Innovative Projects Realized

Primary care nursing practice in maternal health, Mumbai, India

Maternal and under-five mortality are still high in India but it could be reduced by strengthening the access to quality maternal health services. Given the importance of primary care nursing as mediators with families, home care nursing is among one of best options for quality maternal and child health in countries such as India. However, post-natal care coverage remains low. This project will allow me to contribute to quality primary care nursing by enhancing my understanding of the Indian context in regards to the challenges of early post-natal home followups in urban settings such as Mumbai. This project will include field observation, a critical review of literature, individual interviews with health professionals and students as well as focus group.

A semi-automatic computer aided system for spine diagnosis

This project aims at developing a semi-automatic computerized system for spine diagnosis. It improves the efficiency and the efficacy of the image based spine diagnostic procedure. The development of the system is grounded on the state-of-the-art computer vision algorithm “Optimally Oriented Flux”. Based on this algorithm, I tailor various mathematical formulations to mimic human experts to perform, or help perform image-based spine diagnosis.

To best of our knowledge, this is the first system in the world focusing on semi-automatic computerized spine diagnosis. The contribution of this system is twofold. It gives significant technical advancement in the computer vision and mathematics aspects. It also offers a practical diagnostic system which can greatly reduce radiologists’ time for diagnosis, suppress human errors and provide more clinical information to facilitate the current diagnosis work-flow.

Management of Head and Neck Cancer: Transition to Home-based Care in Mulund, Mumbai – Contributing to Quality Primary Care Nursing Practice

People affected by head and neck cancer go to the oncology outpatient clinic to receive their chemotherapy treatment in Fortis Institute of Nursing in Mulund, Mumbai, India. After their treatment, they go back home. How can nurses potentialise the transition between the clinic and homebased oncology care? What are the best practices regarding these kind of transitions?

A Novel Approach to the Design of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Humanitarian Initiatives

Development of an engineering model using data from a piloted aircraft to facilitate the creation of a flight controller for the aircraft, allowing automated flight.

The Future of Mandatory Charging for Intimate Partner Violence: Status quo or alternative direction?

According to the Ontario Domestic Violence Advisory Council (DVAC, 2009), legislative responses to violence against women were introduced across Canada in the 1980s. These policies included provisions for mandatory police-laid charges against perpetrators of domestic violence. The DVAC report noted numerous unintended negative consequences of these policies and recommended an impact study which was never conducted. This four-month project will (i) conduct an international literature review on mandatory charging, and (ii) create an Ontario-specific survey to be used with women who have experienced violence in a future phase of the project. This project provides a first step for police and partners (e.g. Violence Against Women Coordinating Committees across Ontario such as OCTEVAW, Crown Attorneys) in developing more effective responses to domestic violence and reducing associated costs.

Pilot-scale cultivation of microalgae for the production of nutraceuticals

Microorganisms, such as algae, yeast, and bacteria, have the potential to produce nutraceutical, biofuel, and other high-value coproducts directly and efficiently. The difficulty in realizing this potential lies in a) finding the optimal conditions to maximize algae growth and co-product production, and b) scaling up from experiments in a research laboratory to an economically viable production. This project aims to address both of these difficulties to develop a pilot-scale microorganism production platform technology. The project will first focus on the growth of the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis and inducing its production of the powerful antioxidant nutraceutical astaxanthin. Methodologies for this growth and induction, as well as other considerations such as harvesting techniques and product characterization, will be developed with the target of large-scale production. These procedures and practices will then be applied and adapted to the production of additional microorganisms and valuable co-products.

Photonic sensors for rapid and selective detection of bacteria in water – Year two

In recent years monitoring and protection of food and water resources became a priority of governments worldwide. Bio-hazards are potential threat for these resources thus need to be addressed both in industry and in academia. Therefore, developing an accurate, fast and cost effective technique for detection of pathogenic strains called for increased demand on the areas targeted by the fiber-optic systems. In this project we will focus on detecting trace amount of hazardous bacteria in an aqueous environment by developing a novel fiber-optic biosensor system consisting of a bio-receptor overlay (e.g. bacteriophage) to bring the selectivity to the sensor. The optical properties of the signal carried by fiber-optic will be monitored to detect the bacteria and bio-receptor binding. This project can benefit in building a biosensor system as a complementary of the protection systems that are designed and provided by our partner company.

Photonic sensors for rapid and selective detection of bacteria in water

In recent years monitoring and protection of food and water resources became a priority of governments worldwide. Bio-hazards are potential threat for these resources thus need to be addressed both in industry and in academia. Therefore, developing an accurate, fast and cost effective technique for detection of pathogenic strains called for increased demand on the areas targeted by the fiber-optic systems. In this project we will focus on detecting trace amount of hazardous bacteria in an aqueous environment by developing a novel fiber-optic biosensor system consisting of a bio-receptor overlay (e.g. bacteriophage) to bring the selectivity to the sensor. The optical properties of the signal carried by fiber-optic will be monitored to detect the bacteria and bio-receptor binding. This project can benefit in building a biosensor system as a complementary of the protection systems that are designed and provided by our partner company.

Respirable Crystalline Silica: A Risk Assessment Tool for the Construction Sector

Silica is a known lung carcinogen and causes silicosis, an irreversible fibrotic lung disease. RCS is a major problem in the construction sector because of the high content of silica in construction materials. New tools are needed to help the construction industry in recognition, evaluation and control of RCS. The intern will develop an on-line tool that will provide the over 40,000 BC construction employers with access to archived silica exposure measurement data to enable quantitative risk assessment and appropriate control selection.

Development of a Live Inspection Tool for Metallic Pipes (PipeDiver (MP))

The proposed project is on development of a live inspection tool for metallic water mains – PipeDiver(MP). According to an inventory of water mains for 21 cities across Canada, about 75% of pipe length is metallic pipe and less than 4% is PCCP (the rest are PVC and Asbestos-Cement pipes). It is estimated that these percentages are applicable to North America, and the total length of water mains in North America is about 10 times of the total length in Canada. PPIC has identified the great opportunity to extend their expertise, knowledge and market leadership in concrete water pipelines to metallic pipelines. Utilities and corporations with metallic water pipelines face much more challenges and risks than those of the concrete pipelines. There is a great need for the new metallic pipe inspection technique. The proposed project will accomplish several key steps of the PipeDiver (MP) development at PPIC.

Autonomous Sensor System for Monitoring Torque from the Flexplate – Year two

While torque is an important parameter in automotive performance, there are currently very few effective methods to monitor it in vehicles. The aim of this project is to develop a low-cost solution for real time engine torque monitoring. An autonomous sensor module will be developed and mounted to the flexplate connecting the engine and the transmission system in vehicles with wasted vibration energy in the flexplates being harnessed to power the sensor module. High-efficiency circuits and low-power, reliable torque sensing methods will be developed to achieve energy, processing and communication autonomy without batteries or wire connections. The developed system will be advantageous for its small size, light weight, long lifespan, and low cost. This project, taken on in collaboration with Magna Powertrain, will strongly underpin the development of intelligent vehicle technologies such as the driverless car system and powertrain control system in electric vehicles.

Autonomous Sensor System for Monitoring Torque from the Flexplate

While torque is an important parameter in automotive performance, there are currently very few effective methods to monitor it in vehicles. The aim of this project is to develop a low-cost solution for real time engine torque monitoring. An autonomous sensor module will be developed and mounted to the flexplate connecting the engine and the transmission system in vehicles with wasted vibration energy in the flexplates being harnessed to power the sensor module. High-efficiency circuits and low-power, reliable torque sensing methods will be developed to achieve energy, processing and communication autonomy without batteries or wire connections. The developed system will be advantageous for its small size, light weight, long lifespan, and low cost. This project, taken on in collaboration with Magna Powertrain, will strongly underpin the development of intelligent vehicle technologies such as the driverless car system and powertrain control system in electric vehicles.