Tag Archives: innovation

Human Behavior

AI-Powered Test Automation: Embracing the Future of Software Testing – TechDecisions

Last year, the global pandemic caused a major shift in how businesses operate, introducing new challenges of remote work and accelerated digital transformation at an unprecedented pace.

Organizations are now in a race against time to build high-quality software to propel their digital transformation initiatives forward. However, ensuring optimal software quality in a fast-paced, hyper-connected and complex world is not an easy task.

While traditional test automation has enabled test teams with a smarter and quicker means for delivering high software quality, AI-powered tools can drive its capabilities to the next level.

Traditional test automation delivers tools to control test execution and compare test results against expected outcomes.

While such tools can test and deliver results automatically, they still need human supervision. Without human supervision, traditional test automation tools cant identify which tests to run, so they end up running every test or a predetermined set of tests.

When powered by AI, a test automation tool can review the current test status, recent code changes, code coverage and other associated metrics to intelligently decide which tests to run and then trigger them automatically.

Read: How Intelligent Automation is Changing Global Business

AI enables test automation to move beyond its scope of simple rule-based automation. It utilizes AI algorithms to efficiently train systems using large data sets.

Through the application of reasoning, problem-solving and machine learning, an AI-powered test automation tool can mimic human behavior and reduce the direct involvement of software testers in mundane tasks.

AI is changing software testing in many ways. It is removing many limitations in traditional test automation and delivering more value to testers and developers alike.

It enables organizations to test faster and better while reducing costs and human dependencies. AI has imparted an incredible positive impact on most software testing use cases, including:

Unit TestingTesters can use RPA tools (an application of AI) to reduce flaky test cases while conducting unit testing. Such tools can also help with the maintenance of unit test scripts.API TestingAI-powered test automation tools can convert manual UI tests into automated API tests. This lowers the requirement of specialized testing skills for the process and enables organizations to build a more sustainable API testing strategy.

Read: You Need Predictive Analytics for Your Software Testing: Heres Why

UI TestingEnsures more accuracy in comparison to manual testing. It is hard to manually detect parameters such as GUI size difference and a combination of colors, which can be easily identified with AI.

Regression TestingEnables test teams to run the entire test suite in a timely manner on every change, however minor it may be. AI can prioritize and re-target regression tests to test high-risk areas with short run-times. Image-Based TestingVisual validations involved in image-based testing can be simplified with the ML capability of AI. Automated visual validation tools make image-based testing a breeze.

Like any new technology, there is a lot of hype around AI-powered software testing. The utilization of AI in various testing scenarios is delivering significant improvements and making intelligent test automation a reality. AI-powered test automation is helping organizations reimagine software testing and delivering real business benefits. Some of its key benefits for organizations include:

1. Auto-Generation of Test Scripts

AI-powered test automation helps teams with the auto-generation of test codes that perform all the required functions, such as click buttons, form fills, app logins and more.

There will be complex test cases for which AI-powered test automation tools cant generate code, but it can auto-generate more than 80% of the required code reliably, enhancing the productivity of testing teams significantly.

Furthermore, AI also helps with auto-maintenance to ensure continuous quality while reducing the burden on human testers.

2. Optimization of Testing Process

AI is the force behind the product recommendations on Amazon or the shows Netflix suggests. An AI-enabled recommendation engine allows marketers to provide relevant product recommendations to customers in real-time.

The same approach can be applied to simplify software testing. AI can suggest tests with the maximum probability of finding bugs, based on the risk information, removing the guesswork from testing and empowering teams to home in on the actual risk areas.

3. Measurement of Release Impact

AI-powered test automation tools can predict how an upcoming software release will impact end-users.By leveraging neural networks and analyzing test history and data from current test runs, the tool can predict whether customer satisfaction will move up or down. Equipped with such information, organizations can adjust likewise and ensure that their customers remain satisfied with the user experience.

4. Delivers a Competitive Edge

AI-powered test automation tools help organizations gain a competitive edge. Various AI capabilities such as ML and neural networks can be used to understand how various technical factors are impacting the user experience and business outcomes.

For example, AI can detect whether a new implementation is negatively impacting the load times and could lower conversion rates upon release.

By delivering predictions on how releases will affect the business, AI-powered tools empower organizations to make course corrections to have a positive impact.

5. Enables Productivity and Cost Gains

A recent study discovered that testers spend 17% of their time dealing with false positives and another 14% on additional test maintenance tasks. An AI-powered tool with its auto-generation and auto-maintenance capabilities can help test teams save valuable time and effort and put it toward tackling complex requirements.

It can also help organizations optimize testing costs by reducing human dependence on mundane testing tasks.

Its quite clear that AI-powered test automation is not a passing fad. Such tools are enabling organizations to understand and adapt better to ever-changing customer expectations. Rather than taking a wait-and-watch approach, its time to embrace the innovation that AI has unleashed in test automation.

Here is the original post:
AI-Powered Test Automation: Embracing the Future of Software Testing - TechDecisions

Cell Biology

Maryland Today | The Mettle Behind the Medal – Maryland Today

They interned across campus, around the country and on the other side of the globe. They founded nonprofits, volunteered at hospitals and schools, conducted groundbreaking research, and even played violin in the universitys Gamer Symphony Orchestra.

These are the six Terps considered for the University Medal, the highest honor given to an undergraduate by UMD, awarded at each spring commencement to the graduate or graduates who best personify academic distinction, extraordinary character and extracurricular contributions to the university and the larger community.

This years medalist is Sherry Fan, who is graduating with a 4.0 GPA and a dual degree in biological sciences and nutritional science.

Read on for more about her accomplishments as well as this years five finalists:

A published researcher, devoted volunteer to fighting hunger and poverty, and burgeoning artist in communicating complex science, Fan stood out even in a class of high-achieving Honors College students because of her intellect and enthusiasm.

In my 42 years teaching at the UMD, I have never taught an undergraduate student with a stronger academic record, said Todd J. Cooke, research professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics and founding director of the Integrated Life Sciences Program in the Honors College.

The daughter of an immigrant from rural China, Fan grew up in Montgomery County, Md., hearing his stories about not having enough food or fresh watera motivation to seek ways to help those in dire need. She became a National Merit Scholarship finalist and earned a Banneker/Key Scholarship at the University of Maryland, where she joined the Food Recovery Network to reduce campus food waste and served meals at homeless shelters in Washington, D.C., as a member of UMD Tzu Ching.

I wanted to be able to give back to communities who were facing similar insecurities, she said. It was a personal issue to me.

Fan worked for three years with Professor Wenxia Song on uncovering the cellular relationship between obesity, chronic inflammation and insulin resistance, and spent two summers interning at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, studying a cancer-promoting protein that could help with new treatments and analyzing potential genetic markers for aortic aneurysms. Fan will be a co-author on an upcoming paper in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE.

Beyond the lab, she led service trips to Kentucky and made coloring books for patients at the Childrens Inn at the National institutes of Healtha talent that also landed one of her drawings with an article in Virology.

After graduation, Fan will pursue a dual M.D./Ph.D. at Cornell University and hopes to eventually work at an academic medical center to integrate service, research, art and teaching.

Ive grown a lot as a student but also as a human being during my time at UMD, she said. I was really able to step outside my own bubble.

Elizabeth ChildsElizabeth Childs has been fascinated by human-robot interaction (HRI) since she was a kid watching Pokemon on TV.

She spent her time at UMD advancing complex research in that area while participating in the Honors Colleges Entrepreneurship and Innovation program and majoring in mechanical engineering as a Banneker/Key Scholar, with a 3.98 GPA.

Among her work, Childs explored virtual reality applications in the Geometric Algorithms for Modeling, Motion, and Animation Lab, shortened 3D-printing post-production time in the Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing Lab and studied modular robotics for explosive ordinance disposal in Cambodia. Her first-author, peer-reviewed paper on 3D printing processes was published in the IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.

Meanwhile, Childs was a teaching fellow in a thermodynamics course for five semesters, participated in the Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) honors program, competed in TerpTank with a business model to provide affordable meals to college students, and taught ACT/SAT prep in Chicago through the Alternative Breaks Program.

She was awarded a Knight-Hennessy Scholarship to Stanford University, where she will pursue a doctorate studying HRI, augmented reality and haptics (technologies stimulating touch and motion).

I am so excited to see what the future holds for Elizabeth, said Catherine Hamel, Keystone Instructor in engineering who teaches the thermodynamics course. I know that she will be on the forefront of developing technologies that will better our society.

Jackson DevadasBiological sciences major Jackson Devadas spent his four years at Maryland examining how social contexts play a role in health, particularly the mental well-being of LGBTQ students and students of color.

A Presidents Scholar and member of the Honors Colleges Design, Cultures and Creativity program, he minored in statistics and conducted multiple research projects in the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity lab, leading to a role in several published papers.

He is driven by a desire for equity and justice, eager to learn and expand his areas of expertise, and thrives in a community-based, interdisciplinary learning environment, said American studies Professor Jason Farman, director of the Design, Cultures and Creativity program.

Devadas was student director of the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets and held leadership positions with the LGBTQ+ Students and Allies in Public Health, the Pride Alliance, the Honors College Student Advisory Board and as Honors Ambassador.

He hopes to pursue a masters degree in public health and doctorate in sociomedical sciences, focusing on mental illness within vulnerable communities, with the goal of becoming an educator.

Meron HaileLooking back toher familys movefrom Ethiopia to the U.S. in 2007, Meron Haile most remembers her parents focus on education as the key to independence.

She took that to heart, winning a Banneker/Key scholarship to Maryland, where she participated in the Honors Colleges Integrated Life Sciences program, majored in biological sciences on the pre-med track, minored in global poverty and earned a 4.0 GPA.

Haile conducted research in a campus lab on oxycodone addiction, held internships at the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and served as a medical assistant at local hospitals and medical practices.

On campus, shes been active in organizations that support immigrant and other underserved groups, including the Global Poverty Student Advisory Board, United Against Inequities in Disease (USAID), Terps for Change and CASA-Mi Esposito, where she helped immigrant youths learn English and tutored in other classes. Shes also been a teaching assistant for three years.

Marcia Shofner, senior lecturer in the Department of Entomology who teaches the Principles of Ecology & Evolution course, called Haile one of the most consistent, reliable and creative assistants shed ever worked with. I will miss her after she graduates, but she will be an amazing physician to whom I would love to take my family.

Kyeisha LaurenceOnly a few weeks into her freshman year at UMD, Kyeisha Laurence saw Hurricane Irma ravage her native St. Maarten. With the support of her new community in the Honors Colleges Gemstone program, she led a collection drive to send clothes and other supplies there.

That set the tone for Laurences time at Maryland, where she was a Banneker/Key Scholar and earned a 3.97 GPA while pursuing a biological sciences major and minor in French studies.

In Gemstone, she led a research team focused on finding a novel therapeutic agent to treat allergies. She also interned as a UM Scholar at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Laurence served as a member of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, president of the Charles R. Drew Pre-Health Society, a cabinet member for the Caribbean Student Association, and a supplemental instructor for the Academic Achievement Programs.

She plans to spend a year conducting clinical research at the National Institute of Health, then pursue M.D. and M.P.H. degrees for a career in improving health care for low-income and underrepresented minority communities.

Maryland has enabled me to follow my passions by supporting and providing me with a community of people who uplift, motivate and push me to be my very best, she said.

Veeraj ShahAs co-founder and CEO of ChatHealth, Veeraj Shah initially planned to promote health care services to Terps via a chatbot. Now he has ambitions to reduce preventable diseases globally.

He dived into the opportunities at Maryland, where he combined his work in the Integrated Life Sciences Honors College program with research in the School of Public Health (SPH). He took advantage of expertise and funding through the School of Public Policy and its Do Good Institute and he co-founded his first company, Vitalize App, with the support of the Robert H. Smith School of Business Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.

Shah interned in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, was a fellow of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and led UMDs chapter of Public Health Beyond Borders, among many other experiences. He contributed to 10 academic publications.

Dushanka V. Kleinman, principal associate dean and professor in SPH and a former NIH administrator, called Shah the most productive and universally outstanding undergraduate student I have encountered.

He earned a 3.98 GPA and dual degrees in biological sciences along with health policy and technology, a major he developed. He also completed 10 masters and doctoral courses in health services research and biostatistics.

As one of 24 recipients nationwide of the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship, he will head to Cambridge University to pursue a doctorate in public health and primary care, then a medical degree at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

See original here:
Maryland Today | The Mettle Behind the Medal - Maryland Today

Human Behavior

Manufacturing Today Profiles Picavi Pick-by-Vision and the Human Digital Twin – Digital Journal

Larry Olson, Senior Sales Manager at Picavi recently discussed digital twin technology in logistics in the recent issue of Manufacturing Today magazine. Picavi pick-by-vision specialists are creating a human digital twin to perfect support for warehouse staff. According to Olson, No longer are manufacturers mutually exclusive from logistics. Finished goods have to go somewhere, whether to the end-user (direct to consumer, D2C) or to a warehouse, distribution center, or third-party logistics (3PL) facility. Read more here.

When using digital twins for testing process changes, human workers are a variable for which the technology cannot account. Until recently it was difficult to incorporate the specific activities and movements in the warehouse. Pick-by-vision changed this by implementing the human digital twin. It maps a warehouse worker going about day-to-day tasks which are reflected in the human digital twin from transport routes and times to movements and scans.

These data are combined with the important operating parameters, especially tiny details which help identify areas for improvement, such as WLAN coverage or warehouse resources. This highly accurate virtual representation of the worker is continuously improved and updated. This is lean manufacturing in logistics.

The human aspect of process analysis has been neglected in many businesses throughout logistics and manufacturing industries. Although concerns about data privacy are often given as a rationale for hesitancy, the true cause runs deeper. Collecting the data necessary for the human digital twin was next to impossible prior to pick-by-vision. With the right technology accessing these data it is now quite easy to model human behavior.

Pick-by-vision unlocks the data that arises in the logistics process with business intelligence solutions. Integrated analytics create a central point for collecting, aggregating, and visualizing all the important information. These data are collected by the sensors integrated in the pick-by-vision smart glasses and are continuously updated. Users can instantly see which process steps harbor potential for time and cost savings.

Manufacturing Today magazine helps executives at the senior boardroom and production levels stay abreast of the most important operational issues in this dynamic market.

About Picavi USA

Picavi USA Pick-by-Vision solution makes it possible to visually manage the picking process for goods in intralogistics in a consistent manner. The use of this innovation maximizes productivity at warehouses and minimizes error rates. When wearing the smart glasses, warehouse workers have both hands free for their primary tasks, including picking and packing goods. Smart glasses are one of the most significant developments in order picking during the COVID-19 situation. Augmenting reality with context-based information makes work much more precise and the glasses have become an indispensable part of warehouse life during the pandemic.

Picavi USA, based in Illinois, is a subsidiary of Picavi, headquartered in Germany. Safety is the companys top priority. Call (312) 585-8312 to learn more about Picavi USA Pick-by-Vision.

Media ContactCompany Name: Picavi U.S., Inc. Contact Person: Johanna BellenbergEmail: Send EmailPhone: (312) 585-8312Address:321 North Clark Street, Suite 1425 City: ChicagoState: Illinois Country: United StatesWebsite: https://picavi.com/en/company/

Continued here:
Manufacturing Today Profiles Picavi Pick-by-Vision and the Human Digital Twin - Digital Journal

Cell Biology

Axion BioSystems Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board – Business Wire

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axion BioSystems, a leading life science tools company focused on developing and commercializing label-free, bioelectronic assays used to study the function of live cells in vitro, announces the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB will be chaired by Jim Ross, Ph.D., founder and Chief Technology Officer, and will work closely with Axion BioSystems management team to help identify and prioritize Axions next generation of bioelectronic products.

We are proud to have such an accomplished and diverse group of scientific experts joining our Scientific Advisory Board. The SABs expertise will be invaluable as we continue expanding our research and development activities, said Tom OBrien, CEO & President of Axion BioSystems.

The members of Axion BioSystems Scientific Advisory Board include:

Christopher Basler, Ph.D., is Professor and Director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at Georgia State University. He obtained his Ph.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1995. He became Professor of Microbiology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City in 2013 and moved to Georgia State University in 2016. Dr Basler was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2014 and was named a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Microbial Pathogenesis in 2016. His major research interests are understanding immune evasion and replication mechanisms of filoviruses, coronaviruses and other emerging RNA viruses.

Evangelos Kiskinis, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Director of the Stem Cell Core Facility, and a New York Stem Cell Foundation Robertson Investigator. He received Ph.D. from Imperial College and carried out postdoctoral training at Harvard University where he pioneered the first models of ALS using personalized stem cell-based approaches. Dr Kiskinis discoveries on excitability deficits in patient neurons using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) led to a clinical trial with a small molecule drug. His laboratory seeks to harness the power of pluripotent stem cells to understand how neuronal function is impaired in ALS/FTD patients and pediatric forms of epilepsy. He has been the recipient of prestigious fellowships from the European Molecular Biology Organization, the New York Stem Cell Foundation and the Charles A. King Trust Medical Foundation.

Alysson Muotri, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego. He is also the Director of the Stem Cell Program and Archealization Center at UCSD. His lab focuses on the re-creation of the human brain using stem cell technologies and brain organoids. Dr. Muotri received his Ph.D. in Genetics in 2001 from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and moved to the Salk Institute as Pew Latin America Fellow in 2002 for postdoctoral training in the fields of neuroscience and stem cell biology. His research focuses on brain evolution and modeling neurological diseases using human induced pluripotent stem cells and brain organoids. He has received several awards, including the prestigious NIH Directors New Innovator Award, NARSAD, Emerald Foundation Young Investigator Award, Surugadai Award, Rock Star of Innovation, NIH EUREKA Award, Telly Awards among several others.

Manu Platt, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University. He received his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech/Emory joint program in Biomedical Engineering, and carried out postdoctoral training at MIT. Currently, his lab focuses on pediatric strokes in sickle cell disease and personalized and predictive medicine strategies for breast cancer. Dr Platts work has been successfully funded by NIH Directors New Innovator Award, International AIDS Society, Georgia Cancer Coalition, and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Platt was inducted as inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2019. Integrated with his research program are his mentoring goals of changing the look of the next generation of scientists and engineers to include all colors, genders, and backgrounds. Aligned with that goal, Dr. Platt co-founded Project ENGAGES (Engaging the Next Generation At Georgia Tech in Engineering and Science), with Dr. Bob Nerem in 2013.

Jiwen Zhang, Ph.D., is Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Passage Bio, Inc. Before joining Passage Bio, she had worked at Tmunity, GE Healthcare and biopharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Sanofi-Aventis. Dr. Zhang has extensive experience in regulatory development across multiple therapeutic areas, including anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, metabolic, hematology, bone and growth. She has also had experience in developing drug/device combination products, and medical devices used at cell therapy point of care setting. She is leading various industry initiatives through the Standards Coordinating Body, the International Standards Organization (ISO), CASSS, and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Regulatory Harmonization Steering Committee (APEC RHSC). Dr. Zhang obtained her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the joint program at the Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

For more information, please visit https://www.axionbiosystems.com/scientific-advisory-board.

About Axion BioSystems, Inc.

Axion, a life science company located in Atlanta, GA, developed the first commercial multi-well MEA system, the Maestro, an easy-to-use, non-invasive instrument that measures functional electrical signals from brain and heart cells. Axion have continued to expand on the promise of these label free, bioelectronic assays. Recently, Axion introduced the Maestro Z and ZHT systems, providing functional measures of cell growth, with specific applications in immuno-oncology and virology. Axions products are used by pharmaceutical and biotech companies, governmental agencies, and universities for disease modeling, drug safety, and drug discovery assays.

See the original post:
Axion BioSystems Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board - Business Wire

Genetics

Of cow cams, computing and genetics – Western Producer

Project led by the Western College of Veterinary Medicine brings a suite of high-tech tools to beef improvement research

Spy cams, biometric data processing with machine learning, advanced genomics the IntegrOmes initiative aims to push the latest tools to the edge in the service of improving beef cattle.

Its a perfect testing ground for these new tools, and they are new, said Dr. Gregg Adams, the reproductive specialist at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, which leads the project.

IntegrOmes (integrated omics for sustainable animal agriculture and environmental stewardship) will be based at the University of Saskatchewans Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE) just southeast of Saskatoon near Clavet.

The omics in the name refers to a suite of tools. Genomics looks at genes, proteomics at the proteins they produce under various conditions, phenomics at physical characteristics, and microbiomics at the complex microbial communities that live in, for example, the rumens of cattle.

IntegrOmes will look at some familiar performance questions such as feed conversion and disease prevalence, but also behavioural traits.

For example, can genes determine which heifers will grow up to be good mothers? To find out, the researchers plan to use digital photos and video to observe cattle over time on pasture and in enclosed spaces, such as corrals and barns. They will look for behaviours, such as how quickly a calf gets up after birth, and how well a cow accepts its calf in its attempts to nurse.

IntegrOmes partner AlphaPhenomics has provided the means to capture and analyze the data. The Alberta-based tech startup has developed imaging, hardware and software tools for non-invasive biometric measurement of livestock.

Adams said this behavioural data will be combined with measures such as udder size and calf weight at weaning. With this information, researchers will turn to another set of tools genomics to see if they can identify genes that are associated with good mothering. If they find such genes, they can be used to select for these traits in breeding programs, something called marker-assisted selection, and it would be applied to both cows and bulls.

If we can identify a Simmental bull in a three-way or two-way cross that will sire calves that will be good mothers, that would be helpful, Adams said.

Marker-assisted selection is new to the beef industry, but has long proven its worth for dairy cattle.

The SNP technology in dairy cattle has been the single most important advance in genetic selection, I think, in the history of the dairy industry, Adams said.

SNPs, or single nucleotide polymorphisms, are variations in genes that can be used as markers to guide breeding efforts. Adams said that for dairy, it has been a tremendous success story in terms of increased milk production. Steady improvements over the last 50 years mean todays cows are producing three times as much milk.

Its also a cautionary tale since chasing this single trait can come at the expense of others, such as fertility, something dairy breeders are now working to correct.

Fertility is Adams specialty, and he sees exciting potential for beef cattle.

We know using conventional genetic selection, its not been considered very heritable, so progress is slow, he said. But if we use really targeted, SNP-based selection traits, we ought to be able to make real advances in fertility, so we can select at both the dam and the sire side.

One potential goal is timing ovulation in cows so whole herds of 100 animals or more could be served by artificial insemination in a single day. This would have immediate benefits for producers.

It would be nice to have a calving season of three weeks rather than three months, Adams said.

To support such efforts, IntegrOmes is also establishing a biobank at the LFCE for bull semen, cows eggs, and fertilized embryos. The facility will also be used in a parallel program to guide development and conservation of pure bison genetics.

The IntegrOmes research team includes a wide range of expertise, drawn from universities in Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as Agriculture Canada and the Toronto Zoo. They are examining production indicators such as weight gain and feed efficiency, but also disease detection and control, and behavioural traits like forage preferences. Other projects will look at environmental aspects such as methane production from rumen micro-organisms under different feed and forage regimes.

As genetic testing technology becomes smaller and portable, Adams envisions tools that can be used directly by producers in their day-to-day management.

You could pluck some hair, feed that into a hand-held device, he said. I think these tools are getting so we could actually take them with us to the herd, or the herd owner could have one of these devices that could rapidly screen certain specific bacteria or viruses.

IntegrOmes is funded through $6.75 million over five years by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, matched with another $10.1 million anticipated from the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments, Saskatchewan Cattlemens Association, Agriculture Canada, the LFCE and its supporters.

Excerpt from:
Of cow cams, computing and genetics - Western Producer

Physiology

The Ventilator Project: A Story of Grit, Determination and Hope – Yahoo India News

Usually, businesses take a long time to take shape, from an idea to a model, from launch to results. However, there are some that do not follow the traditional norm and breakthrough just-in-time to save the world.

Also Read | Economic Survey 2020-21: Unemployment Rates at All India Level Declined to 5.8% in 2018-19 from 6.1% in 2017-18

On March 24, 2020, the nation went under a lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a lack of medical equipment, hospital beds, ventilators, restriction on movement of goods and people, import and export.

However, during this critical time of unrest and hopelessness, home-grown start-up, Noccarc Robotics under the guidance of IIT Kanpur developed a cost-effective ICU ventilator in a span of 3 months. This solved a major issue that Indian hospitals were facing, the lack of ventilators which were mostly imported from other countries.

Also Read | Republic Day 2021: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Prasar Bharati Gear Up for Bharat Parv 2021 Scheduled From January 2631

What is The Ventilator Project?

The Ventilator Project is a story about a life-saving technology that was manufactured in just 90 days to help India fight strongly against the pandemic. Srikant Sastri and Amitabha Bandyopadhyay together wrote the book, The Ventilator Project, describing the journey of building an ICU ventilator in times of a crisis.

Sastri and Bandyopadhyay formed the IIT Kanpur ventilator Consortium as a task force to assist Noccarc Robotics, a start-up, to build affordable yet high-quality ICU ventilators.

NOCCARC V310 - The ICU Ventilator

Noccarc Robotics manufactured Noccarc V310 after witnessing the desperate need of ICU ventilators in hospitals. Interestingly, the Noccarc team had never seen a ventilator before but the prototype of NOCCARC V310 was manufactured within 48 hours using the components available in the factory and some outsourced ones.

Within 48 hours, Tushar downloaded the entire physiology and anatomical understanding of the ventilator. The team also consulted several doctors to understand the technical and medical requirements of the ventilator.

Story continues

Any medical product has 2 parts- one is tech and the other is physiology. Our main challenge was how fast we understand the medical part of it and stitch together the engineering part developed over the last three years, said Tushar Agarwal, Head New Products & Innovation, Noccarc.

Features of NOCCARC V310

-NOCCARC is an advanced, indigenous, safe, reliable, and clinically validated ICU ventilator.

-NOCCARC V310 ventilator uses turbine-based technology that eliminates the need of compressed medical air.

-It can be used in multiple infrastructural setups. Moreover, it can operate for up to 8 hours without external power due to its inbuilt battery.

-It also has 14 required ventilation modes for ICU conditions, a high flow nasal cannula with electronic control of O2 concentration, and a flow rate of up to 100 LPM.

-It meets all the specifications laid out by the Government of India through the HLL tender and has been tested by a committee of doctors under the Directorate General of Health Services, DGHS.

Funding

During the execution of the ventilator project, I witnessed the importance of being an Indian. This was a time when the entire country was working for a common purpose, a proud Amitabha Bandyopadhyay said.

Corporate houses and banks came to their rescue and through IIT Kanpur funded the project ventilator. Ansys, Standard Chartered, ICICI Securities, and Info Edge from their corporate social responsibility fund without any guarantee that it will succeed, confirmed Amitabha Bandyopadhyay.

Challenges Faced

- Understanding the machine from a physicians perspective.

- Permission and approval for movement of people.

- Clarity on the regulatory framework.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat Dream

Speaking on achieving the self-reliant India dream, Srikant shared that due to the uncertainty revolving around the regulatory framework regarding the manufacturing of ventilators, it took the team 90 days instead of 60 to manufacture the ventilator.

We need a competent, strict, and transparent regulator to provide lighthouse direction to manufacturers, he said.There are many things that require intervention. Creating demand for indigenously manufactured products is most needed. Government tendering needs to be fixed, the structure needs to change to attract investments, he added.

Role of IIT Kanpur

IIT Kanpur played a vital role in connecting people and providing technical guidance that could help in the manufacturing of the NOCCARC V310. Moreover, it also provided infrastructure support, expert connections, fundings, permissions from the government, and the initial support that Noccarc needed.

The genesis of the whole project was IIT Kanpur and as we set up the task force, many more IIT Kanpur alumni came in, shared Srikant Sastri who also happens to be an IIT Kanpur alumni and a member of the Board of Incubators.

About Noccare Robotics

Noccarc Robotics is a Pune-based start-up company that originated in the incubator of IIT Kanpur and is into building technology through innovation. Three days into the lockdown and the company changed its line of business in order to survive the pandemic

Read this article:
The Ventilator Project: A Story of Grit, Determination and Hope - Yahoo India News

Physiology

OpSens Awarded Innovative Technology Contract by Vizient for OptoWire III – BioSpace

Contract awarded for products that bring improvement to health care industry

QUEBEC CITY, April 7, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - OpSens Inc. ("OpSens" or the "Company") (TSX: OPS) (OTCQX: OPSSF), a medical device cardiology-focused company, announced today it has been awarded an Innovative Technology contract from Vizient, Inc., the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the U.S. The contract was awarded based on the recommendation of OptoWire III, a guidewire to diagnose and treat coronary disease, by hospital experts who serve on one of Vizient's member-led councils.

Innovative Technology contracts are recommended after review and interaction with products submitted through Vizient's Innovative Technology Program. Vizient member-led councils identify technologies that have the potential to enhance clinical care, patient safety, health care worker safety or improve business operations of health care organizations.

The OpSens OptoWire III is a modern pressure guidewire designed for contemporary clinical practice to diagnose, treat, and confirm results in coronary arteries. The OptoWire III allows navigation through complex anatomies, delivery of a stent without guidewire exchange, choices among different hyperemic and resting indices to assess coronary physiology, and confirmation of treatment with easy and reliable post-PCI measurements. The accuracy of the device, or absence of drift, and the possibility to use a single wire for the full procedure, can cut time and costs from the procedure and provides confidence in the diagnosis with consistent and repeatable measurements.

Louis Laflamme, President and Chief Executive Officer of OpSens, commented, "We are delighted to have been awarded a contract with Vizient. We are honored to be rewarded for the innovation we are bringing with the OptoWire III. Working with hospital systems has been a key initiative within OpSens and we are excited to be in the position to serve the numerous Vizient members through this contract."

"Hospitals and providers are looking for innovations that offer unique benefit over other products available on the market today. Our member council determined this technology met the criteria to be awarded with the Innovative Technology contract. Congratulations to OpSens on receiving this status," said Debbie Archer, director of procurement and Vizient Innovative Technology Program leader.

Coronary artery disease is the blockage or narrowing (stenosis) of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, often due to the buildup of fatty plaque inside the arteries, which may cause heart attacks. Several studies, such as the FAME Study, showed that when Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) is used prior to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), patients' outcomes are improved with major adverse cardiac events significantly reduced.

The OptoWire III offers physicians several competitive advantages, including superior steerability, reliability in coronary physiologic assessments, and the ability to use a single guidewire for the entire procedure, saving physicians and staff costs and time. Since OptoWire's approval in 2015, more than 100,000 patients have been evaluated or treated with this system.

About OpSens Inc. (www.OpSens.com or http://www.OpSensmedical.com)

OpSens focuses mainly on coronary physiology products in interventional cardiology. OpSens offers an advanced optical-based pressure guidewire that aims at improving the clinical outcome of patients with coronary artery disease. Its flagship product, the OptoWire, is a second-generation fiber optic pressure guidewire designed to provide the lowest drift in the industry and excellent lesions access. The OptoWire has been used in the diagnosis and treatment of over 100,000 patients in more than 30 countries. It is approved for sale in the United States, European Union, Japan, and Canada.

OpSens is also involved in industrial activities in developing, manufacturing, and installing innovative fiber optic sensing solutions for critical applications.

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, and achievements of OpSens to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the said forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE OPSENS Inc.

Company Codes: OTC-QX:OPSSF, Toronto:OPS, OTC-PINK:OPSSF

Follow this link:
OpSens Awarded Innovative Technology Contract by Vizient for OptoWire III - BioSpace

Neuroscience

Growing Evidence That Mentally Ill Youths Become Less Healthy Adults – Duke Today

DURHAM, N.C. -- A new pair of studies from a Duke research teams long-term work in New Zealand make the case that mental health struggles in early life can lead to poorer physical health and advanced aging in adulthood.

But because mental health problems peak early in life and can be identified, the researchers say that more investment in prompt mental health care could be used to prevent later diseases and lower societal healthcare costs.

The same people who experience psychiatric conditions when they are young go on to experience excess age-related physical diseases and neurodegenerative diseases when they are older adults, explained Terrie Moffitt, the Nannerl O. Keohane professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke, who is the senior author on both studies.

The findings in a paper appearing Feb. 17 in JAMA Psychiatry come from the long-term Dunedin Study, which has tested and monitored the health and wellbeing of a thousand New Zealanders born in 1972 and 73 from their birth to past age 45.

In middle age, the study participants who had a history of youthful psychopathology were aging at a faster pace, had declines in sensory, motor and cognitive functions, and were rated as looking older than their peers. This pattern held even after the data were controlled for health factors such as overweight, smoking, medications and prior physical disease. Their young mental health issues included mainly anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, but also schizophrenia.

You can identify the people at risk for physical illnesses much earlier in life, said Jasmin Wertz, a postdoctoral researcher at Duke who led the study. If you can improve their mental health in childhood and adolescence, its possible that you might intervene to improve their later physical health and aging.

A related study by the same team that appeared in JAMA Network Open in January used a different approach and looked at 30 years of hospital records for 2.3 million New Zealanders aged 10 to 60 from 1988 to 2018. It also found a strong connection between early-life mental health diagnoses and later-life medical and neurological illnesses.

That analysis, led by former Duke postdoctoral researcher Leah Richmond-Rakerd, showed that young individuals with mental disorders were more likely to develop subsequent physical diseases and to die earlier than people without mental disorders. People with mental illnesses experienced more hospitalizations for physical conditions, spent more time in hospitals and accumulated more healthcare costs over the subsequent 30 years.

"Our healthcare system often divides treatment between the brain and the body, but integrating the two could benefit population health, said Richmond-Rakerd, who is now an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.

Investing more resources in treating young peoples mental-health problems is a window of opportunity to prevent future physical diseases in older adults, Moffitt said. Young people with mental health problems go on to become very costly medical patients in later life.

In a 2019 commentary for JAMA Psychiatry, Moffitt and her research partner Avshalom Caspi, the Edward M. Arnett professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke, made the argument that mental health providers have an opportunity to forestall later health problems and other social costs by intervening in the lives of younger people. Their body of work is showing that mental disorders can be reliably predicted from childhood risk factors such as poverty, maltreatment, low IQ, poor self-control and family mental health issues. And because populations in the developed world are becoming more dominated by older people, the time to make those investments in prevention is now, they said.

These studies were supported by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Development, and the UK Medical Research Council. Additional support came from the Jacobs Foundation, the Lundbeck Foundation and the New Zealand Health Research Council (R01-AG032282, R01-AG049789, MR/P005918, P30 AG028716, P30 AG034424, 15-265, R288-2018-380, P2C HD065563). The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study is supported by the New Zealand Health Research Council and New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.

CITATIONS: Association of History of Psychopathology With Accelerated Aging at Midlife, Jasmin Wertz, Avshalom Caspi, Antony Ambler, Jonathan Broadbent, Robert J. Hancox, HonaLee Harrington, Renate M. Houts, Joan H. Leung, Richie Poulton, Suzanne C. Purdy, Sandhya Ramrakha, Line Jee Hartmann Rasmussen, Leah S. Richmond-Rakerd, Peter R. Thorne, Graham A. Wilson, Terrie E. Moffitt. JAMA-Psychiatry, Feb. 17, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.4626

"Longitudinal Associations of Mental Disorders With Physical Diseases and Mortality Among 2.3 Million New Zealand Citizens," Leah S. Richmond-Rakerd, Stephanie DSouza, Barry J. Milne, Avshalom Caspi, Terrie E. Moffitt. JAMA Network Open, Jan. 13, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.33448

Psychiatrys Opportunity to Prevent the Rising Burden of Age-related Disease, Terrie Moffitt, Avshalom Caspi. JAMA-Psychiatry, March 27, 2019. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0037

Excerpt from:
Growing Evidence That Mentally Ill Youths Become Less Healthy Adults - Duke Today

Genetics

Technology and Health Leaders Join Myriad Genetics, Advance in Senior Roles to Drive Key Enterprise Functions, Transformation and Growth Initiatives -…

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), a leader in genetic testing and precision medicine, today announced several new technology and healthcare leaders who recently joined the company as well as key promotions to drive critical business functions, transformation and growth initiatives.

With the addition of new leaders from other industry leading enterprises, we continue to augment our strong bench of talent across a range of functions that will accelerate the execution of our strategy with disciplined process management and proven expertise, said Paul J. Diaz, president and CEO of Myriad Genetics. We are pleased to welcome new teammates who share the passion for our mission to improve health and wellbeing for all as we continue to recruit and promote top talent from outside and inside our company.

The following Myriad Genetics leaders are assuming broader roles:

Kevin R. Haas is promoted to Chief Technology Officer, reporting directly to Diaz, responsible for engineering, data and analytics, genetic laboratory software, and improving the customer experience through tech-enabled, customer-centric commercial capabilities. Since joining Myriad in 2013, Haas has served in senior level leadership roles across research and development, bioinformatics, engineering and technology.

Faith Zaslavsky is promoted to president of Myriad Oncology which offers genetic testing for patients who have cancer and companion diagnostic tests that work with corresponding drugs. Since 2019, Zaslavsky has served as general manager of this business unit, overseeing products including Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice CDx companion diagnostic, and EndoPredict breast cancer tests. Over her 21-year career at Myriad, Zaslavsky has held progressively responsible sales, strategic account management and leadership roles.

New leaders recently joining Myriad include:

Maggie Ancona, senior vice president, Enterprise Transformation and Program Management Office. She reports directly to Diaz, managing a broad range of enterprise-wide transformation initiatives and workstreams with a focus on operational excellence. Ancona previously led Global Transformation and Program Management at Hewlett Packard (HP) and Dell Technologies where she oversaw business transformation strategy, executed large-scale programs and cost management efforts, while retooling digital infrastructure for the future.

David Hammer, senior vice president, Revenue Cycle Management, has overall accountability for the process, including functions that contribute to the capture, management, and collection of diagnostic-service revenue and related areas designed to improve the customer experience. He previously held senior revenue cycle management roles at RGP Healthcare, MedAssets, and Accenture. Hammer also serves on the Board of Advisors of the University of Florida's College of Public Health and Health Professions.

Chris Williamson, senior vice president, Information Systems and Security. Williamson previously led all facets of information technology, infrastructure, business intelligence and operations for Data2Logistics, a leading data-driven freight, audit and payment services company. A retired Naval Officer, Williamson served in the White House (executive office of the President) for the Technology Assessment Center and Information Technology Working Group.

Edward Gala, senior vice president, Enterprise Marketing Communications, responsible for strategic public relations, employee and executive communications, and overall brand marketing. Gala previously held global marketing and communications leadership positions at Xerox and Philips where he played a key role in brand transformation and positioning, business-to-business and consumer marketing across corporate, business, market and product groups.

Karen Renner, vice president, Digital Marketing, responsible for digital infrastructure, patient lead nurturing, conversion and support for products including Myriads myRisk Hereditary Cancer test and related digital initiatives across Womens Health and Oncology. Karen previously served as the global digital and eBusiness leader at Nestle Purina and brings prior digital agency experience with leading consumer product accounts at VMLY&R.

Jackie Zou, vice president, Business Development, responsible for supporting new growth opportunities, including the development and execution of transactions such as divestitures, potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and new partnerships. Zou held senior roles in strategy and finance, at Western Digital Corporation (WD), a global data technology, storage and digital content company, where she planned and executed merger, acquisition and divestiture transactions, joint venture initiatives, strategic partnerships and business development. Zou previously worked at Symantec, ZS Associates and Goldman Sachs.

Justin Hunter, vice president, Corporate Legal Affairs, responsible for providing legal counsel and support for corporate governance, SEC reporting, M&A, and related matters. Hunter previously served as senior legal counsel for Parsley Energy where he was responsible for SEC reporting and compliance, acquisitions and divestitures, and corporate governance. Previously he worked at Vinson & Elkins LLP and as a law clerk to Vice Chancellor Noble on the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Top Place to WorkMyriad Genetics recently was named among the Top Places to Work in Energages Top Workplaces USA list for 2021. The company ranked number one in the Health Industry category and earned additional awards in Cultural Excellence and Innovation & Leadership. Myriad employs more than 2,800 people across the United States and in several countries around the globe. To learn more about career opportunities at Myriad, visit our website.

About Myriad GeneticsMyriad Genetics Inc., is a leading genetic testing and precision medicine company dedicated to transforming patient lives worldwide. Myriad discovers and commercializes genetic tests that determine the risk of developing disease, accurately diagnose disease, assess the risk of disease progression, and guide treatment decisions across medical specialties where critical genetic insights can significantly improve patient care and lower healthcare costs.

Myriad, the Myriad logo, BART, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, myPath, myRisk, Myriad myRisk, myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice, myPlan, BRACAnalysis CDx, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, myChoice CDx, Vectra, Prequel, Foresight, GeneSight, riskScore and Prolaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-F, MYGN-G.

Safe Harbor StatementThis press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to driving key business functions, transformation and growth initiatives and accelerating the execution of Myriads strategy with disciplined process management and proven expertise; and the Companys strategic directives under the caption "About Myriad Genetics." These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: uncertainties associated with COVID-19, including its possible effects on our operations and the demand for our products and services; our ability to efficiently and flexibly manage our business amid uncertainties related to COVID-19; the risk that sales and profit margins of our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services may decline; risks related to our ability to transition from our existing product portfolio to our new tests, including unexpected costs and delays; risks related to decisions or changes in governmental or private insurers reimbursement levels for our tests or our ability to obtain reimbursement for our new tests at comparable levels to our existing tests; risks related to increased competition and the development of new competing tests and services; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services, including our ability to successfully generate revenue outside the United States; the risk that licenses to the technology underlying our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and any future tests and services are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with operating our laboratory testing facilities and our healthcare clinic; risks related to public concern over genetic testing in general or our tests in particular; risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of the healthcare system or healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations or licenses and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms, if at all; risks related to our ability to successfully integrate and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we license or acquire; risks related to our projections about our business, results of operations and financial condition; risks related to the potential market opportunity for our products and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect or that third parties will infringe the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement claims or challenges to the validity of our patents or other intellectual property; risks related to changes in intellectual property laws covering our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and patents or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries, such as the Supreme Court decisions in Mayo Collab. Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012), Assn for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., 569 U.S. 576 (2013), and Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Intl, 573 U.S. 208 (2014); risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; the risk that we may be unable to comply with financial operating covenants under our credit or lending agreements; the risk that we will be unable to pay, when due, amounts due under our credit or lending agreements; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

Read more here:
Technology and Health Leaders Join Myriad Genetics, Advance in Senior Roles to Drive Key Enterprise Functions, Transformation and Growth Initiatives -...

Human Behavior

This is why you have to watch out for the self-propelled pedestrian – Innovation Origins

The self-driving car is on its way and will be for some time to come. It works just fine on the highway or on main roads. As long as there are no cyclists busy sending apps, pizza delivery riders zipping by on their scooters or any inattentive pedestrians nearby, a self-driving car without a steering wheel can function well enough. If there are any out on the roads, they will only be able to drive at very low speeds in order to have enough brake in time for unexpected incidents. Also, a self-driving car will have a tough time crossing busy roads if there are pedestrians constantly crossing over. In short, traffic congestion will likely increase.

In order to explore what technological solutions can help with this, I came up with the term, the self-propelled pedestrian, a pleonasm somewhat similar to the self-driving car.

Back on March 7, 2015, I wrote the blog below, which, except for the future interconnectivity of cars, still has relevance today.

With some simple, existing technologies, the car will be able to drive itself, at least on the highway. If a car is equipped with lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control and automatic brake assist systems, the driver can calmly read a newspaper or take a nap on the highway. These types of self-driving cars are usually featured in the news, with the year 2017 or 2020 tacked on.

It is much more difficult to make a self-driving car for in city traffic, because cyclists, pedestrians and mobility scooters are very unpredictable and the robot car has absolutely no control over a pedestrians behavior. Besides, it is impossible for computer, radar, lidar, etc. systems to predict which intentions another road user may have. If a motorist is approaching on the left or right, it is the look in their eyes that is often the best predictor of their behavior. If their gaze is tense, then the road user intends to cross. If they are not staring so intensely or even seem a bit distracted, then they are willing to wait another round. Or they are under the influence of mind-altering substances. Systems that are installed on an automated car do not yet have this predictive capability. Albeit there are developments in this area as well.

Systems that can gauge car driver fatigue through eye movements have been around for quite a while. In such cases, the driver could be advised to go and grab a cup of coffee. Of course, the technology is already advanced enough that other drivers in the vicinity can be notified that a driver who is not well-rested is approaching from the left. Yet the right to privacy still takes precedence. A step further can measure breathing, muscle tension, heart rate, perspiration and skin temperature. These readings change under the influence of stress, and stress levels tend to increase when crossing complicated intersections.

Yet another step forward are predictions about human behavior that can be made by using a special MRI technique inside the brain. Neurologists at the University of Western Ontario (Canada) have been examining activity in several areas of the brain this way. By combining and interpreting that information, they can predict seconds in advance what movements a test subject will make next. Scientists at the University of Michigan have adapted this technology to make it mobile by inserting an implant into the skull that transmits signals to a small computer outside the body. This could also enable people with e.g. spinal cord injuries to still move their arms or legs. Technically speaking, this information could also be exchanged between cars and people so that trips around town would be slightly more comfortable.

Also read: A real-time signal from bicycles can reduce the number of serious accidents with cars

About this column

In a weekly column, written alternately byWendy van Ierschot,Bert Overlack,Eveline van Zeeland,Eugene Franken, Jan Wouters,Helen Kardan, Katleen Gabriels, Mary Fiersand Hans Helsloot, Innovation Origins tries to figure out what the future will look like. These columnists, occasionally joined by guest bloggers, are all working in their own way on solutions to the problems of our time. So that tomorrow is good. Here are all theprevious articles.

View original post here:
This is why you have to watch out for the self-propelled pedestrian - Innovation Origins