草莓污视频导航

June 14, 2021

草莓污视频导航 research to give voice to minimally verbal autistic population

Project 1 of 8 from 草莓污视频导航 to receive federal New Frontiers in Research Fund grant for high-risk, high-reward research
ChildWorksWithTablet
A child works with a tablet. Colourbox photo

A researcher at the 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 Schulich School of Engineering is hoping to use technology to give a voice for autistic people who face the daily challenges of communication.

Dr. Diwakar Krishnamurthy, PhD,听is spearheading one of听听Exploration grant in May 2021.Read a list of all projects awarded funding at the bottom of this article.

Krishnamurthy's work is focused on one of the world鈥檚 most-common developmental disabilities 鈥斕齛utism.

According to the 2018 National Autism Spectrum Disorder Surveillance System Report, it affects one in 66 children in Canada. This includes one in 42 boys and one in 189 girls.

The $250,000 grant awarded to Krishnamurthy will go toward听his exploration of next-generation communication technology for minimally verbal autistic individuals.

鈥淎bout 30 per cent of all autistic people fall under that category,鈥 he says. 鈥淭raditionally, this population has been heavily underestimated with 鈥榥ot speaking鈥 being falsely equated to 鈥榥ot thinking.鈥欌

Krishnamurthy says that mindset has led to people being denied access to meaningful education and poor socio-economic outcomes.

I passionately believe that technology can help these individuals communicate their inner thoughts and feelings better, thereby vastly improving their quality of life.

草莓污视频导航 researchers from the Cumming School of Medicine, and Faculties of Science and Veterinary Medicine were also awarded funding in the competition.

鈥淕roundbreaking research requires scholars to take risks, and consider novel approaches to complex challenges,鈥 says Dr. William Ghali, vice-president (research). 鈥淲e are exceptionally proud of these interdisciplinary groups of scholars who are exploring paths less taken in pursuit of transformative research.鈥

Talking the talk

Studies estimate that a lack of effective autism interventions could cost Canada $30 billion annually.

Right now, Krishnamurthy says training on the use of speech- or picture-based communications systems, like tablets, hasn鈥檛 been effective for minimally verbal individuals.

鈥淔or example, they don鈥檛 address the sensory, motor and attentional needs of these individuals,鈥 he says. 鈥淎ugmented and mixed reality (AR/MR) technology, in combination with wearable sensors, offers a lot of promise for designing non-verbal communication systems tailored to the needs of this population.鈥

He鈥檚 also looking at holographic keyboards and wrist-worn sensors to help minimally verbal autistic people communicate, as they can be adapted to the unique needs of these users.

Walking the walk

Not only will Krishnamurthy be looking to spend the next two years researching and testing the technology, he also wants to work with as many people as possible.

His collaborators include Dr. Mea Wang, PhD (草莓污视频导航, Computer Science) and Dr. Vikram Jaswal, PhD (University of Virginia, Psychology).

鈥淥ur team is truly cross-disciplinary, consisting of software engineers, autism scientists, therapists focusing on sensory-motor issues, and autistic people and their caregivers,鈥 he says. 鈥淥ur work will inform the best strategies for developing practical communication software that can improve inclusion in educational and social settings.鈥

Krishnamurthy also believes this will provide a great experience for Schulich students, who will be able to work with the technology and with those whose lives they will be affecting.

鈥淭his will ensure that the lived experience of these individuals is reflected in software/technology designed by our team to help them,鈥 he says. 鈥淭his is a critical aspect that has been historically ignored, to the detriment of this population.鈥

Krishnamurthy adds he is grateful for the grant, and the ability to work on something with a real-world impact.

鈥淭his is high-risk, high-reward research that demands integration of diverse disciplines,鈥 he sums up. 鈥淚 am extremely excited that this funding has made this collaboration a reality.鈥

New Frontiers in Research Fund 2020 Exploration grant recipients

草莓污视频导航 researchers awarded New Frontiers in Research Fund 2020 Exploration grants are:

  • Dr. John Aycock, PhD (Faculty of Science): FrAG: A Framework for Large-Scale Archaeological and Technical Analysis of Videogames
  • Dr. Steven Boyd, PhD (Cumming School of Medicine): Altering Bone Microarchitecture and Mechanics by Off-Label Pharmaceutical Intervention Following an Acute Knee Injury
  • Dr. Sabine Gilch, PhD (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine): Establishing a Cervid Stem Cell-Derived Infection Model for Chronic Wasting Disease Prion
  • Dr. Diwakar Krishnamurthy, PhD (Schulich School of Engineering): Exploring Next Generation Communication Technology for Minimally Verbal Autistic Individuals
  • Dr. Daniel Obalak, PhD (Faculty of Science): Uncovering the Origin and Role of Ultra-Weak Bio-Photons using Quantum Measurement Technology
  • Dr. Prism Schnieder, MD, PhD (Cumming School of Medicine): Breaking the Cycle of Intimate Partner Violence: Education, Identification, and Intervention
  • Dr. Leslie Skeith, MD (Cumming School of Medicine): Catalyzing Research Innovation: Developing a Web-Based Application with Social Media Capabilities to Coordinate Thrombosis Research Efforts
  • Dr. Mark Ungrin, PhD (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine): Somatic Engineering - A New Approach to Medical Intervention

The 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 multidisciplinary听听research strategy drives innovations that are saving lives and听revolutionizing health care for Canadians.听 With collaborative teams focused on human mobility, health monitoring, advanced biomedical imaging, precision biodiagnostics, regenerative medicine and novel medical technologies, our researchers are transforming quality of life and continuously improving the health system.

This prestigious group represents the breadth and depth of the research and expertise at the 草莓污视频导航, representing a number of the institutes within the Cumming School of Medicine, including the Alberta Children鈥檚 Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), the Libin Cardiovascular Institute, the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, and the O鈥橞rien Institute for Public Health.