Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Shahid
Haider,
a
systems
design
engineering
master's
student
who
is
a
member
of
the
Vision
and
Image
Processing
Research
Group,
is
the
recipient
of
the
2014
Norman
Edmund
Inspiration
Award
for
his
research
on
handheld
imaging
to
test
blood
glucose
levels.
The international award is from Edmund Optics. It recognizes exceptional research that inspires others, in particular children, to pursue careers in science and technology by developing new devices to advance medical sciences and cure any illnesses that they may face in their lifetimes.
Rather
than
using
a
finger
prick
to
test
and
monitor
glucose
levels
for
type
1
diabetes,
Haider’s
medical
device
would
ease
diabetes
monitoring
in
children
by
using
a
non-contact
handheld
system
that
takes
full
field
images
of
the
eye’s
aqueous
humor
to
infer
glucose
concentrations.
Haider's
research
allows
the
images
to
be
captured
on
a
single
detector
in
order
to
produce
a
compact
design
that
will
fit
into
the
hands
of
a
child.
By
eliminating
any
pain
associated
with
diabetes
testing,
Haider's work
has
the
direct
potential
to
improve
the
quality
of
life
for
those
afflicted
with
diabetes,
including
reducing
the
risk
of
eye,
kidney,
and
heart
damage.
Haider's
supervisor
is
Alexander
Wong,
a
systems
design
engineering
professor
and
the
new
Canada
Research
Chair
in
Medical
Imaging
Systems.