Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

This proposal requests an anechoic chamber along with electronic equipment and acoustic rhinometry equipment to record respiratory sounds that are critical for modeling the upper airway and progressing research from lab experiments to prototypes and user-end devices. The requested equipment is to support both research on breathing sounds analysis and the development of novel medical devices for point of care diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of respiratory disorders, in particular obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is one of the most common breathing disorders with major comorbidities, such as memory loss, increased risk of accidents, and cardiovascular disease. Current techniques to assess OSA are not only expensive but also time consuming and inconvenient for the patients due to attachment of more than 15 sensors and wires. With my team of students and collaborators, we will develop an acoustic model of the upper airway which can be calibrated to represent each patient's upper airway characteristics. My proposed diagnostic system uses only 3 sensors. That along with my team's algorithms on breathing sounds analysis will provide alternative non-invasive, fast and accurate assessment tools for point of care diagnosis and monitoring of OSA. The outcome of the proposed research will reduce Canada's health care system cost significantly for there is a massive cost associated with OSA diagnosis and management. In addition, the outcomes will lead to development of devices for home care self-diagnostic and monitoring, which will provide individuals with OSA an accurate and reliable tool for monitoring their condition. Moreover, through the proposed research, 9 highly qualified personnel at graduate and undergraduate levels will be trained; they will likely become Canada's future biomedical researchers or successful research and development entrepreneurs, who then would design and implement novel devices to improve human's quality of life.