News Archives - Page 36 of 66 - Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

*Participants of the International Organ Protection Symposium in front of Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto*

May 16, 2019 – Earlier this month, Professor Yu Sun (MIE) co-chaired the International Organ Protection Symposium along with Dr. Mitesh Badiwala, Surgical Director of the Heart Transplantation Program of the University Health Network (UHN). The event, which took place on May 16 in the Mechanical Engineering Building at the University of Toronto (U of T), offered over 20 medical professionals, researchers, and technical experts from Canada and China the opportunity to discuss the current advanced technologies of organ transplantation and courses of action to further these technologies.

Professor Christopher Yip, U of T’s Associate Vice-President of International Partnerships and the next Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, welcomed the participants on behalf of U of T. The symposium featured panel discussions led by Sun and Badiwala, with a focus on the topics of organ preservation, organ transportation, organ repair, instrumentation and intelligent control, and artificial intelligence for applications in organ perfusion.

The symposium allowed the exchange of knowledge of the current technologies regarding organ transplantation, and raised awareness of the continuous effort in advancing various technologies of organ transplantation.

The event was hosted by several key organizations including the International Organ Protection Society, Multi-Organ Transplantation Research Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang University of China, the Cardiovascular Surgery Research Department of UHN, Shulan Medical Health of Shanghai University, Life Perfusor Medical Technology of China, Organ Transplantation and Quality Control Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association and U of T.

-by Kaiwen Zhang

Graduate student Thanyathorn (Smile) Thanapattheerakul (MIE MASc candidate) demonstrates the Target Acquisition Games for Measurement and Evaluation (TAG-ME games) in Professor Mark Chignell’s lab (Photo: Pam Walls).

May 7, 2019 – More than half a million Canadians are living with dementia, and as the country’s population ages, that number is expected to nearly double in 15 years. To improve current tests that monitor cognitive health in older adults, Professor Mark Chignell (MIE) and his team have developed a more engaging approach: gaming.

“Nobody wants to do a paper and pencil test, but if you give them a game to play then it doesn’t feel like a task,” says Chignell.

With the support of AGE-WELL, and a recently received Connaught Innovation Award, Chignell and his group of researchers have developed driving simulators and games that can monitor and improve the cognitive and physical health of older adults.

“A lot of them miss driving,” says Farzad Nejatimoharrami, a postdoctoral fellow with Chignell’s lab, as he turned the wireless steering wheel connected to a monitor. The driving simulator allows the user to slowly cruise around a neighbourhood, picking up items as they go. Along the way, they can interact with timeless characters from film and television including Abbott and Costello and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

*Postdoctoral fellow Farzad Nejatimoharrami demonstrates the driving simulator in Professor Chignell’s lab (Photo: Pam Walls).*

The simulator system also offers 360-degree tours of cities around the world, allowing those who are unable to travel to still have those experiences. A set of pedals sitting near Farzad’s feet can be used for a biking simulation that is only activated when the pedals are turning, encouraging physical activity as well as mental engagement.

“This game measures cognitive function,” says Thanyathorn (Smile) Thanapattheerakul (MIE MASc candidate) as she pushes buttons on a wooden box with a tablet sitting atop of it. On the screen, moles pop out of the ground and the user is tasked with clicking the button when they see a mole, but not if the mole is wearing a top hat. “They have to figure out what is the target and what is the distractor,” says Smile. This game is one in Chignell’s suite of Target Acquisition Games for Measurement and Evaluation (TAG-ME) games. The score a user receives in thegame will predict the scores of a traditional dementia test. Chignell plans on making the games and simulators available to the public, as well as long term care homes and hospitals, through his start-up company Centivizer.

*Professor Mark Chignell (Photo: Pam Walls).*

“We try to combine both physical and mental forms of activation,” said Chignell. “The recurring theme is to make things engaging and rewarding, so that people do what’s good for them because it’s fun to do.”

-by Pam Walls, pam@mie.utoronto.ca

Watch a video about Professor Mark Chignell’s lab on the U of T MIE Youtube channel:

Traditional Land Acknowledgement

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Posts Categorized: News

The Fusion of Engineering and Medicine: International Organ Protection Symposium co-chaired by Professor Yu Sun

Mechanical Engineering students Luke Patterson and Joshua Madero part of award-winning human powered vehicle design team (Department of Materials Science & Engineering News)

Professor Goldie Nejat highlighted in feature about Canada’s artificial intelligence development (Converge)

Professor Timothy Chan appointed director of new Centre for Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Engineering (CARTE) (U of T Engineering News)

Alumni Ron Sidon (IndE 6T6) and Irene Sterian (IndE 8T5) receive Ontario Professional Engineers Awards (U of T Engineering News)

MIE Graduate Programs Assistant Jho Silverio Nazal wins Barbara McCann Quality of Student Experience Award for Frontline Staff at Celebrating Engineering Excellence event (U of T Engineering News)

It’s all fun and brain-games: Using simulations and games to improve health in older adults

U of T News profiles MIE alumnus Arthur Slutsky (U of T News)

PhD candidate Shane Saunderson won the 2019 U of T 3 Minute Thesis Competition and graduate student Peter Serles was also among the finalists (U of T School of Graduate Studies)

Professor Hani Naguib featured in Financial Post video about Ontario’s manufacturing sector (Financial Post)

Traditional Land Acknowledgement