Ainara Garde has recently received a Mitacs Elevate Fellowship supporting her work with Guy Dumont at LionsGate Technologies.
She is specialized in advanced biomedical signal processing, focused on cardio-respiratory disorders. Her major research interests include the pathogenesis of breathing disorders such as sleep apnea and the cardiovascular complications caused by them. During her postdoctoral fellowship at LionsGate Technologies she will apply her research expertise in cardio-respiratory pattern characterization, sleep breathing disorders and advanced signal processing to the Phone Oximeter™. The Phone Oximeter™ is a smartphone based pulse oximetry device that uses a simple, non-invasive sensor connected to the audio port of the phone, to measure blood oxygen saturation. The sensor is powered completely by the phone and is driven by an app that can be customized for diagnosis and decision support for various diseases and disorders, such as pneumonia, sepsis and pre-eclampsia. The aim of this project is to develop a sleep apnea-screening tool using the Phone Oximeter.
The high prevalence of sleep apnea poses a serious threat to the healthy growth and development of many children. The currently prevalent test to diagnose sleep apnea is high in cost and requires an overnight stay at the hospital, which limits it accessibility to remotely located children and families. Ainara will focus on identifying children with sleep apnea using the signals provided by Phone Oximeter (oxygen saturation and blood volume changes. This portable, in-home device will cause less sleep disturbance, facilitate more natural sleep patterns, and provide the ability to monitor patients over multiple nights. This will also reduce waiting lists and costs of in hospital screening. Working with experts in the Phone Oximeter™ at LionsGate Technologies Inc. will provide her the unique opportunity to transfer her knowledge to develop innovative applications to enhance patient-centered care starting with children with sleep apnea.
LionsGate Technologies is a spin-off company based on research that has been done at UBC, the Child and Family Research Institute, and BC Children’s Hospital. Their Vital Signs DSP (Digital Signal Processor) allows medical sensors to be directly connected to any mobile device – through its audio jack. The phone or tablet’s functions are not just limited to processing the vital information, but it will also act as the power source and display. The Phone Oximeter, by using Vital Signs DSP, is able to measure blood oxygen levels of a patient on a mobile device.
Mitacs Elevate is a two-year program providing recent PhD graduates with an opportunity to lead a long-term research projects with a partner organization while developing professional skills and benefiting from leadership training. Partner organizations engage Canada’s brightest minds to pursue innovation as they undertake research projects in collaboration with universities and build research and development management capacity.
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LionsGate Technologies