Innovative Projects Realized

Élaboration de nouveaux microgels photothermiques

Le projet consiste à utiliser un microgel déjà existant constituer d’un polymère ainsi que des particules d’or.
Ce microgel présente des caractéristiques de gonflement réversible. Ces gonflements peuvent être maîtrisés par l’irradation à la lumière du microgel.
A partir de ce microgel, on souhaite y greffer des nouveaux polymères. Les greffages auront lieu soit directement sur le polymère, soit via les particules d’or.

Le but est d’étudié la capacité de greffage, aussi bien d’un point de vue qualitatif que quantitatif. Les modifications des microgels ont pour but de leur conférer des propriétés de surface indépendantes de la réponse en gonflement.
En effet, via des études précédentes, le gonflement thermo-déclenché d’un microgel greffé n’a pas donné lieu à des changements dans ses propriétés de surface (c.-à-d. le potentiel de surface et l’adhérence) dans une large gamme de valeurs de pH. Il est possible alors que ce microgel subisse une transition de volume (gonflement/rétrécissement) sans changement d’adhérence.

Computer-assisted planning of liver surgery

Computer-assisted surgical planning systems, despite their enormous support in the decision-making process, have faced challenges in clinical practice mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining 3D patient-specific models. This requires the segmentation of anatomical structures, a process traditionally considered tedious, complex, and imprecise. However, recent advances in artificial intelligence, particularly in convolutional neural networks, have enabled automatic segmentation, which presents a new clinical reality where 3D patient-specific models can be generated systematically for surgical planning and guidance. Additionally liver resection planning also requires precise definition of virtual resection lines, which help clinicians to visualize the surgical cutting path, affected vessels and resection margins. In addition, virtual resections allow the computation of the estimated resected volume. This new reality makes the perfect scenario to introduce AI and advanced geometrical modeling to liver surgical planning, ultimately toward improving clinical practice.

Radiography on Wheels

Radiography on Wheels is a pilot research project that offers mobile x-ray services to Nursing Homes and Special Care Homes at participating sites in Saint John and surrounding areas. The project is a collaboration between Loch Lomond Villa and the University of New Brunswick (Saint John). Radiography on Wheels is funded through the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project grants provided by the federal government. The project aims to increase access to diagnostic services in New Brunswick Nursing Homes and Special Care Homes. We anticipate that the service will avoid unnecessary resident transfer to the hospital and enhance person-centered care.

Forecasting key electricity end-uses in the residential sector, including electric vehicles (EV) charging

The current push towards electrification in Canada as a decarbonization strategy could lead to unintended consequences for utility providers, especially when managing peak demand to ensure grid stability. To address this issue, utilities require urban-scale energy models to forecast demand patterns and analyze the impact of new technologies, such as Electric Vehicles (EV). To this end, this MITACS partnership with Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors aims to develop and test a tool for generating load shapes of key electricity end-uses in the residential sector, including EV charging, based on demographic information. The proposed modelling tool would leverage data from various federal and provincial public sources, to enable the partner to provide comprehensive insights on the impact of user behaviour, appliance stock, and the expected growth of EV load on the grid. Therefore, it will contribute to advancing Canada’s overall energy transition goals and the integration of emerging clean energy systems.

Characterization, antibacterial mechanism and improvement of Kisolite Clay

Kisolite Clay, a unique BC clay, has been found to have healing properties for skin irritation and internal ailments. However, this clay is not well understood in terms of its chemical and physical properties and the mechanism underlying its antibacterial properties. During preliminary tests it was found that the pH and oxidation state of the Kisolite clay changed over time. The impact of these changes on antibacterial properties will be investigated. The proposed project will also investigate the relevance of different chemical/physical parameters on the antibacterial activity, and determine the antibacterial mechanism(s) of this clay. This will assist the company to understand the key properties of the clay and to discover whether there are measures which could enhance and maintain the antibacterial activity. Based on the results, the company should be in a better position to market and preserve the desired antibacterial activities in the future.

Developing Secure and Resilient Data Analytics Platform for Reciprocating Compressors in Oil and Gas Industry

This research project aims to address the current cyber security shortcomings in the Oil and Gas (O&G) industry by proposing a comprehensive solution for secure and resilient condition monitoring in this sector. The objective is to integrate cybersecurity modules into the existing condition-monitoring tool developed by Cyber pattern Inc.. The proposed solution comprises two distinct pillars: a data analytics platform and a cyber defence mechanism. These pillars are designed to function in an integrated manner to provide a robust and comprehensive solution to the cybersecurity challenges faced by the industry. The data analytics platform utilizes advanced machine-learning techniques to analyze data from various sources. The platform will be designed to provide real-time condition monitoring of the systems, alerting operators to potential faults, anomalies and threats while providing them with actionable insights to improve the security of their systems.

Improvement and Innovation of current Mantech PECOD slide preparation process using magnetron sputtering

Currently, researchers at Nano and Micro System Lab (NMSL) of the University of Waterloo have been manufacturing photo-electro-chemical sensor slides using a bio-compatible material, titanium oxide to monitor water quality and contamination. But there are certain challenges in the slide performance and production scale and type of the current manufacturing technique. To overcome these industrial challenges the NMSL researchers has proposed new production method, namely magnetron sputtering, a nanotechnology method involved in vacuum deposition. With this technique, the partner organization, Mantech will be more competitive and able to comply with current protocols, and its water sensing slides will be more robust and have longer service time along with high sensitivity and faster detection.

Lumiio – Ishaan Gill

The Lumiio Development Intern Project will to be improve the its operational processes to that are required for marketing to new and existing clients, inform sales strategies and generate data needed to create key decisions. This project involves conducting research on market trends, competitors, prospective customers, product/technology, and providing recommendations for enhancing current business opportunities.

Business Internship “Prograde Landscapes”

Prograde Landscapes is a complete landscaping and property maintenance company. We create beautiful landscapes both residential and commercial and offer a variety of property maintenance services such as; lawn care, snow removal, spring and fall cleanups. The company was established 4 years ago; however, the owner has had multiple years of previous business experience managing a landscaping and pool building company in Kelowna.

At Prograde we are looking for a candidate to help offer a fresh set of eyes to some of our various processes. We are looking in particular for areas such as marketing, quoting/estimating and employee/customer relations.

We would like to take on an intern so as to both instruct them and learn from them. As an owner of the company, I was a teacher previously and have always believed that an instructor doesn’t just teach but learns from his or her students. In the same way at Prograde we see the value of having a fresh set of eyes that may help us learn or offer new insights to various aspects of our company. Having an intern would help us explore a variety of elements such as; processes, gap analysis and current systems.

New Inventory Management Software Implementation & COR and/or ISO Certification

The project overview includes 1) streamlining our internal metal inventory management, moving from a manual and time-consuming process to a digital process and new ERP software program, and 2) researching and attaining certification to attract larger clients and contracts.

Anti-viral potential of polyphenolic compounds isolated from marine seaweeds; multi-target approach against RNA viruses.

This research builds upon previous research performed by the intern regarding identifying natural compounds to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication and survival in the host cell. RNA viruses are responsible for notable human diseases, and continuous mutations of these viruses are challenging to develop anti-viral agents. Scientists have developed various anti-viral agents against RNA viruses. However, most are synthetic medications with a narrow spectrum and numerous side effects. Therefore, developing anti-viral medicines by employing natural products which are safer than synthetic compounds can solve these effects. Marine seaweeds generate various polyphenolic compounds for survival due to exposure to extreme conditions. Therefore, these polyphenolic compounds consist of remarkable biological activities against many diseases. Therefore, the proposed research hypothesizes a multi-target approach of polyphenolic compounds isolated from marine seaweeds against RNA viruses by inhibiting viral cell entry mechanism, replication, and survival in the host cell through different therapeutic drug targets can successfully inhibit RNA viral diseases.

An educational technology solution for upstream mental health in school-aged children

Fledge is an educational technology intervention for preventative mental health that will be implemented in classrooms for children from kindergarten to grade 3 to target stress/anxiety, focus, and emotional regulation. In order to assess the effectiveness of this intervention, the proposed research project will evaluate mental health literacy/social emotional learning and application of skills by the children before, during, and after using the platform. We will complete annual check-ins for 3 subsequent years to understand how the children’s mental health and wellbeing differs from a group of children that did not have access to the platform. We will collect information from the students, their teachers, and their parents throughout development of the platform to ensure that it is designed specifically for the users. It is so important for Fledge to be able to measure our impact and to be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of our upstream mental health approach.