Deep Breathe and Waterloo co-op students unlock the future of lung diagnosis
By: Jed Bick (he/him)
Diagnostics company, Deep Breathe, is making lung imaging and diagnostics more accessible with innovative research, design and engineering support from Waterloo co-op students.
Deep Breathe, a lung health diagnostics company, aims to make automated, radiation-free lung imaging universally accessible. The company develops products to equip both healthcare providers and laypeople, anywhere in the world, with the ability to perform assessments using lung ultrasound technology and artificial intelligence (AI).
Dr. Rob Arntfield (he/him) founded the company in 2018 as a small research group focused on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) for lung health.
When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, the research team found its retrospective lung data could discriminate between COVID and other lung diseases – this was significantly better than physician ability at the time. This discovery fueled the growth and Arntfield’s vision for the company.
Since then, Deep Breathe has continued to evolve and is looking to tackle a multitude of prevalent lung illnesses and conditions.
The company’s technology stands out for its portability and accessible design. Typically, lung imaging requires the patient to wait and take a chest x-ray. However, Deep Breathe’s lung ultrasound technology can be used wherever the patient is located, including in an ambulance or a nursing home.
“It's a big issue in the medical world. Millions of people are affected globally by some form of lung disease or trauma,” says Ben Wu (he/him), software developer at Deep Breathe. “By providing this kind of portability, we hope to democratize lung ultrasounds.”
Ben Wu, software developer, Deep Breathe (Image supplied by Deep Breathe)
Waterloo co-op students provide a fresh perspective
Before it can go to market with its product, Deep Breathe must go through multiple U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals. While awaiting the approvals, the company continues to work towards its goal of making its products accessible. To get to this stage, Deep Breathe employs many Waterloo co-op students to help research, design and develop its technology.
Waterloo co-op students have a good knack for learning. They are super enthusiastic and come from school with the skills needed to teach them anything they need to know on the job. Students also bring a fresh perspective from the outside world to help us better frame our work and overall product dialogue.
Chris Oka (he/him), a fourth-year Systems Design Engineering co-op student at Waterloo, spent a work term at Deep Breathe as a software engineer. He helped the company progress through crucial steps of product development. Oka applied the skills from his program as he deployed online machine learning endpoints to host Deep Breathe’s technology on the cloud.
This solution allowed anyone within the company to access the technology from any location.
“This stage of development was a huge engineering effort from our co-op student, Chris,” says Wu. “It’s not just about having the endpoints set up, but also having to secure them.”
Cloud technology needs to be secured and locked from any potential use from the outside world. Oka undertook the task of safeguarding the company’s cloud to ensure its security.
“This step was a gateway that unlocked the ability to start developing Deep Breathe’s products,” says Oka.
Oka also developed internal demonstration software for non-technical workers, such as clinicians and researchers, to interact with Deep Breathe’s models. The software enables users (including healthcare professionals) to conduct analysis and diagnosis of lung ultrasounds from any location, as if they were at the hospital with the patient.
Giving students room to breathe during their work terms
Deep Breathe was so impressed with Oka’s work as a co-op student, the company trusted him with more responsibility. The experience motivated him to contribute to meaningful work and make a significant impact on the company during his work term.
“When I’m able to have personal ownership over my work, I get more passionate about what I'm doing,” says Oka. “I feel like I have a stake in what I'm building, and it makes me want to work harder and build better products. More responsibility lets you develop more skills as well.”
Oka appreciated that the Deep Breathe team allowed him to grow and develop his skills on the job, which helped him push product development forward and take on more responsibilities.
Chris Oka, Faculty of Engineering co-op student (Image supplied by Deep Breathe)
“They put a lot of trust in me and let me try new things,” says Oka. “I was able to make my own decisions, and they really left me to my own devices to work on my projects.”
Waterloo co-op students, like Oka, have the innovative skills to make an immediate impact in the workplace. They are valuable additions to startup companies like Deep Breathe.
“Waterloo co-op students possess the skills needed for MedTech companies such as Deep Breathe,” says Kate Baker (she/her), account manager, central west region at the University of Waterloo. “Their ability to successfully innovate within a space of rapid development is invaluable.”
Deep Breathe plans to continue to hire Waterloo co-op students as the company works to get its products to market.
“As a local company, Waterloo students make perfect sense for us obviously due to their skills as well as proximity,” says Wu.