Congratulations to BCIT Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Electrical Engineering students Gary Huang, Yao Li, Joby Matwick, and Jason Zhang for receiving the prestigious 2022 Principal Award from the Medical Device Development Centre of British Columbia (MDDC) for their project on the Podiatric Data Acquisition Sock. MDDC encourages and recognizes student innovators in technologies relating to medicine and health care, including medical devices, systems, software, apps, and assistive technologies.
The BCIT student team’s Podiatric Data Acquisition Sock project aids in the diagnosis and prevention of diabetic foot ulcers. Podiatry is the branch of medicine focusing on the health of the foot, ankle, and leg. The team created a data collection insole using accelerometers and an array of pressure sensors, and an accompanying application. This data can be worked with and visualized in the app and used by health professionals to diagnose and treat problems. The aim is to provide doctors, therapists, and other health professionals with real data that a patient generates over the course of a day instead of the often error-prone data that is traditionally collected in-office. The hardware consists of a pressure sensor array that is inserted into a patient’s shoe, and a data collection device that reads from it and supports data storage and transmission functionality.
In addition to keeping up with their studies in the Electrical Engineering program, these students have also excelled in an extracurricular competition. In receiving this award, these students have proven to distinguish themselves as leaders in innovation through the creativeness of their project, the positioning of their solution with existing needs, the progress in the development of the technology, and the careful consideration of economic and social impacts.
BCIT offers a great range of credentials and career paths in the exciting field of electrical and computer engineering. Students have the flexibility of preparing for careers as engineering technologists or as electrical engineers. Learn more about the BCIT Electrical Engineering program.