Canadians not as polarized about energy policy as we imagine

There’s actually a striking amount of broad-based consensus around energy

Canadians not as polarized about energy policy as we imagineA new artificial-intelligence-powered social media tool is showing that Canadians aren’t as polarized about energy policy and transition as we might imagine. Developed by University of Alberta engineering professor Lianne Lefsrud and an interdisciplinary team of researchers, Ai4Buzz uses targeted keywords to harvest, aggregate and examine Twitter conversations about energy and energy policies. Organized by category into a series…

How technology affects the ethics of the nurse-patient relationship

The nurse-patient relationship is being re-shaped by the proliferation of technology

How technology affects the ethics of the nurse-patient relationshipWhen Gillian Lemermeyer decided at age 17 to become a nurse, she was following in her mother’s footsteps, so she expected her mom to be thrilled when she told her the news. “I was surprised when she grew very serious,” Lemermeyer remembers. “She said, ‘Okay, but do you understand what it means to be looking after…

Making health care more equitable one ultrasound image at a time

AI-powered portable ultrasound system makes scans and diagnoses accessible from anywhere

Making health care more equitable one ultrasound image at a timeImagine if family doctors, nurses, technicians – even ski patrollers – could use handheld ultrasound devices to screen for everything from hip dysplasia to wrist fractures to heart disease from anywhere. A new approach to scans developed at the University of Alberta pairs the accessibility of portable ultrasound with an artificial intelligence app that can…

Big data is useless without visual analytics

Having trouble spotting trends in endless spreadsheets? Visual analytic tools can help

Big data is useless without visual analyticsWith its vast volumes, big data is useless without the analytic and presentation functionality of visual analytical tools. Think how difficult it is to spot anomalies or trends in endless rows of spreadsheet data. Visual analytic tools solve that overload problem. Big data is an in-vogue topic in the information technology world. Many executives see…

Researchers can identify people with PTSD through text data alone

Machine learning model has potential to be developed into an accessible and cost-effective tool

Researchers can identify people with PTSD through text data aloneUniversity of Alberta researchers have trained a machine learning model to identify people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with 80 per cent accuracy by analyzing the text those people wrote. The model could one day serve as an accessible and inexpensive screening tool to support health professionals in detecting and diagnosing PTSD or other mental health…

Teaching a computer to read doctors’ notes will capture valuable data

Algorithm scans pathology, radiology reports for information to aid researchers in improving outcomes

Teaching a computer to read doctors’ notes will capture valuable dataEvery time you enter a phrase or a sentence into Google search, algorithms kick in using a technique called natural language processing to understand what you really want to know and then find you an answer. Now University of Alberta researchers will use a similar approach to develop a computer program that can “read” doctors’…

Human capital is key to building a successful economy

Canada’s economy has transitioned from the resources under our feet to the resources between our ears

Human capital is key to building a successful economyThe first month of a new year is named January after the Roman god Janus, who had two faces – one looking backward and the other looking forward. Janus illustrates humanity’s ambition that the first month of the new year is a time to take stock of the past and make plans for the future.…

Promising chemotherapy treatment for bladder cancer enters human trials

A rejected patent application nearly derailed years of research, but support from experts saved the day

Promising chemotherapy treatment for bladder cancer enters human trialsIn 2015, University of Alberta cancer researcher Jack Tuszynski learned that his patent application for a promising chemotherapy treatment for people suffering from metastatic bladder cancer had been rejected by the U.S. Patent Office. “That was it. I thought, ‘We can’t proceed, we’re done, we spent almost a decade working on this and it’s a no go,’”…

Smart sound system could relieve anxiety for ICU patients

Researchers are using AI to create customized soundscapes that could help patients relax and sleep

Smart sound system could relieve anxiety for ICU patientsA music professor and his interdisciplinary research team are aiming to reduce stress in intensive care patients with soothing soundscapes. Based on machine learning, the “smart” sound system would read physiological feedback such as heart rate, breathing and sweat gland response to customize calming sounds for individual patients, said principal investigator Michael Frishkopf, professor in…

Artificial intelligence predicts new illegal drugs before they hit the streets

Staying one step ahead of illicit drug makers

Artificial intelligence predicts new illegal drugs before they hit the streetsAn international team of researchers is using artificial intelligence to predict new illegal drugs before they hit the streets – which could help save lives and fight crime. “We are anticipating what street drugs, or novel psychoactive substances, will appear before they are made or before they enter communities,” said team member David Wishart, University…