The University of Alberta has received $5.4 million from Western Economic Diversification Canada for nanotechnology research and a health-care project.
 |
| Jack Dagley photo, Business Edge |
| U of A Dean of Engineering David Lynch shows Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan a magnetron sputtering system in new nanolab. |
Under the new funding, the NanoFabrication Facility (NanoFab) will acquire new equipment; the Centre of Excellence in Integrated NanoTools (CEIN) will be created to accelerate research capability at the U of A; and new applied research will be undertaken to develop more cost-effective alloy materials.
“This funding will contribute to unparalleled research and commercial opportunities for all participants,” said David Lynch, dean of engineering.
A platform technology still in its infancy, nanotechnology – the science of small – has practical applications in a variety of industries.
A University of Alberta project being conducted in partnership with Seiko Instruments, M.I. Laboratories (Sony) and Capital Health received $2.3 million for the E-Health Edmonton Project that promises a new generation of vital-signs monitors.
The Wireless Wearable Physiological Monitor (WWPM) has the potential to improve the quality of health care through non-intrusive remote patient monitoring.
Another anticipated benefit is lower health-care costs through a reduction in the incidents of rehospitalization. Dr. Masako Miyazaki, principal investigator and integrator of the WWPM project, sees a day when nanotechnology and physiological monitoring will merge: Eventually, tiny biodegradable chips will be inserted into a patient, allowing care providers to constantly monitor patients.
