to explore the development of innovative deep models that can reliably recognize adverse health conditions in canines based on the collected physiological data to provide timely and accurate interventions when necessary.

L2M – A revolutionary needle-free delivery technology for macromolecular skincare products

Our innovative technology overcomes skin barriers, enabling efficient epidermal and dermal delivery of macromolecules (HA) through a pain-free, needle-free topical application. Therefore, we achieve better hydration with more long lasting. We keep healthy skin (hydrating and plumping, and can fade fine lines) in one step. This technology has great potential for commercialization and it may bring valuable reputation to the partner organization.

Development of Bionanofluid for Commercial Production

The purpose of this 4?month internship is to scale?up the bionanofluid production at McGill University and then transfer this process to Leap Medical Labs for commercialization. At McGill, this will involve the design and implementation of 2 new reactors, as well as testing, optimization and validation of the various process parameters. Once the scale?up is complete, the newly developed manufacturing processes will be transferred to Leap Medical Labs’ production facility. In order for Leap to commercialize the bionanofluid, each of the individual process steps will have to be documented, verified/validated, and pass strict regulatory requirements. This will involve both technical and business related activities.

AI-enabled Psychiatric Chart Summarization

This project was born from the Medventions Atlantic Fellowship where, as a part of the psychiatry team, Chloe Robichaud shadowed Dr. Abraham Nunes to identify any problems that stood in the path of innovation and optimization within the field of psychiatric care. As a psychiatrist in the Mood Disorders Clinic in the NSHA Central Zone, Dr. Nunes works with patients who suffer from difficult-to-treat psychiatric disorders. These psychiatric patients need longitudinal monitoring, personalization of therapy, and early relapse detection to get better care outcomes. To treat these patients effectively, psychiatrists must conduct a comprehensive chart review before seeing each patient. Within this chart review, they must provide immense detail, including all relevant aspects of a patient’s history that provide a rationale for behaviour and/or thought processes. To innovate within the field of psychiatry, we must first help psychiatrists automate their chart summarization, minimizing the amount of time needed to prepare for each patient. Our project, SynopsAI, sought to fill that gap by developing a solution that would allow each patient to have a “running” summary generated using their entire medical/psychiatric history and then continually updated with the notes from each follow-up session.

Development and Evaluation of Novel Small Molecules Targeting Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptor 1 for the Treatment of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) expression, exhibits high invasiveness, metastatic potential, and poor prognosis. Current chemotherapy for metastatic TNBC is associated with low response rates and short progression-free survival. It is imperative to find new therapies for this aggressive type of breast cancer. Recent data from our lab suggests that LPA1 antagonists can inhibit the migration and invasion of TNBC cells. In this project, a novel series of LPA1 antagonists with enhanced drug properties will be synthesized and evaluated. The most active and selective LPA1 ligands will be used as molecular probes to investigate the mechanisms underlying LPA1’s involvement in TNBC metastasis. This project has the potential to introduce a groundbreaking therapy for TNBC. The successful application of the proposed LPA1 antagonists in this research will benefit not only the health research community but also the broader community of females struggling with breast cancer.

L2M – IsoStage: bringing Overcoming Isometrics training to general fitness.

IsoStage is a high-tech, revolutionary fitness device inspired by the founder’s background in kinesiology and personal interest in strength training and body building. The idea emerged from the realization that there is a clear absence of devices or convenient methods catering to overcoming isometrics (OI) training – a technique that has incredible potential to build muscle. Traditional approaches to OI training lack the means to objectively measure force exerted during exercises, which makes it impossible to progressively overload or track improvements being made.
IsoStage is an innovative solution to a relatively niche problem, and the other problem being solved is the niche-ness of OI training itself. Over the past ~decade, there has been a significant shift in fitness trends from aerobic-based to resistance training. Many average people (ie. non-athletes or physique competitors) have come to appreciate the benefits of lifting weights, but have never heard of OI. The vision for IsoStage goes beyond the physical product, the founding team aspires to build an entire brand that advocates for OI training through raising awareness, providing education.
The Lab to Market – Validate program presents an invaluable opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of the target market and ultimately validate the potential of IsoStage. The immersive process will not only deepen understanding of user needs, but also contribute refining the founders’ research and communication skills. The data acquired will be used towards crafting a compelling pitch with the ultimate goal of securing funding for the project.

Ikimy Recruitment Platform

Rhealize is a start-up strategic Human Resources company. Their mission is to enable longer-term and more stable employment collaborations by identifying what both the candidate and company need to mutually succeed before a hire takes place. To deliver their services large scale, the company is developing a web platform called Ikimy (ee-key-my).

Ikimy is a recruitment automation with a menu-driven process that helps job seekers and employers explain what they require of each other so that their work expectations are met. The platform achieves this by creating a more complete accounting of the “dimensions of job and candidate” that need to line up for optimum candidate-role matches. Secondly, Ikimy reverses the standard recruitment process. In Ikimy, jobs apply to suitable candidates based on the degree of crossover between a candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes (KSAOs) compared to those required by the role. This not only de-incentivizes candidates from lying about their qualifications, it also leads them to identifying what they most enjoy doing.

To perform this matching, Rhealize is developing a proprietary algorithm with a team of social and data scientists. Given the massive calculations associated with generating predictive results in such a system, the company will be utilizing machine learning – a type of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The main technical outcomes the project owners aim to achieve are more effective and faster matching results while also controlling for harmful social biases associated with current recruitment methodologies such as resume-based Applicant Tracking Systems and unstructured manual processes.

A quick-scoping portrait of heat island and green infrastructure vulnerabilities and opportunities for the City of Waterloo

Trees, other vegetation, and engineered water features can contribute to both climate mitigation and adaptation in cities (Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (Ipcc), 2023). Trees, for instance contribute to climate mitigation through carbon sequestration. They can also contribute to climate adaptation through cooling urban areas (Aram et al., 2020; Bowler et al., 2010). Trees provide additional co-benefits, such as physical health benefits through improved air quality, mental health benefits, and preservation of biodiversity (Barton and Pretty, 2010). Yet, cities are challenged to maintain and increase their urban tree canopy (Er, 2021). The benefit of trees for addressing the urban heat island (and equity) of cities is unique to each city and requires individualized tools to evaluate, project, and manage green infrastructure. Further, equity concerns in the provision of green infrastructure are widely recognized. Neighborhoods with a high proportion of residents who have low socio-economic status and have immigrant status are recognized to be more vulnerable for heat island impacts and too often have lower provision of open spaces and green infrastructure (Harlan et al., 2006; Plumer, 2020). To meet these challenges, cities need improved tools to evaluate, project, and manage green infrastructure for urban planning. We propose to complete the following two objectives: (1) provide the City of Waterloo with a summer-time urban land surface temperature mapping using remotely sensed data and (2) provide preliminary analysis to better understand areas of temperature hot spots and low vegetation throughout the city.

Rogers – UW Commercialization Viability Project

This project focuses on assessing the commercialization viability of Rogers Communications’ investments in 5G technology, with a specific focus on connected robotics, smart healthcare, and climate management. The project aims to support ongoing innovation projects in partnership with the University of Waterloo by evaluating their commercialization potential through qualitative research. The project will benefit Rogers Communications by providing them with a better understanding of how to leverage their 5G research findings to develop and productize innovative solutions that can be deployed at scale to serve their customers.

Increasing the biomonitoring potential of water boatmen (Hemiptera: Corixidae) in Alberta

In the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada, wetland consolidation and agrichemicals are potentially threatening aquatic life. The water boatmen are a family of aquatic insects with 42 species in Alberta that are monitored
province-wide by the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. However, currently only a small proportion of the water boatmen collected in the monitoring program are identifiable to the species level. In this project, the intern
will create an updated taxonomic key to the water boatmen of Alberta, which includes females and where possible, larvae, which will increase the group’s utility as bioindicators. As well, the intern will conduct a field study of the
effects of wetland consolidation drainage, salinity and pesticides on water boatman abundance, diversity, and species composition, to determine whether water boatman assemblages integrate these types of environmental change that are predominant in agricultural regions in predictable ways.

Intelligent Tracking Infrastructures Using Wireless Networks with Vision-Audio Monitoring Capabilities

Wireless technologies offer new opportunities in the field of telecommunications and computer networks. Wireless sensor networks are a new technology that has emerged after the great technological progress in the development of smart sensors and powerful processors. The city of Trois-Rivieres is currently in the heart of a project to develop a smart public lighting system subject to motion detection. The system will be equipped with vision-audio capabilities for public safety. The main objectives of this research project is to improve the massive data analyzing efficiency and to enhance the information security through optimized design for the wireless multimedia sensor network. The development and proof of concept of such system will allow the partner organization to have a technology watch on security and monitoring using mesh technology and to develop new mobile products. The latest will extend its market to other regions and eventually at the international level.

Workplace Safety Education for Youth in NS: Investigating Current State & Best Practices

Young workers face an increased likelihood of injury or death on the job compared to more experienced workers. Safety training is considered a key element to help reduces these numbers, and improve the safety of young workers. Therefore, the goal of this project is to better understand the current state of work safety training for young workers in Nova Scotia, by developing an overview of the current training available as well as areas of unmet need. The ultimate goal is to create training templates to support employers of young workers.