March 7, 2014 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Western Economic Diversification Canada
Doctors may soon have much improved information on their patients' health thanks to new wireless video software and hardware used in electronic "pills". This technology was developed by the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and commercialized with the help of $99,500 from Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) announced today by Brad Trost, Member of Parliament for Saskatoon—Humboldt, on behalf of the Honourable Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification.
WD's investment will help U of S engineering professor Khan Wahid and his team purchase equipment to develop and test the electronic pills, known as wireless endoscopic capsules, and optimize components to go into a new, high-performance endoscopy capsule and its supporting software and hardware. The U of S patent-pending technology will then undergo extensive testing and prototyping before taking the next steps to market.
Wahid's novel wireless image compression software and custom microchip solution offers superior images at increased rates of frequency, giving doctors much more information with which to make a diagnosis. Data from the capsule is transmitted to the patient's smartphone via a mobile device application and a SIM-card-sized adapter.
Applications of this innovative Canadian technology extend beyond the biomedical field and may also be used in the industrial, security and environmental sectors.
Rhonda Symko
Acting Communications Manager
Western Economic Diversification Canada
Telephone: 306-975-6980
Email: rhonda.shymko@wd-deo.gc.ca
Jennifer Thoma
Media Relations Specialist
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Telephone: 306-966-1851
Email: jennifer.thoma@usask.ca
WD Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-WEST (9378)
Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-877-303-3388
Website: WD is online at www.wd-deo.gc.ca.
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