{"id":394691,"date":"2025-04-24T14:53:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T18:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/?p=394691"},"modified":"2025-04-24T14:53:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T18:53:43","slug":"lassonde-course-sparks-biomedical-innovation-entrepreneurial-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/2025\/04\/24\/lassonde-course-sparks-biomedical-innovation-entrepreneurial-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Lassonde course sparks biomedical innovation, entrepreneurial spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A professor in ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ\u2019s Lassonde School of Engineering<\/a>, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has created a course to set students on the path to biomedical engineering and entrepreneurship.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Assistant Professor Neda Salahandish<\/strong> identified a gap in biomedical engineering courses \u2013 crucial for engineers and scientists who plan to establish companies related to the growing demand for biomedical devices and prosthetics for an aging population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is the third-year course LE\/EECS 3640 Introduction to Biomedical Engineering for Electrical\/Computer Engineering.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salahandish applies an interactive approach to teaching the class, with an emphasis on coupling biomedical engineering skills with an entrepreneurial mindset. She divides students into teams, each with a CEO, each developing a biomedical device using the fundamental knowledge gained throughout the course. Teams present their progress weekly and explain what they have learned. Salahandish says she offers bonuses, just like in the work world, to keep students engaged and involved.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course is popular, attracting 58 students from various engineering backgrounds, despite being a third-year course with prerequisites.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the semester, students will present their projects to a panel of investors, Lassonde School of Engineering faculty, industry leaders and company CEOs and receive real-world feedback on the commercialization potential of their designs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The projects are impressive, Salahandish says, noting one team is developing a microfluidic sensor that is a wearable device to detect dehydration by monitoring sweat samples.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behrouz Homam<\/strong> is on that team. The third-year electrical engineering student explains it\u2019s a small device that perhaps an athlete, or a patient with an illness likely to cause dehydration, can apply to their skin. The person\u2019s sweat runs through the device\u2019s micro channels to tiny nodes that measure the sodium level and determine if the sweat is acidic or basic.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luca Mazzo<\/strong> is on the same team. He works with the gold nanoparticulate solution which detects sodium chloride in sweat. It causes the device to change colour from light pink to light blue. Mazzo, a third-year electrical engineering student, and his teammates are working on increasing the concentration to create a darker colour that\u2019s easier to read.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sensor would be part of an arsenal of biomedical devices that could lower health-care costs by improving at-home care of patients, Homam says.<\/p>\n\n\n