where creativity and technology merge ntu...
TRANSCRIPT
LIFE AT COELIFE AT COE
Professional Internship - Gateway to Jumpstart your Career
Inspiring the Young Budding Engineers
Diagnosing Early Stages of Brain Disorders by Listening to the Sound of Light
Students Doing Us Proud
Hi Profs!
Welcome, Freshies!
New Flexible Concrete Doesn©t Crack under Pressure
Continue on Pages 2 & 3
WELCOME, FRESHIES!A new academic year signifies the start of an exciting learning journey for our newly enrolled Year Ones!
W H E R E C R E A T I V I T Y A N D T E C H N O L O G Y M E R G E
NTU College of Engineering Issue 06, 2016
online-version
http://bit.ly/1SlJZML
College of EngineeringSchool of Civil and Environmental EngineeringSchool of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
SCSE: School of Computer Science and Engineering
School of Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringSchool of Materials Science and EngineeringSchool of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
CoE: CEE:
EEE:
MAE:
MSE: SCBE:
PEOPLE AND EVENTS
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
MSE
MATSCIV (MATerial SCIence), pronounced
as ‘Massive’, consisted of 4 orientation
groups revolving around the theme of
constellations, uniting to achieve greater
heights and conquering challenges as one.
A series of activity line-ups included Field
Games and Pool Games, Beach Games
at Sentosa and an Amazing Race across
8 stations from west to central Singapore.
At the Pool Games, participants got wet
and wild at NTU’s Sports and Recreation
Centre, competing in various water games
like the Water Captain’s Ball.
SCBE
SCBE’s freshies were divided into 6
orientation groups (OGs) in this year’s
Freshmen Orientation Programme, NUEVE
XII. Participants went through a series of
exciting activities, forging new friendships.
This was an invaluable opportunity for
them to exercise leadership, teamwork
and facilitation - important skills that not
only will benefit their upcoming university
education, but life in general.
At the Social Night, freshies got to interact
with their course mates from other OGs
and had a night of fun games with
SCSE
Besides the regular ice-breaking games
and activities, SCSE freshmen had fun
pitting against other OGs and tumbling
all over the field in the Bubble Soccer
match. There was also an intense Nerf War
that followed, displaying the participants’
teamwork and agility.
The orientation ended with a sunny day out
at the Sentosa, which they had a splashing
great time.
CoE welcomes the freshmen once again and we hope that they will enjoy university life and make the most of their years at NTU.
MAE
MAE’s Harry Potter themed Freshmen
Welcome Day (FWD) – Initium, was an
a-MAE-zing event packed with exciting
activities all around the NTU campus
and at Sentosa.
The Freshmen Initiation Ceremony was
organised for the first time, to instil
students with the pride and vision as a
MAE student. All MAE freshmen were
given a MAE cap on the first day of the
FWD to put on before the recitation of
32
Welcome, Freshies!A new academic year signifies the start of an exciting learning journey for our newly enrolled Year Ones! What is a better way to welcome them than an exciting orientation programme? Besides informative sessions provided by staff and faculty members, there were also fun activities that made the Freshmen Orientation 2016 memorable.
CEE
CEE’s Freshmen Welcome Orientation 2016
was themed CEEvil War. Participants were
grouped into 3 clans representing the 3
programmes offered in CEE.
Held on campus and at Sentosa, everyone
had a great time gaining new knowledge
and getting to know their fellow course
mates. They were exposed to an array
of well-planned activities throughout the
EEE
Held over 5 days, the highlight of the EEE-
IEM Freshmen Orientation Programme
was none other than the 3-day Freshmen
Makers’ Programme (FMP). EEE freshmen
learnt to code, design and co-build their
teams’ very own autonomous Arduino-
based robots!
The FMP provided a platform for the
freshmen to learn technical skills from
one another and build on everyone’s
strengths. Through the programme, they
the Pledge led by MAE Club President
Mr Low Choon Chye, together with MAE
Chair, Professor Louis Phee.
The following 2 days of the orientation
programme were filled with fun, laughter
and enthusiastic cheers. From Ice
Breakers, Bonding Games, Amazing Race,
Mass Games, Wet Games, Night Games,
Beach Games to Cheer Fight, everyone
gave their all to vie for the Top Orientation
Group (OG) spot.
4 days, forging friendships that would
last down the memory lane. When asked
what they thought of the orientation, one
freshie rejoiced, “This orientation was a
fun experience and the activities were well-
executed seamlessly. The Beach Day was
especially memorable to me because of
the campfire and the fireworks we saw
that night. I feel extremely bonded with my
group and student leaders!”
also picked up skills, such as critical
analysis, innovative thinking, and most
importantly, stimulated the interest in
engineering among the freshies.
Apart from the FMP, there was the
escape challenge where participants
also went through a brain-racking time,
gathering clues and solving puzzles in a
race against the clock. It sure built better
teamwork and communication within
the teams!
performances by seniors, culminating with
a batch dance and a cheer showdown.
That was the calm before the storm, as the
freshmen faced off against their seniors
in a water bomb war at the Grand Finale.
The camp was a great success as
freshmen were able to interact and involve
in a meaningful learning experience.
CONVERGENCE LIFE AT COELIFE AT COE
Let’s hear from someof the students, their internship experiences.
An integral part of the undergraduate engineering curriculum at NTU CoE, Professional Internship provides students the opportunities for professional experience in a private or public organisation locally or overseas before they even enter the workforce, so that they can become productive and effective contributors to their respective organisations after graduation.
Yi Ying (on the right) with her fellow co-workers
Professional Internship - Gateway to Jumpstart your Career
STEVEN ADITYA
MAE, Year 3Interned at Johnson & Johnson
(J&J), Singapore
Describe your job scope during your
internship.
I interned with the Supply Chain department,
where my main project was to manage,
review and optimise US$190M inventory
in the Asia Pacific region. This required
me to liaise and work with many people
in Asia Pacific countries and also from the
Global team.
What was the overall experience like?
I met and liaised with many people with
different functions and learnt how to
communicate effectively with different
people and understand the business better.
More importantly, I got to know my interest
and realised that I enjoy solving challenging
cases. There was also fun during the
internship, where I got to know people
from all over the world, understand their
different cultures and learn to accept the
differences. Apart from work, J&J provides
Steven (on the left) with fellow colleagues on the company-organised voluntary services
many other activities for employees such
as movie sessions, community services to
help the elderly, etc.
Any accomplishment/achievement during
the internship that you would like to share?
I developed inventory management
procedures and drove the implementation
of inventory reduction plans to optimise
the inventory. Our team managed to do
so and successfully reduced the inventory
value by 20%.
THROUGH THE INTERNSHIPS, STUDENTS:
Hone their communication and interpersonal skills
Learn values such as good work ethics and professionalism
Acquire hands-on experiences in applying their engineering knowledge
LIM YI YING
EEE, Year 4Interned at Keppel FELS Pte Ltd, Singapore
Describe your job scope during your
internship.
I i n te rned wi th the E lect r ica l &
Instrumentation (E&I) department, which
is involved in the production as well as
commissioning of electrical system on-
board projects. On top of that, I worked on
improving the department’s safety slides
for the workers. It was good exposure as
I was able to apply my knowledge of Risk
Assessments to my job.
Any interesting or memorable experiences
to share?
It was an exciting experience to be able to
walk around the shipyard and learn how
different systems add up to the final delivery
of the jack-up. I learnt something new every
IYLIA HAZIQ BIN OTHMAN
MSE, Year 4Interned at the Singapore
Chemical Plant, ExxonMobil
What did you do during your internship?
I interned as an Inspection Engineer and
was tasked to provide support in the review
of Inspection Plans for the Turnaround
Job Packs. I also provided support in the
planning of various Non-Destructive Testing
(NDT) Qualification Tests between several
3rd Party Operators, field inspections and
the different phases that go into inspection
and troubleshooting of equipment with
reliability or safety issues.
day - about the marine and offshore industry
as well as the workings of various kinds of
jack-ups. An interesting experience was
scaling the boom crane, which was 40m
above the deck floor. The view from the
top was amazing as I was able to look out
to the sea as well to other ongoing projects.
Getting to see how the electrical system
on-board powers the numerous equipment
will never fail to amaze me and makes
me appreciate the knowledge that I have
acquired in EEE.
Another highlight was speaking to a crowd
of 200 workers during one of the morning
briefings on my last day, as part of a
challenge by the department’s assistant
manager to move out of my comfort zone.
What are some key takeaways from your
internship?
The internship has definitely taught me to
be disciplined, as I have to be awake at
5am every morning, and to also respect
and follow the rules in the shipyard. Staying
humble and curious, and maintaining a
positive outlook will also help you to form
good relationships with co-workers.
CONVERGENCE 54 LIFE AT COELIFE AT COE
Any interesting or memorable experiences
to share?
The internship was not merely work. We
got to experience the European culture in
a unique fashion. The university staff was
very hospitable and welcoming. We began
our journey in Switzerland with a traditional
cheese fondue gathering. There was also
a weekly German class for all interns from
non-German speaking countries that
helped us better identify with the culture.
We had several trips to Swiss chocolate
factory, beer factory as well as skiing and
sledging trips. One of my most memorable
moments was participating in the annual
carnival at Rapperswil that happens
intheform of a fancy dress parade. During
the weekends, we also travelled to other
places in Switzerland and Europe such as
France, Austria, Germany, Italy etc.
What was the overall experience like?
Not only did I have a great learning
experience, it was also an enriching one.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
further develop my technical skills and
widen my horizons.
The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a series of engineering talks to provide the public with a better understanding on what being an engineer entails. With an open and honest sharing platform, the sessions aim to encourage participants to rethink and reshape the way in which engineering is perceived and to engage young engineers to remain in the profession for a long time. CoE is honoured to host two sessions together with IES for our engineering students on 17 August 2016.
SESSION 1: CONVERSATIONS WITH C-LEVEL EXECUTIVES -
CAREER PROGRESSION
Young engineers hold the key to Singapore’s
future. But what personal attributes are
required from them to become successful
leaders in their profession? And what should
they do to achieve that?
Mr. Choo Chiau Beng, Chairman of M1
Limited, Ms. Leong Wai Leng, Chief
Financial Officer of Temasek Holdings, and
Mr. Fong Saik Hay, Chief Technology Officer
of ST Engineering, shared their valuable
experiences with the attendees.
Talking about his road to success, Mr. Choo
encouraged the young to learn with an open
mind. He stressed that many doors can
be opened, but one must have a positive
attitude and do his/her best in every
assignment undertaken.
On career moves and changes, Ms.
Leong shared with the students three
considerations before making the next
big move:
SESSION 2:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Are you an aspir ing entrepreneur?
Do you know what it takes to be a
successful entrepreneur and what must
an entrepreneur know in order to sustain
in this competitive world?
Mr. Peng T. Ong, Managing Partner at
Monk’s Hill Ventures (a tech venture fund
investing in post-seed stage start-ups in
Southeast Asia), had a conversation-style
talk with the students to share his experience
as an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist.
Mr. Ong gave pointers on factors and
criteria that determine his decision in
investing in start-ups. He also advised
that when approaching investors, an
entrepreneur must do his ‘homework’ and
be the expert in the subject matter.
Mr. Ong also posed several questions to
test the knowledge of the students, with the
objective of bringing across the message
that in order to be an entrepreneur, one
should also be in touch with the current
affairs, the latest industry and market
trends, as well as the global economy.
The College would like to thank IES
for organising these talks and all the
speakers for their valuable time to share
their experiences and knowledge with
our students.
Mr. Choo Chiau Beng (left) and other speakers answering questions from the students
Ms. Leong Wai Leng giving advice to the students
Mr. Fong Saik Hay shared his experience as an engineer
1. Do I share the mission and vision of the
organisation?
2. Am I able to contribute to the mission
and vision?
3. Am I comfortable working with the key
people in the organisation?
The third speaker, Mr. Fong shared his life
as an engineer, the challenges he faced
from time to time and the satisfaction of
successful projects. He challenged the
audience to question status quo and push
for new solutions that touch lives. He
emphasised the importance of networking
and making fr iends, and constant
communication with people at all levels. The
key takeaway from all the three speakers
was that one should always possess three
main values: leadership, integrity and the
ability to maintain one’s moral compass.
The session ended off with a lively Q&A
session with many burning queries from
the students.
Inspiring the Young Budding Engineers
sessions together with IES for our engineering students on 17 August 2016.
SESSION 2:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
LIFE AT COE
BHAVYA CHANDRA
SCSE, Year 4Interned at The University ofApplied Sciences Rapperswil, Switzerland
What did you do during your internship?
I worked on a b ig da ta p ro jec t
based on analysis of Geo-data from
OpenStreetMaps, under the guidance of
Professor Stefan Keller and his team. We
also explored mini tasks such as attending
the Swiss Python Summit, visiting the
Google Zurich office and talking with the
Google Maps team, working on smaller
one-day projects etc.
Bhavya (second from left) with her friends in Amsterdam
What was the overall experience like?
I t gave me insights into the work
environment in an oil and gas company,
and how interconnected it is. Essentially,
as an inspection engineer, one has to
be multifunctional and able to work with
other engineers because the reliability
and safety of the plant are dependent on
aholisticapproach.
Any accomplishment/achievement
during the internship that you would
like to share?
I came up with a simple software tool
that helped to automate the counting
of tubes in a heat exchanger. This
reduced the time taken from 4 hours to
just under 8 minutes for a set of 50 heat
exchangers.
Any tips and pointers for juniors to
make the best out of their internship?
Stay open-minded, look for areas that can
be improved on and try to involve yourself
in some of the company activities.
CONVERGENCE 76 LIFE AT COE
LIFE AT COE
Hi Profs!The Convergence team invites 3 new professors who have recently joined/will be joining NTU College of Engineering to tell us a bit more about themselves, their secret recipe for making lessons more engaging and their advice for students.
When I am not in the lab or in the
classroom, there is a good chance that
I am with my family. We like to travel
and look forward to exploring the Asia-
Pacific region.
I make lessons interesting and exciting
by enriching my slides with videos and
ASST. PROF. MATTEO SEITA(MAE)
ASST. PROF. SONG JUHA(SCBE)
ASSOC. PROF. XAVIER BRESSON(SCSE)
Prof. Song on her greatest achievement and most memorable experience in teaching:
“When the students for my first undergraduate class doubled after the first week. Subsequently, there was low absenteeism and unpunctuality; and more active participation from students. At the end of the semester, most students commented that it was one of the best classes they’d ever taken.”
Prof. Bresson hopes to make a lasting impact in research, teaching curriculum and societal projects in the promising field of data science at NTU.
Hello… Ciao… Bonjour… Prof. Seita speaks English, Italian, French and more.
Tell us more about yourself. I grew up in
the South of France. In the past fifteen
years, I have been living in different
places in Asia, Europe and the United
States. I love the cultural enrichment each
experience offered me and consider its
own challenges and rewards as my driving
force. I also like spending time with my
family and sharing my passions with them.
I connect with students by ensuring that
there is a clear two-way communication
between the students and me. I
make sure that students receive clear
information on course schedules,
homework and exams. In class, I try to
initiate discussions. I also encourage
students to have one-to-one consultation
if they feel more comfortable to do so.
Accessibility is also a key factor. Students
are aware that I am always available to
discuss any specific problem.
I consider my teaching effective when
students believe in their own learning
abilities and are not afraid to make
mistakes to comprehend complex ideas.
I like to see students developing self-
confidence in their own ability to master
scientific ideas and solve real-world
problems. My goal is to get all my students
engaged in this form of active learning.
My advice to current students is to
always stay alert, proactive and creative.
Learning is a never-ending process.
What you learn during your studies may
change significantly in the next five or ten
years. Students need to bear in mind that
education and re-skilling are constantly
updated, and new curricula are designed
to adapt to the ever-changing world.
animations to help assimilate more
abstract concepts. During lectures, I
question, discuss and debate with my
students. I find that this challenges
students to reason through the material
themselves and develop their own
explanations, which they will remember
more easily. I use practical, simple
examples from everyday life to explain new
concepts. I also make use of electronic
feedback forms and online quizzes to give
students the opportunity to ask questions
or leave comments anonymously and to
engage them outside of the classroom.
The best part about teaching is when,
after explaining the fundamentals to
students, I share with them aspects of
When I am not teaching or conducting research, I would most probably be at home, watching documentaries or catching up on my magazines (e.g., National Geographic, The Economist). When I choose the top ics for documentaries or magazines, I try to choose non-scientific ones.
Students would describe me as a caring and patient mentor. I hope that with the right training and inspiration, I can help students at NTU to grow and become good leaders in their fields.
my research and why it is impactful. I love
when they appreciate the challenges and
opportunities behind a research effort
and start thinking about how they would
contribute to it.
My advice to students is to find out what
gets you excited and follow it. It might be
a problem you want to engage and solve,
a discipline you want to specialise in, or
a project you want to undertake. No one
can promise that you will succeed. In fact,
sometimes you may fail catastrophically
but you will learn a great deal and will
have a lot of fun along the way. Also
and I know it’s hard, try to study for your
own sake and not for the sake of getting
good grades.
Any good method to connect with students? I try to memorise names of individual students during a semester if possible, and recognise them in class. Also, when they ask questions, I try to respond as soon as possible. Fast feedback really helps me connect with the students.
My advice to students is to be curious and be open to trying something new. In our highly competitive society, GPA or fast success is often used as a measure of a person’s capabilities. However, don’t judge yourself by any apparent outcomes. Instead, focus on what you can create based on what you’ve learnt. Even though you may appear to fail, as long as you don’t give up, eventually you can reach where you aim for. Also, please remember that failure is another type of learning, which makes you stronger once you move on.
CONVERGENCE 98 PEOPLE AND EVENTS PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Mr. Koh ChweeDirector, Technical Services Division of JTC and Co-Director of the NTU-JTC I3C
NOT YOUR USUAL CONCRETE
Led by Professor Yang En-Hua of CEE, a
team of researchers from the NTU-JTC
Industrial Infrastructure Innovation Centre
(I3C) has invented a new type of concrete
that is bendable yet stronger and longer
lasting than regular concrete which is
heavy, brittle and breaks under tension.
Named ConFlexPave, this innovation
allows the creation of slim precast
pavement slabs for quick installation,
thus halving the time needed for road
works and new pavements. It is also more
sustainable, requiring less maintenance.
ENGINEERING BEHIND CONFLEXPAVE
Typical concrete comprises cement, water,
gravel and sand. While this mixture makes
concrete hard and strong, it does not
promote flexibility. Thus concrete is brittle
and prone to cracks if too much weight
is applied.
Specifically engineered, ConFlexPave
comprises certain types of hard materials
mixed with polymer microfibres. The hard
materials give a non-slip surface texture
while the microfibres which are thinner
than the width of a human hair, distribute
the load across the whole slab, resulting
in a concrete that is tough as metal and
at least twice as strong as conventional
concrete under bending.
The key breakthrough was understanding
how the components of the materials
interact with one another mechanically
on a microscopic level. “With detailed
understanding, we can deliberately select
the ingredients and engineer the tailoring
of components so that the final material
can fulfill specific requirements needed
for road and pavement applications,”
explained Prof. Yang.
ConFlexPave has been successfully tested
as tablet-sized slabs at NTU laboratories.
It will be scaled up for further testing over
“The invention of this game-changing technology will not only enable the construction industry to reduce labour intensive on-site work, enhance workers’ safety and reduce construction time, it also benefits road users by cutting down the inconvenience caused by road resurfacing and construction works.”
Bend it. Flex it. Stress it. This new concrete does not crack under pressure.
New Flexible Concrete Doesn’t Crack Under Pressure
the next three years in partnership with
JTC – at suitable locations within JTC’s
industrial estates and in NTU where there
will be human and vehicular traffic.
Students Doing Us ProudWINNING BIG AT SEMBCORP-EMA ENERGY CHALLENGE 2016
CEE UNDERGRADUATES WIN THE SEMBCORP WATER TECHNOLOGY PRIZE 2016
SCSE TEAM SHINES AT THE ASC16 STUDENT SUPERCOMPUTER CHALLENGE
A team of four EEE undergraduates won
the 1st Prize under the Higher Education
Institute Category and was crowned the
overall champion for all categories in the
annual SembCorp-EMA energy challenge
(SEEC), held on 3 June 2016.
The Sembcorp-EMA Energy Challenge is
a national competition aimed at inspiring
and engaging the energy professionals of
tomorrow through a suite of programmes
comprising learning journeys, an energy
competition and internship opportunities.
Twenty-four teams from Institutes of
Technical Education (ITEs), Polytechnics
and Universities participated in the SEEC.
On the day of the energy competition,
the teams challenged one another in a
90-minute computer simulation game to
manage and develop a power ecosystem
while maintaining the profitability, reliability
and environmental impact of the plant. The
team from EEE fought hard to attain not
only the 1st prize in the higher education
category but also the overall champion
among the various education categories.
The winning teams walked away with
attractive cash prizes and will also be given
internship opportunities with Sembcorp.
Sponsored by Sembcorp and supported
by the Public Utilities Board (PUB), the
Sembcorp Water Technology Prize is a
national competition that allows student
participants to experience what it is like to
be water engineers for a day. Participants
were challenged to build and run the best-
performing, most efficient membrane
bioreactors (MBRs). They needed to configure
their MBRs for optimum life cycle cost, and
find the best strategy to operate their plants
with the lowest possible power usage.
Despite the difficulties faced during
the competition such as faulty pumps
and leaking pipes, the team from CEE
overcame the problems with their tenacity
and innovativeness in employing alternative
methods and impressed the judges with
their persuasive presentation that is
strongly supported by key experimental
data, graphs and reasoning. They beat 13
other tertiary teams to clinch the first prize
and were presented a cash prize of S$5,000
by Sembcorp Group President & CEO, Mr.
Tang Kin Fei at the Singapore International
Water Week on 12 July 2016. They also won
an internship opportunity with Sembcorp.
The f i f th annua l ASC16 Student
Supercomputer Challenge, the largest
student cluster competition in the world,
kicked off on 25 April 2016. It was hosted
at the Huazhong University of Science and
Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, the capital of
Hubei province, China.
From an initial pool of 175 teams,
representing 148 universities across six
continents, 16 teams advanced through
the preliminary rounds into the final round.
Participating teams had to design their own
supercomputing system within the constraint
of 3000 watts and apply it to various frontier
scientific and engineering projects, such
as an optimised benchmark test, ocean
simulation, materials science, life genes and
in-depth learning. This is the third time NTU
is competing in ASC Student Supercomputer
Challenge. Seven students from SCSE spent
5 days running these tests on their own
cluster, which contains 4 server nodes and
8 NVIDIA Tesla K80s, in total 80 CPU cores
and 512 GByte memory.
The team won the Application Innovation
Award on HPCG, an optimised benchmark
test and was awarded with the “Most
Popular Team” identified through online
voting on Twitter.
Members of the SCSE team
Mr. Tang Kin Fei, Sembcorp Group President & CEO (left) presenting the award to the team
The winning team from EEE with Mr. Chong Choon Lin, Senior Vice President of SembCorp (centre)
CONVERGENCEPEOPLE AND EVENTS 1110 SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Diagnosing Early Stages of Brain Disorders by Listening to the Sound of Light
POSTs is an iPhone sized Photoacoustic Oxygen SaTuration sensor that can measure the haemoglobin oxygen saturation of blood in the central veins (SvO
2)
non-invasively. This breakthrough could help doctors to diagnose brain disorders in their early stages for better treatment outcomes.
Photoacoustic Oxygen SaTuration sensor (POSTs)
Patients who suffer from stroke, shock
and other brain diseases can benefit in the
near future from POSTs (Photoacoustic
Oxygen SaTuration sensor) – a new
invention by researchers from EEE.
Led by Professor Zheng Yuanjin, this
breakthrough could help doctors diagnose
brain disorders in their early stages for
better treatment outcomes.
In hospital ERs, OTs and ICUs, it is a
matter of life to rapidly and accurately
detect the patient who is suffering from
shock, and to speedily institute treatment
to save their lives. Shock is a state where
there is a reduced delivery of blood and
oxygen to the tissues to meet metabolic
needs. There are typical clinical features
of shock, such as fast heart rates, low
blood pressures, altered mental status
and reduced urine output, but many
patients may not exhibit these features.
There are also biochemical measures of
shock, but they only begin to be raised
later in the disease process.
Haemoglobin oxygen saturation of blood
in the central veins (SvO2), however, begins
to fall early in shock even when blood
pressures appear normal. In patients
with shock, the SvO2 become lower than
normal (< 65%), reflecting a poor delivery
of blood to oxygen-starved tissues. On
the other hand, abnormally high levels of
SvO2 reflect a reduced ability of the tissues
to metabolise oxygen. Thus, SvO2 is an
invaluable parameter for shock diagnosing.
Conventionally, SvO2 can only be
measured invasively using catheters in
the right superior vena cava or in the
jugular vein. The insertions of such
catheters are by themselves risky, and
only performed in select patients. As a
result, measurements of these values
using catheters cannot be performed on
patients who are not suitable.
POSTs – NON-INVASIVE CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF SvO
2
POSTs is a novel iPhone sized sensor
that can detect SvO2 accurately in a non-
invasive manner. Prof. Zheng explained
that POSTs works by shining light of
different colours on the patient’s neck
and then ‘listening to’ the resultant sound
generated by the blood in the central
vein to infer the SvO2. “The result is very
accurate (~ 2%) since oxygenated and de-
oxygenated haemoglobin show distinct
signatures in absorbing different colours
of light and the generated sound waves
could be accurately localised (< 1 mm)
with high signal to noise ratio. The
measurement process is real time and
the device is portable, making it suitable
for continuous monitoring,” he added.
The results demonstrate that POSTs
has great potential in non-invasive SvO2
measurement and could be used in the
ICUs in the near future for early detection
of shock, which reduces the onus of
doctors and the pain of patients.
CONVERGENCE
СatchUs
Dean’s OfficeCollege of EngineeringNanyang Technological University70 Nanyang Drive Block N1.3-B1-01 Singapore 637457
Convergence TeamTel: +65 6316 8896Fax: +65 6896 8757Email: [email protected]
12
Connect with Us
fb.com/NTUCollegeofEngineering
linkedin.com/groups/7071125