Monday, July 28, 2025

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• Made by Waterloo: Portable stroke detection using AI and electromagnetic imaging
• Campus order up! Get the new mobile food app on campus

• Matthew Regehr receives 2025 CPI Graduate Excellence Scholarship

Made by Waterloo: Portable stroke detection using AI and electromagnetic imaging

By Angelica Marie Sanchez. This is an excerpt of a story that was originally featured on Waterloo News.

In a stroke emergency, every second counts — early detection and rapid intervention can save lives even before a patient reaches the hospital.

“Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are the current standard, but they are expensive, stationary and require special infrastructure,” says Dr. Atefeh Zarabadi (PhD '15), CEO and co-founder of AiimSense. “[These technologies] limit timely access to care, especially in medical emergencies like stroke or traumatic brain injuries.”

To address this critical gap, Zarabadi and her team have developed a scalable, portable imaging system that uses electromagnetic imaging (EMI) and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes faster and more affordably than traditional methods.

The AiimSense solutions include BrainScreen, a lightweight, a helmet-like device that fits in a backpack and can be deployed in the field — ideal for mobile stroke units or remote clinics. Its companion software, Neural Map Pro, combines AI-powered 3D analytics with Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) integration to provide real-time image visualization of brain conductivity changes, such as bleeding or clots.

“Imagine having [this technology] available in many clinics where it is needed — that is very transformative,” Zarabadi says. “It can enhance brain health in general, which is not possible today.”

By enabling earlier diagnosis, AiimSense supports faster treatment decisions — such as administering clot-busting drugs within the critical time window — and ensures patients are directed to the right care centers. AiimSense’s mission is to democratize access to advanced brain imaging and improve outcomes across both urban and underserved communities.

Powering the “brain economy” with imaging technology

Zarabadi’s vision extends beyond health care. At the G7 Canada Brain Economy Summit in Calgary, she joined global leaders in developing the “Brain Economy Declaration” — a policy initiative that recognizes brain health and cognitive capacity as essential to national prosperity.

AiimSense’s portable brain scanner exemplifies this vision. By reducing reliance on costly, stationary imaging systems and enabling earlier intervention, it has the potential to lower health-care costs, improve patient outcomes and enhance workforce productivity — all key pillars of what global leaders are calling the “brain economy.”

“Achieving global brain health equity starts with making diagnostics accessible everywhere,” Zarabadi says. She sees AiimSense contributing in two ways: through its scientific and technological innovation, and by introducing a new imaging modality that makes brain diagnostics more accessible and impactful.

“Early diagnosis and accessible brain imaging are a game changer. The sooner we can diagnose, the more preventative measures we can take into account. By lowering the disability rates and saving lives, this technology can contribute to the global economy.”

Read the full story on Waterloo News

Campus Order Up! Get the newest mobile food app on campus

A message from Food Services.

Hungry, but don't want to wait in line? Skip the lines with our mobile app: Campus Order Up! Order ahead, pay with your WatCard, and pick up your food fast from a designated spot. It’s campus convenience made easy.

• Purpose: place your order in advance, pay by WatCard and pick up your food at the designated location!
• Locations: Order from a variety of locations in the Student Life Centre (SLC) and Southside Marketplace (SCH) from Pizza Pizza to Subway, and more!
• Benefits: Save time when you use the app.

Please note that we will be accepting both Credit Card and WatCard payments until July 31. After this date, payments will be accepted by WatCard only through the mobile app. If you are a staff or faculty member, please complete this form to have your WatCard set up as your new payment method. Learn more on the Food Services website. 

Download Campus Order Up on the Apple Appstore or Google Play Store today!

Matthew Regehr receives 2025 CPI Graduate Excellence Scholarship

By Regina Ashna Singh. This article was originally published on the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute's website.

Congratulations to Matthew Regehr, a PhD student in computer science, on receiving the University of Waterloo Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute’s (CPI) Graduate Excellence Scholarship. Generously sponsored by BTQ, Regehr will receive $10,000 for earning this prestigious award as a result of impeccable academic achievement and impactful research in the field of cybersecurity and privacy. Since the scholarship’s inception in 2019, CPI consistently receives high-calibre applications, and this year the competition level was the same.

Regehr said he was thrilled to learn the great news. He added, “This [CPI Graduate Excellence] scholarship will support my work on privacy accounting. I am excited to take this opportunity to develop tools and theory to support the adoption of privacy-preserving technology for machine learning. I am grateful to CPI and BTQ for their generous support to further my research.”

Regehr also credits his advisor, Dr. Gautam Kamath, for discovering the CPI scholarship opportunity and supporting his application.

“Matthew is an exceptional privacy researcher, and his mathematical and technical skills serve him well in addressing some of the most challenging and pressing problems in private machine learning and statistics,” said Dr. Kamath, assistant professor at the University’s Cheriton School of Computer Science.

Beyond research, Regehr is also making an impact in the Waterloo community through his volunteer work. For over two years, he lends his time to fix bikes, teach bike maintenance and lead other volunteers at the WUSA Bike Centre on campus.

To date, CPI has granted nine recipients the Graduate Excellence Scholarship with the bulk of financial support stemming from industry partners, some of whom have gone on to win various accolades such as the IBM PhD Fellowship as well as attain Tenure-Track Faculty positions early in their research career. 

For further information on past awardees and details of the program, visit CPI’s scholarship page.