Innovative Projects Realized

Modeling of Physician Prescription and Detailing in Specialty Markets

The pharmaceutical industry spends more funds on drug detailing than on any other marketing
instrument. Previous studies have shown a positive effect of detailing on physicians’ prescription
behavior. Similar to the effect of advertising, the effect of drug detailing can last for more than one
period. This carry-over effect implies that the decision of how much to detail needs to be studied
using a dynamic model rather than a static model. The main objective of the project will be to
develop practical methods for determining the effectiveness of detailing at the physician level
which should help in the allocation of detailing. The implications that follow from correctly
identifying the responsive physicians and each physician’s carryover effect are better utilization of
the sales force resource; improved detailing effectiveness of the sales reps; healthier relationships
with the physicians; and improved overall understanding of the impact of different marketing tools

Plateforme d’objets connectés pour l’automatisation et la robotisation des aides techniques en déficiences motrices ou sensorielles

Dans un contexte de manque de main d’œuvre pour répondre à la demande croissante des personnes en perte d’autonomie à domicile ou dans les CHSLD, nous prenons les devants et élaborons un produits qui saura augmenter la sécurité et le confort de cette clientèle. Notre projet est de concevoir le cerveau de ce robot aidant et de le connecter à tous les systèmes utiles à l’accomplissements de ces tâches. Parmi ces fonctions, le système pourra apprendre de nouvelles tâches grâce à l’intelligence artificielle, gérer des mouvements collaboratifs et communiquer à l’aide des 5 sens avec son utilisateur. Enfin, notre système pourra traiter et acheminer les informations à nos serveurs et à des intervenants tel des aidants naturels et hôpitaux.

Portrait des organisations économiques privées offrant des services de soins au Québec et impacts socioéconomiques de leurs transformations – Year two

Le projet porte sur trois types d’organisations économiques offrant des services de soins privés au Québec et dont la main-d’œuvre est largement féminisée: 1) les agences privées d’aide à domicile; 2) les chaînes de résidences privées pour aînés; 3) les groupes de médecine de famille. Il vise d’abord à dresser leur portrait économique : structure de propriété et de gouvernance, stratégies d’affaire, part de marché, rendements/taux de profit et valeur boursière/immobilière. Il vise ensuite à analyser l’évolution des rapports entre ces organisations privées et le secteur public : part de financement public de leurs activités, proportion des fonds publics consacrés à ce financement, place occupée par ces organisations dans la dispensation des services, etc. Il vise enfin à évaluer les impacts socioéconomiques de cette évolution sous trois aspects : 1) impacts sur le marché de l’emploi dans le secteur des services de soins (qualité des emplois, disponibilité de la main-d’œuvre, etc.); 2) impacts sur les coûts et la qualité des services dispensés; 3) impacts sur les finances publiques.

Portrait des organisations économiques privées offrant des services de soins au Québec et impacts socioéconomiques de leurs transformations

Le projet porte sur trois types d’organisations économiques offrant des services de soins privés au Québec et dont la main-d’œuvre est largement féminisée: 1) les agences privées d’aide à domicile; 2) les chaînes de résidences privées pour aînés; 3) les groupes de médecine de famille. Il vise d’abord à dresser leur portrait économique : structure de propriété et de gouvernance, stratégies d’affaire, part de marché, rendements/taux de profit et valeur boursière/immobilière. Il vise ensuite à analyser l’évolution des rapports entre ces organisations privées et le secteur public : part de financement public de leurs activités, proportion des fonds publics consacrés à ce financement, place occupée par ces organisations dans la dispensation des services, etc. Il vise enfin à évaluer les impacts socioéconomiques de cette évolution sous trois aspects : 1) impacts sur le marché de l’emploi dans le secteur des services de soins (qualité des emplois, disponibilité de la main-d’œuvre, etc.); 2) impacts sur les coûts et la qualité des services dispensés; 3) impacts sur les finances publiques.

Eliminating weight stigma in prenatal health care: Development of sensitivity training modules for prenatal care providers

As obesity (body mass index [BMI] >=30.0kg/m2^) increases, there is also an increased risk for experiencing weight stigma (WS). WS is defined as having negative attitudes towards individuals because of weight. WS experienced in health care settings may cause poor communication with physicians, and negative health outcomes. A population that may experience WS are pregnant women who have a BMI >=40.0kg/m^2 (high level of obesity). To prevent WS during pregnancy, health care providers may need sensitivity training. The proposed project will develop and test a sensitivity module for prenatal health care providers. A obstetrician will take the sensitivity training and deliver a appointment for pregnant woman, while we measure their response by questionnaires, interviews and heart rate monitoring to determine the importance of sensitive communication. The women will inform us how we can improve the sensitivity module. The updated module will be delivered to health care providers who are members of The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC). Health care providers will complete a questionnaire right after finishing the module and one month later, to determine if the module improved sensitivity in their practice. Finally, the module will be updated and made available to all SOGC clinicians.

Test-taker perceptions of an occupation-specific language proficiency test: Evaluating workforce access for internationally educated nurses in Canada

The objective of this research project is to study the perceptions of internationally educated nurses who are taking a language proficiency test, the Canadian English Language Benchmarks Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) in order to practice nursing in Canada. Since effective communication is critical to quality healthcare, the CELBAN has an important role in evaluating the language skills of internationally educated nurses intending to work in Canada. This research, by gathering data on the perceptions of CELBAN test-takers on how the test impacts their access to the workforce, will aid the CELBAN developers (Touchstone Institute), in the ongoing evaluation and development of this assessment’s reliability and validity as a measure of English language proficiency for nursing professionals. The findings of this study can help provide evidence to inform regulatory policy to facilitate reliable and coherent labour force deployment of qualified nursing professionals who have immigrated to Canada.

A new tool for managing introduced Phragmites australis in Ontario: assessing invasion impacts and implementing biological control – Year two

Introduced Phragmites australis (common reed) is one of the most invasive plants in North America. Existing management is costly, can negatively affect other species, and is often only effective for small infestations. Classical biological control (i.e., introducing herbivores from the weed’s native range) is a promising tool for P. australis management that can contribute to a broader program of integrated pest management (IPM). Our goal is to partner with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) to implement biological control of introduced P. australis in southern Ontario. Our first objective will be to document the impacts of introduced P. australis to inform effective management and monitoring, locating and describing the different lineages of the species found in southern Ontario (native, introduced, hybrid) and their ecological interactions. Our second objective will be to develop and experimentally test the protocols needed to implement biological control of introduced P. australis in southern Ontario at a pilot scale, including methods for rearing, storing, releasing, and monitoring biocontrol agents at experimental nurse sites. As leaders in wetland conservation, DUC will be able to participate in the first biological control program for introduced P. australis and gain a promising new tool for managing this challenging, widespread, and costly invader.

A new tool for managing introduced Phragmites australis in Ontario: assessing invasion impacts and implementing biological control

Introduced Phragmites australis (common reed) is one of the most invasive plants in North America. Existing management is costly, can negatively affect other species, and is often only effective for small infestations. Classical biological control (i.e., introducing herbivores from the weed’s native range) is a promising tool for P. australis management that can contribute to a broader program of integrated pest management (IPM). Our goal is to partner with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) to implement biological control of introduced P. australis in southern Ontario. Our first objective will be to document the impacts of introduced P. australis to inform effective management and monitoring, locating and describing the different lineages of the species found in southern Ontario (native, introduced, hybrid) and their ecological interactions. Our second objective will be to develop and experimentally test the protocols needed to implement biological control of introduced P. australis in southern Ontario at a pilot scale, including methods for rearing, storing, releasing, and monitoring biocontrol agents at experimental nurse sites. As leaders in wetland conservation, DUC will be able to participate in the first biological control program for introduced P. australis and gain a promising new tool for managing this challenging, widespread, and costly invader.

Development of a novel cost-effective microfluidic platform for screening ophthalmic drugs and novel ophthalmic materials

The successful development of new drug formulations, delivery vehicles, and devices for the eye requires testing in physiologically relevant in vitro eye models. The use of cell tissue culture plates provides a good model for testing toxicity, but they lack some of the important factors present on the eye. There are microfluidic chips that have been developed for toxicity testing, but they are too expensive for use in early screening protocols.

This project aims to develop a cost-effective microfluidic chip for rapid assessment of cytotoxicity of ophthalmic formulations and devices. The design, fabrication, and sterilization of the chips will use scalable methods. The chips will be designed using CAD software, and the resulting designs will be laser cut on acrylic. The resulting pieces will be laminated using double-sided medical adhesive and sterilized using hydrogen peroxide plasma.

Conventional cell culturing methods will be employed to seed and grow human corneal epithelial cells on the chips. Validation studies will examine cell growth on the chips in comparison to an established control. Several toxicity studies will also be examined using the microfluidic chip, including the effects of flow, benzalkonium chloride at various concentrations, and contact lens materials exposed to preservatives.
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Advanced Video Broadcasting Applications for Mobile Devices

To broadcast a video across the internet, digital video is first encoded to remove the
spatial and temporal redundancy. The encoded video data is then transmitted at a lower
bit rate or stored in a smaller hard disk without sacrificing too much displaying quality.
Various video encoding standards have been developed in last decades. H.264/AVC is
the most updated one among them. In order to accelerate the encoding and decoding
process and reduce resource usages, graphical processing units (GPUs), which are
traditionally dedicated to 2D or 3D graphic acceleration, are considered in the encoding
and decoding processes. However, the optimization in terms of bit rate and computational
complexity for such a highly parallel processing structure is a difficult problem. One
objective of this project is to develop optimized coding algorithms to minimize the time and
resource usage while maintaining a reasonable display quality in a parallel processing

Assessment and Validation of a Controlled Indentation Probe for Intraoperative Measures of Bone Quality and Humeral Implant Stability

This research seeks to finalize the design of an indentation tool to help shoulder surgeons determine bone density more accurately during joint replacements. Bone density is an important characteristic used to select the type and size of implant needed; and is also related to how stable an implant remains after surgery. Unfortunately, there aren’t tools currently available to shoulder surgeons for determining bone density objectively during surgery. Through a collaboration between Exactech, a shoulder implant manufacturer, and researchers from Western University’s Biomedical Engineering department, an indentation tool design has undergone preliminary testing, and will now be further refined for human tissue by measuring how well the tool’s results relate to bone density and primary implant stability. This collaboration provides researchers with access to commercially available implants for testing and a faster path to market to ensure the proposed tool can eventually be used by surgeons across Canada and beyond.

Investigating the mechanistic links between cannabinoid and pain-related gene variants and functional measures of musculoskeletal pain – Year two

Pain is a combination of mental, physical and social factors. This makes it difficult to understand and even more difficult to treat. Chronic pain is unique to the individual, and to treat it effectively requires a better understanding of how pain is generated in each person. The goal of this study is to describe the relationships between inherited genes and the factors that affect pain, recovery, and people’s response to medication. The first phase of this study has 2 aims. The first aim is to describe the relationship between genes, pain, and recovery time. The second aim is to see if there are any differences between the drugs that people were prescribed and the ones that are recommended based on their genes. The second phase of this study is to look at the effects of cannabis medications on pain in the context of the underlying genes. This study will not only help to refine the use of gene-based strategies for drug prescription, but it will increase our understanding of how to prescribe cannabis medications.