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2018/2019 | Semester 1 Issue

BME Connect Biannual Newsletter on What’s On at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, NUS

In This Issue... JANUARY 2018

FEBRUARY 2018

RECAP

MARCH 2018

Congratulations to Prof Zhang

Yong and Dr John Ho whose re-

search work has been featured in

NUS news

Congratulations to Prof Lim

Chwee Teck on being appointed

the Acting Director of BIGHEART

and to A/P Leo Hwa Liang on

being appointed Deputy Head of

BME

Congratulations to Dr Eliza Fong whose

research work has been featured in NUS

news, Nanowerk and Straits Times

Congratulations to Dr Alberto Corrias,

Dr Raye Yeow and Dr Mrinal Musib for

being awarded teaching awards at the

FOE Awards and Recognition Ceremony

Congratulations to Dr Raye

Yeow for receiving the Digital

Learning Transformation

Award at the NTUC May Day

Awards 2018

Congratulations to Prof CT Lim and

team whose work on “Tailoring

Treatment for Cancer patients” has

been featured in The Straits Times

Congratulations to Prof Zhang Yong and

team whose work on “Novel Chip for

fast and accurate disease detection at

low cost” has been featured in Nature

Communications and NUS news

In Conversation DR MICHAEL J. A. GIRARD

In 2012, Dr Girard founded the Ophthalmic Engineering & Innovation Laborato-ry. Let’s get up close and personal with him as he shares his thoughts on his research, hobbies and idea of a fulfilling career.

Can you tell us more about your research?

My research aims to develop and apply custom engineering tools for the understand-

ing, diagnosis, and treatment of ophthalmic pathologies. Biomechanics is an im-

portant contributing factor which is thought to play a critical role in multiple ophthal-

mic disorders. This is not surprising, as the eye is a pressure vessel that requires a

delicate balance of forces to maintain its homeostasis and function. Recently, our lab

discovered that when a person rotates his/her eye, the optic nerve can get taut and

exert a traction force. This exciting discovery holds possibilities of alleviating symp-

toms of glaucoma and myopia by reducing this force.

What is most challenging in your line of work?

In Biomedical Engineering, one of the huge challenge is often communication and

personal conflicts. Our work is multi-disciplinary and we have to work with people

from various fields (e.g.: doctors, computer scientists, physicists etc etc). This is hard.

But I do believe that, as biomedical engineers, we are trained to deal with such prob-

lems. We have been exposed to many scientific fields, and I do believe biomedical

engineers will become the best leaders in science.

What else are you involved in?

Outside of work, I also try to compose my own music (a few songs I composed are

here: https://soundcloud.com/user-447170697/sets/album-1. Because to keep

sane :), it is also very important to do other activities outside of work.

General advice to students to attain a successful and fulfilling career (both in academia or outside academia)?

It may sound cliché, but you need to do something that gets you excited and that makes you want to wake up in the morning. Don’t listen to rumours saying ’this is the best career for you’, you’ll hear that a lot. If you have not found what you love, keep looking, keep trying. With Biomedical Engineering, I believe we have an oppor-tunity to help our community and improve people’s lives. To me, that’s super ex-citing.

Welcome to another Issue of BME Connect!

In Conversation| We are In Conversation with Dr Michael J.A. Girard

as he briefly shares what he does;

Id Est | A look at award-winning research projects by our very own

professors and researchers!

Feature | An exciting new module for our Year 1s;

Photo Galore | Snapshots of NUS Open Day and FYP Posters!

MAY 2018

The detection and quantification of nano-sized bioparticles including DNA, proteins, viruses, and extracellular vesicle are essential for disease diagnostics. Typically, the detection of these biomolecules are performed using colorimetric assay or fluorescent labelling and requires complex optical detection equipment such as fluorescent microscopy or spectrophotometry.

Professor Zhang Yong with his post-doctoral fellow Kerwin Kwek Zeming, PhD student Thoriq Salafi and Swati Shikha has developed a low cost microfabricated microfluidic chip to detect and quantify nanobioparticles including protein and extracellular vesicles, which requires only

a standard laboratory microscope for detection. This biochip can sensitively detect protein and nano-sized polymer vesicles with a concentration down to 10 ng/mL (150 pM) and 3.75 μg/mL respectively. It also has a very small footprint and weighs only 500mg and is 60 mm3 in size.

The novel fluorescent label-free approach uses the lateral shifts migration position of microbead substrate in pillar arrays for the biomolecules quantification based on the change in electrostatic force or size. Due to the usage of lateral displacement, the nano-biomolecules can be detected in real-time and the detection is faster even in comparison to fluorescent label-based

detection. Moreover, the detection does not require the primary and secondary antibody, which further lowering the cost of the tests. The findings of the study were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications in March 2018.

“The application of this technique can also be extended to other nano-biomolecules including the detection of nucleic acid and virus. To complement this biochip technology, we are also developing a portable microfluidic pump and smartphone accessory to create a complete portable detection solution for outside of the laboratory settings. We hope to bring this technology further for commercialization” said Prof Zhang.

RESEARCHERS | Professor Zhang Yong (Supervisor), Dr. Kerwin Kwek Zeming, Thoriq Salafi, Swati Shikha

NATURE Communications Paper on Biochip

Neurorehabilitation requires task specific

and repetitive exercise. For chronic stroke

patients with upper extremity

hemiparesis, regular retraining of the hand

and wrist is crucial as they are essential in

performing many activities of daily living

(ADL) such as toileting, dressing and

preparing meals.

Current devices for upper extremity

rehabilitation tend to be hospital-based

since they require a clinician’s supervision.

They are also generally too expensive and

bulky to be owned at a community

rehabilitation center or at home. High

patient volume and insufficient devices

thus limit patients’ access to the benefits

of rehabilitation technology.

The team has designed DULER, a low-cost

bilateral wrist and hand rehabilitation

device, for such patients to conduct

therapy at home. Its portability and

actuator-free design makes it viable for

home-use. Additionally, it incorporates

Virtual Reality (VR) games which increase

patient’s self-motivation towards their

rehabilitation.

The device consists of two identical

handles supported by a spherical parallel

mechanism for smooth multidirectional

wrist movement, and a master-slave cable

transmission system, which couples the

two handles for simultaneous symmetric

movement, where the paralyzed side is

guided by the healthy side. VR games lead

the user through the training and provide

biofeedback to the patient. Sensors track

and record the training and recovery

progress.

The team has won the Silver Award and

the Best Prototype Award in the 6th

National ARTSIC (Assistive & Rehabilitation

Technologies Student Innovation

Challenge). They have also won the Silver

Award at the global Student Innovation

Challenge @ i-CREATe, which was held in

Shanghai in July 2018.

DULER, Home-based wrist rehabilitation system, 6th National ARTSIC Silver Award Winner

RESEARCHERS | Dr. Yu Hao Yong

(Supervisor), Chang Jen-Shuan, Park

Doyoung, Ashsiddique O. Hauk,

Charanpreet Singh

Image on left: Professor Zhang Yong (extreme right) and his team has developed a low-cost microfluidic chip that can quickly and accurately detect and quantify nano-bioparticles labels.

Feature

Upon completion of Engineering

Principles and Practice 2 (EPP2), we

approached A/Prof Poh Chueh Loo, to

find out his thoughts and views on how

the new module fared with the

students. Below are some of his

comments:

1) You have just completed a full

semester of activities for students as

part of EPP2. How did you think the

students find the new module?

Generally the students find the module

interesting and interactive, and like the

experiential learning approach,

particularly with the various hands on

activities. I do think that having this

new module is a great move forward to

enhance student learning in NUS.

Through this module, Year one

students have the opportunity to

create simple biomedical devices while

learning fundamental biomedical

engineering concepts. We hope

students will be able to better relate

the various modules in the later part of

the course and eventually do well.

2) Do you think the training as part of

EPP II is sufficient to prepare them for

upcoming years as undergraduates?

At BME, the focus of EPP is to give

students an overall perspective early

on in their study of what biomedical

engineering is and the knowhow and

skill sets required. The module covers

key fundamental concepts related to

BME. More importantly the intent is to

give students a clear appreciation of

how different modules in their later

years of study fit together and how the

modules are important for biomedical

engineering. With this, we hope the

students will be able to learn better

and relate better to actual biomedical

system and applications. The module is

centered around life support system in

which EPP2 focuses on the biomedical

signal acquisition and processing,

controller, and electrical circuit aspects

of the system. EPP2 covers

fundamental concepts and provides

hand-ons session in which students can

experience the process of making

simple devices. The module would

provide the students the fundamentals

required for future more in depth

modules in the later part of the course.

3) What has impacted you in your

course of carrying out this module?

It is a huge class and to manage the

logistics of the various hand-on

sessions including the presentations is

a challenge. I am happy to see students

solving problems during the hands-on

activities, from not knowing what to do

to eventually getting their devices

working.

4) What are 3 takeaways that students

gain from this module?

1. Appreciate role of biomedical

engineer

2. Understand different technical

concept that make up a biomedical

device such as a life support system

3. Understand and be able to apply

fundamental electrical engineering

concepts for BME application

5) What are the challenges that

students face?

EPP2 takes an experiential learning

approach in conducting the module. As

this is not a traditional lecture-tutorial

type of learning, some of the students

find it challenging while some students

enjoy the module very much. Further, I

also understand that some students

have problem working with their group

and would prefer more individual

hands-on activities. Overall, most

students prefer this mode of learning.

5) Any personal advice to give

students in continuing their BME

education?

BME is a great course so work hard and

do your best!

Engineering Principles and Practice II

A team of students simulating their stress monitoring device to a group of professors

Dr Cheow Lih Feng assisting students on their circuitry Mechanically powering circuitry Dr Poh Chueh Loo briefing on lab activity

F o l l o w U s O n

https://goo.gl/Q88lfF

https://goo.gl/ZOmoed

https://goo.gl/5lkWZ6

Editorial Team Associate Professor Chen Nanguang

Associate Professor Tony Kanchanawong

Muhammed Abdurrahiem

Yeo Kun Song

Academic Calendar 22 – 30 SEP 18 | SAT - SUN RECESS WEEK

17 – 23 NOV 18 | SAT - FRI READING WEEK

24 NOV 18 – 8 DEC 18 EXAMINATION PERIOD

9 DEC 18 – 13 JAN 19 VACATION PERIOD

Public Holidays 9 AUG 18 | THU NATIONAL DAY

22 AUG 18 | WED HARI RAYA HAJI

6 NOV 18 | TUE DEEPAVALI

25 DEC 18 | TUE CHRISTMAS DAY

1 JAN 19 | TUE NEW YEAR’S DAY

PhotoGalore NUS OPEN DAY 2018 THANK YOU to all staff and students who participat-ed in this year’s Open Day on 10 March 2018.

FYP Poster Presentation 2018 GREAT JOB to all FYP students for the amazing poster presentations!