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UOIT professor receives prestigious international award from IBM
November 12, 2009
Groundbreaking work aims
to help medical profession detect potential life-saving changes
OSHAWA,
ON. - Understanding the subtleties
of life and what they can tell us about caring for and ultimately reducing
mortality rates in critically ill premature newborns is the focus of Dr. Carolyn McGregor's research. Her efforts,
in particular the work she has done over the past year and a half in
partnership with IBM, have led to the international computing giant presenting
the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) associate professor with
a prestigious innovation award.
Dr. McGregor, who is also a
Canada Research Chair in Health Informatics, received the InfoSphere Innovation Award at a special client
luncheon in late October at the IBM Global Information on Demand Conference in
Las Vegas.
This first-of-a-kind research project,
known as Artemis, is helping 'make sense' of the constant stream of data
collected from critically ill premature babies so that doctors will be able to
recognize the subtle changes that can reliably predict a deterioration in
condition and allow them to intervene more quickly. Using IBM InfoSphere
Stream software to help manage the stream of biomedical data, such as heart
rate and respiration, the software analyzes environmental data gathered from
advanced sensors and more traditional monitoring equipment on and around the
babies.
"I am truly honoured to be
receiving this award because I am so passionate about this research and the
great potential it holds for eliminating the pain and anguish that too many
families deal with each year following the death of baby," said Dr. McGregor. "More and more research is starting to show that
by watching the body in a more complex way than the human eye can, the body
tells its own story earlier."
Because of its potential to
understand that story and foretell the signs of illness, Dr. McGregor's
research holds great hope for reducing mortality rates in premature babies here
in Canada and around the world. That's particularly critical given the March of Dimes reports that more than one
million premature babies die every year. Dr. McGregor is also collaborating
with the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to pilot the research as she
gathers further information that shows its benefits.
"All of us at UOIT would like to congratulate Dr. McGregor on earning
this outstanding recognition," said Dr. Ronald Bordessa, president of UOIT. "This
award underscores the importance and relevance of her research and the vast
potential it holds for neonatal care. It's also reflective of UOIT's commitment
to groundbreaking research that holds potential for our communities locally,
nationally and globally."
It was 10 years ago that Dr.
McGregor began to research new approaches for real-time patient monitoring and
data-mining to support clinical research. She was invited to a neonatal
intensive care unit and realized that even though health-care professionals had
advanced equipment for collecting data, they were using pen and paper to record
information and support clinical practice and decision-making. Drawing on the
knowledge she had gained in business intelligence by working with banks and
retail organizations, she knew there was potential to improve the way computers
could be used to support patient care.
Dr. McGregor heads a team of professors, students and support
specialists at UOIT that is working with leading international hospitals and
high-calibre industry partners to create innovative solutions and bring them to
the mainstream of health care. Opportunities to participate in and access this
research means UOIT students will graduate with the knowledge to be leaders in
this advanced support for critical care, and to also take these approaches to
watching the body beyond the critical care setting.
