On October 19th, 2018 we had the pleasure of learning a bit more about biomedical engineering with Cat Czyrnyj; who is passionate about her research as it helps women stay healthy.
During her presentation, she focused on three projects being worked on in her laboratory.
1. Pelvic Floor Muscle EMG (electromyography) – Where the EMG records electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG probes can provide insight into mechanisms of pathologies (pelvic pain disorders, urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse). However, current EMG machines include a metal bar, are quite robust and aren’t doing what they are meant to. Thus, her supervisor designed a new pelvic floor muscle EMG that is a 1 cm circle that gets inserted into the vagina.
2. Pelvic Floor Muscle Dynamometry – which measures force and power. In her lab, researchers are looking to record force production of the pelvic floor in a more effective and comfortable way, as to assess its contribution to pathologies.
3. Uterine Fibroids – Lastly, Cat presented the focus of her Ph. D. research; benign tumours of the uterus. She stated that we don’t know why they grow, reoccur and why some respond, and others don’t, to medical therapy. She will use elastography to generate vibrations in the tissue that allows us to characterize tissue stiffness.
Cat concluded by stating that biomedical engineering is quite diverse and includes a range of engineering fields (mechanical, electrical, software, computer science, chemical and biological). For this reason, it’s an important field because there are many problems that need help solving.
Cat, we thank you for your presentation and passion towards improving women’s health!