IEEE Student Branch of Curtin Sarawak co-organises talk on exploring sleep apnoea

Miri – 10 July 2014 – The Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Malaysia Chapter (IEEE – EMBS Malaysia Chapter) and the IEEE Student Branch of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) co-organised a talk on ‘Model-based Physiomarkers of Metabolic Syndrome and Sleep Apnoea’ at the university’s campus recently.

The talk was presented by Professor Dr Michael C.K. Khoo, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Paediatrics from the Biomedical Engineering Department of University of Southern California, Los Angeles. The talk was part of the distinguished lecturer programme organised by the IEEE Student Branch of Curtin Sarawak.

During his presentation, Professor Khoo shared his methodology in conducting research on sleep apnoea where he employs a combination of non-invasive parametric modelling and closed-loop minimal modelling approaches. His research aims to quantify the long-term effects of sleep apnoea on autonomic cardiovascular control.

As sleep apnoea has been a decades-long problem, Professor Khoo’s research attempts to link the occurrence of sleep apnoea to obesity, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and Type 2 diabetes.

In addition, Professor Khoo also discussed the effects of obstructive sleep apnoea as well as the parameters used to model those effects, including heartbeat rate, arterial blood pressure (ABP) and blood glucose level.

The IEEE Student Branch of Curtin Sarawak was established to inspire engineering students to reach their full potential in line with IEEE’s motto ‘To Foster Technological Innovation and Excellence for the Benefit of Humanity’. It regularly organises site visits, technical talks, competitions and social activities for its members.

For more information on the IEEE Student Branch of Curtin Sarawak, e-mail ieee.curtinsarawak@gmail.com or visit its website at ewh.ieee.org/sb/malaysia/curtinsarawak. One can also visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CurtinSarawak.IEEE.

Professor Khoo (7th left) posing with the participants at the end of the talk.