Dr. Mahla Poudineh, assistant professor and director of the IDEATION Lab in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is one of five researchers to receive funding from the Ontario government.
Each award from government is valued at $100,000, and is matched by an additional $50,000 from the researcher's institution. Dr. Poudineh won the award for her project titled: A new transdermal patch to continuously and without pain track and treat diabetes. Her research will develop a new, low-cost system which is smaller (approximately seven centimetres) and capable of smart insulin sensing and delivery.
Diabetes, if left unchecked, can cause serious illnesses leading to healthcare burden in Ontario. Patients with diabetes often require injecting insulin to balance their blood glucose level. Artificial pancreas devices (APDs), combining a continuous glucose monitor with an insulin pump, have revolutionized diabetes care as they enable insulin delivery automatically in response to real-time glucose measurements. However, there is a high risk of giving excess insulin due to the lack of insulin kinetic measurements in the APDs causing a low blood glucose condition which can lead to coma and even death. Poudineh’s research will develop a new, low-cost APD system which is smaller (approximately seven centimetres) and capable of smart insulin sensing and delivery. This system can be easily applied by patients, without pain.
Go to Waterloo celebrates five Early Researcher Awards recipients for the full story.
