University of British Columbia students expand ITW technology options
Pictured in the photo are: Back row (L-R): Linda Munisi, Mohamad Hossein. Front Row (L-R): Matthew Gill, Brian Stachniak, Neema Boutorabi, Jason Wang
Since September 2018 Brian Stachniak, an Imaging the World board member, has been working with University of British Columbia Computer Engineering students on a Capstone Project that is sponsored by Imaging the World.
The students are creating a new version of ITW’s proprietary image compression and transfer protocol that will run on Android operating systems. This will enable it to work directly on the tablets that are used with the Philips Lumify ultrasound machines used by ITW in many clinics.
The protocol allows Imaging the World to transfer large amounts of imaging data over mobile phone networks that can be slow, latent and unreliable in Africa. In addition to reducing costs by eliminating the additional hardware that would otherwise be needed to perform this operation, the new system will also be easier for nurses and midwives in the field because of a new graphical user interface.
The Capstone Projects are a requirement for fourth-year computer engineering students at UBC. It is a for-credit project course where students work with industry partners on a ‘real world’ project. The students are supervised by faculty members with the sponsor, in this case Imaging the World, as a ‘client.’ Students are graded on several milestones including creating requirements/project plan, design, documentation and final product.