LIFE AT COELIFE AT COE

Professional Internship - Gateway to Jumpstart your Career

Inspiring the Young Budding Engineers

Diagnosing Early Stages of Brain Disorders by Listening to the Sound of Light

Students Doing Us Proud

Hi Profs!

Welcome, Freshies!

New Flexible Concrete Doesn©t Crack under Pressure

Continue on Pages 2 & 3

WELCOME, FRESHIES!A new academic year signifies the start of an exciting learning journey for our newly enrolled Year Ones!

W H E R E C R E A T I V I T Y A N D T E C H N O L O G Y M E R G E

NTU College of Engineering Issue 06, 2016

online-version

http://bit.ly/1SlJZML

College of EngineeringSchool of Civil and Environmental EngineeringSchool of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

SCSE: School of Computer Science and Engineering

School of Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringSchool of Materials Science and EngineeringSchool of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

CoE: CEE:

EEE:

MAE:

MSE: SCBE:

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

MSE

MATSCIV (MATerial SCIence), pronounced

as ‘Massive’, consisted of 4 orientation

groups revolving around the theme of

constellations, uniting to achieve greater

heights and conquering challenges as one.

A series of activity line-ups included Field

Games and Pool Games, Beach Games

at Sentosa and an Amazing Race across

8 stations from west to central Singapore.

At the Pool Games, participants got wet

and wild at NTU’s Sports and Recreation

Centre, competing in various water games

like the Water Captain’s Ball.

SCBE

SCBE’s freshies were divided into 6

orientation groups (OGs) in this year’s

Freshmen Orientation Programme, NUEVE

XII. Participants went through a series of

exciting activities, forging new friendships.

This was an invaluable opportunity for

them to exercise leadership, teamwork

and facilitation - important skills that not

only will benefit their upcoming university

education, but life in general.

At the Social Night, freshies got to interact

with their course mates from other OGs

and had a night of fun games with

SCSE

Besides the regular ice-breaking games

and activities, SCSE freshmen had fun

pitting against other OGs and tumbling

all over the field in the Bubble Soccer

match. There was also an intense Nerf War

that followed, displaying the participants’

teamwork and agility.

The orientation ended with a sunny day out

at the Sentosa, which they had a splashing

great time.

CoE welcomes the freshmen once again and we hope that they will enjoy university life and make the most of their years at NTU.

MAE

MAE’s Harry Potter themed Freshmen

Welcome Day (FWD) – Initium, was an

a-MAE-zing event packed with exciting

activities all around the NTU campus

and at Sentosa.

The Freshmen Initiation Ceremony was

organised for the first time, to instil

students with the pride and vision as a

MAE student. All MAE freshmen were

given a MAE cap on the first day of the

FWD to put on before the recitation of

32

Welcome, Freshies!A new academic year signifies the start of an exciting learning journey for our newly enrolled Year Ones! What is a better way to welcome them than an exciting orientation programme? Besides informative sessions provided by staff and faculty members, there were also fun activities that made the Freshmen Orientation 2016 memorable.

CEE

CEE’s Freshmen Welcome Orientation 2016

was themed CEEvil War. Participants were

grouped into 3 clans representing the 3

programmes offered in CEE.

Held on campus and at Sentosa, everyone

had a great time gaining new knowledge

and getting to know their fellow course

mates. They were exposed to an array

of well-planned activities throughout the

EEE

Held over 5 days, the highlight of the EEE-

IEM Freshmen Orientation Programme

was none other than the 3-day Freshmen

Makers’ Programme (FMP). EEE freshmen

learnt to code, design and co-build their

teams’ very own autonomous Arduino-

based robots!

The FMP provided a platform for the

freshmen to learn technical skills from

one another and build on everyone’s

strengths. Through the programme, they

the Pledge led by MAE Club President

Mr Low Choon Chye, together with MAE

Chair, Professor Louis Phee.

The following 2 days of the orientation

programme were filled with fun, laughter

and enthusiastic cheers. From Ice

Breakers, Bonding Games, Amazing Race,

Mass Games, Wet Games, Night Games,

Beach Games to Cheer Fight, everyone

gave their all to vie for the Top Orientation

Group (OG) spot.

4 days, forging friendships that would

last down the memory lane. When asked

what they thought of the orientation, one

freshie rejoiced, “This orientation was a

fun experience and the activities were well-

executed seamlessly. The Beach Day was

especially memorable to me because of

the campfire and the fireworks we saw

that night. I feel extremely bonded with my

group and student leaders!”

also picked up skills, such as critical

analysis, innovative thinking, and most

importantly, stimulated the interest in

engineering among the freshies.

Apart from the FMP, there was the

escape challenge where participants

also went through a brain-racking time,

gathering clues and solving puzzles in a

race against the clock. It sure built better

teamwork and communication within

the teams!

performances by seniors, culminating with

a batch dance and a cheer showdown.

That was the calm before the storm, as the

freshmen faced off against their seniors

in a water bomb war at the Grand Finale.

The camp was a great success as

freshmen were able to interact and involve

in a meaningful learning experience.

CONVERGENCE LIFE AT COELIFE AT COE

Let’s hear from someof the students, their internship experiences.

An integral part of the undergraduate engineering curriculum at NTU CoE, Professional Internship provides students the opportunities for professional experience in a private or public organisation locally or overseas before they even enter the workforce, so that they can become productive and effective contributors to their respective organisations after graduation.

Yi Ying (on the right) with her fellow co-workers

Professional Internship - Gateway to Jumpstart your Career

STEVEN ADITYA

MAE, Year 3Interned at Johnson & Johnson

(J&J), Singapore

Describe your job scope during your

internship.

I interned with the Supply Chain department,

where my main project was to manage,

review and optimise US$190M inventory

in the Asia Pacific region. This required

me to liaise and work with many people

in Asia Pacific countries and also from the

Global team.

What was the overall experience like?

I met and liaised with many people with

different functions and learnt how to

communicate effectively with different

people and understand the business better.

More importantly, I got to know my interest

and realised that I enjoy solving challenging

cases. There was also fun during the

internship, where I got to know people

from all over the world, understand their

different cultures and learn to accept the

differences. Apart from work, J&J provides

Steven (on the left) with fellow colleagues on the company-organised voluntary services

many other activities for employees such

as movie sessions, community services to

help the elderly, etc.

Any accomplishment/achievement during

the internship that you would like to share?

I developed inventory management

procedures and drove the implementation

of inventory reduction plans to optimise

the inventory. Our team managed to do

so and successfully reduced the inventory

value by 20%.

THROUGH THE INTERNSHIPS, STUDENTS:

Hone their communication and interpersonal skills

Learn values such as good work ethics and professionalism

Acquire hands-on experiences in applying their engineering knowledge

LIM YI YING

EEE, Year 4Interned at Keppel FELS Pte Ltd, Singapore

Describe your job scope during your

internship.

I i n te rned wi th the E lect r ica l &

Instrumentation (E&I) department, which

is involved in the production as well as

commissioning of electrical system on-

board projects. On top of that, I worked on

improving the department’s safety slides

for the workers. It was good exposure as

I was able to apply my knowledge of Risk

Assessments to my job.

Any interesting or memorable experiences

to share?

It was an exciting experience to be able to

walk around the shipyard and learn how

different systems add up to the final delivery

of the jack-up. I learnt something new every

IYLIA HAZIQ BIN OTHMAN

MSE, Year 4Interned at the Singapore

Chemical Plant, ExxonMobil

What did you do during your internship?

I interned as an Inspection Engineer and

was tasked to provide support in the review

of Inspection Plans for the Turnaround

Job Packs. I also provided support in the

planning of various Non-Destructive Testing

(NDT) Qualification Tests between several

3rd Party Operators, field inspections and

the different phases that go into inspection

and troubleshooting of equipment with

reliability or safety issues.

day - about the marine and offshore industry

as well as the workings of various kinds of

jack-ups. An interesting experience was

scaling the boom crane, which was 40m

above the deck floor. The view from the

top was amazing as I was able to look out

to the sea as well to other ongoing projects.

Getting to see how the electrical system

on-board powers the numerous equipment

will never fail to amaze me and makes

me appreciate the knowledge that I have

acquired in EEE.

Another highlight was speaking to a crowd

of 200 workers during one of the morning

briefings on my last day, as part of a

challenge by the department’s assistant

manager to move out of my comfort zone.

What are some key takeaways from your

internship?

The internship has definitely taught me to

be disciplined, as I have to be awake at

5am every morning, and to also respect

and follow the rules in the shipyard. Staying

humble and curious, and maintaining a

positive outlook will also help you to form

good relationships with co-workers.

CONVERGENCE 54 LIFE AT COELIFE AT COE

Any interesting or memorable experiences

to share?

The internship was not merely work. We

got to experience the European culture in

a unique fashion. The university staff was

very hospitable and welcoming. We began

our journey in Switzerland with a traditional

cheese fondue gathering. There was also

a weekly German class for all interns from

non-German speaking countries that

helped us better identify with the culture.

We had several trips to Swiss chocolate

factory, beer factory as well as skiing and

sledging trips. One of my most memorable

moments was participating in the annual

carnival at Rapperswil that happens

intheform of a fancy dress parade. During

the weekends, we also travelled to other

places in Switzerland and Europe such as

France, Austria, Germany, Italy etc.

What was the overall experience like?

Not only did I have a great learning

experience, it was also an enriching one.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to

further develop my technical skills and

widen my horizons.

The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a series of engineering talks to provide the public with a better understanding on what being an engineer entails. With an open and honest sharing platform, the sessions aim to encourage participants to rethink and reshape the way in which engineering is perceived and to engage young engineers to remain in the profession for a long time. CoE is honoured to host two sessions together with IES for our engineering students on 17 August 2016.

SESSION 1: CONVERSATIONS WITH C-LEVEL EXECUTIVES -

CAREER PROGRESSION

Young engineers hold the key to Singapore’s

future. But what personal attributes are

required from them to become successful

leaders in their profession? And what should

they do to achieve that?

Mr. Choo Chiau Beng, Chairman of M1

Limited, Ms. Leong Wai Leng, Chief

Financial Officer of Temasek Holdings, and

Mr. Fong Saik Hay, Chief Technology Officer

of ST Engineering, shared their valuable

experiences with the attendees.

Talking about his road to success, Mr. Choo

encouraged the young to learn with an open

mind. He stressed that many doors can

be opened, but one must have a positive

attitude and do his/her best in every

assignment undertaken.

On career moves and changes, Ms.

Leong shared with the students three

considerations before making the next

big move:

SESSION 2:

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Are you an aspir ing entrepreneur?

Do you know what it takes to be a

successful entrepreneur and what must

an entrepreneur know in order to sustain

in this competitive world?

Mr. Peng T. Ong, Managing Partner at

Monk’s Hill Ventures (a tech venture fund

investing in post-seed stage start-ups in

Southeast Asia), had a conversation-style

talk with the students to share his experience

as an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist.

Mr. Ong gave pointers on factors and

criteria that determine his decision in

investing in start-ups. He also advised

that when approaching investors, an

entrepreneur must do his ‘homework’ and

be the expert in the subject matter.

Mr. Ong also posed several questions to

test the knowledge of the students, with the

objective of bringing across the message

that in order to be an entrepreneur, one

should also be in touch with the current

affairs, the latest industry and market

trends, as well as the global economy.

The College would like to thank IES

for organising these talks and all the

speakers for their valuable time to share

their experiences and knowledge with

our students.

Mr. Choo Chiau Beng (left) and other speakers answering questions from the students

Ms. Leong Wai Leng giving advice to the students

Mr. Fong Saik Hay shared his experience as an engineer

1. Do I share the mission and vision of the

organisation?

2. Am I able to contribute to the mission

and vision?

3. Am I comfortable working with the key

people in the organisation?

The third speaker, Mr. Fong shared his life

as an engineer, the challenges he faced

from time to time and the satisfaction of

successful projects. He challenged the

audience to question status quo and push

for new solutions that touch lives. He

emphasised the importance of networking

and making fr iends, and constant

communication with people at all levels. The

key takeaway from all the three speakers

was that one should always possess three

main values: leadership, integrity and the

ability to maintain one’s moral compass.

The session ended off with a lively Q&A

session with many burning queries from

the students.

Inspiring the Young Budding Engineers

sessions together with IES for our engineering students on 17 August 2016.

SESSION 2:

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

LIFE AT COE

BHAVYA CHANDRA

SCSE, Year 4Interned at The University ofApplied Sciences Rapperswil, Switzerland

What did you do during your internship?

I worked on a b ig da ta p ro jec t

based on analysis of Geo-data from

OpenStreetMaps, under the guidance of

Professor Stefan Keller and his team. We

also explored mini tasks such as attending

the Swiss Python Summit, visiting the

Google Zurich office and talking with the

Google Maps team, working on smaller

one-day projects etc.

Bhavya (second from left) with her friends in Amsterdam

What was the overall experience like?

I t gave me insights into the work

environment in an oil and gas company,

and how interconnected it is. Essentially,

as an inspection engineer, one has to

be multifunctional and able to work with

other engineers because the reliability

and safety of the plant are dependent on

aholisticapproach.

Any accomplishment/achievement

during the internship that you would

like to share?

I came up with a simple software tool

that helped to automate the counting

of tubes in a heat exchanger. This

reduced the time taken from 4 hours to

just under 8 minutes for a set of 50 heat

exchangers.

Any tips and pointers for juniors to

make the best out of their internship?

Stay open-minded, look for areas that can

be improved on and try to involve yourself

in some of the company activities.

CONVERGENCE 76 LIFE AT COE

LIFE AT COE

Hi Profs!The Convergence team invites 3 new professors who have recently joined/will be joining NTU College of Engineering to tell us a bit more about themselves, their secret recipe for making lessons more engaging and their advice for students.

When I am not in the lab or in the

classroom, there is a good chance that

I am with my family. We like to travel

and look forward to exploring the Asia-

Pacific region.

I make lessons interesting and exciting

by enriching my slides with videos and

ASST. PROF. MATTEO SEITA(MAE)

ASST. PROF. SONG JUHA(SCBE)

ASSOC. PROF. XAVIER BRESSON(SCSE)

Prof. Song on her greatest achievement and most memorable experience in teaching:

“When the students for my first undergraduate class doubled after the first week. Subsequently, there was low absenteeism and unpunctuality; and more active participation from students. At the end of the semester, most students commented that it was one of the best classes they’d ever taken.”

Prof. Bresson hopes to make a lasting impact in research, teaching curriculum and societal projects in the promising field of data science at NTU.

Hello… Ciao… Bonjour… Prof. Seita speaks English, Italian, French and more.

Tell us more about yourself. I grew up in

the South of France. In the past fifteen

years, I have been living in different

places in Asia, Europe and the United

States. I love the cultural enrichment each

experience offered me and consider its

own challenges and rewards as my driving

force. I also like spending time with my

family and sharing my passions with them.

I connect with students by ensuring that

there is a clear two-way communication

between the students and me. I

make sure that students receive clear

information on course schedules,

homework and exams. In class, I try to

initiate discussions. I also encourage

students to have one-to-one consultation

if they feel more comfortable to do so.

Accessibility is also a key factor. Students

are aware that I am always available to

discuss any specific problem.

I consider my teaching effective when

students believe in their own learning

abilities and are not afraid to make

mistakes to comprehend complex ideas.

I like to see students developing self-

confidence in their own ability to master

scientific ideas and solve real-world

problems. My goal is to get all my students

engaged in this form of active learning.

My advice to current students is to

always stay alert, proactive and creative.

Learning is a never-ending process.

What you learn during your studies may

change significantly in the next five or ten

years. Students need to bear in mind that

education and re-skilling are constantly

updated, and new curricula are designed

to adapt to the ever-changing world.

animations to help assimilate more

abstract concepts. During lectures, I

question, discuss and debate with my

students. I find that this challenges

students to reason through the material

themselves and develop their own

explanations, which they will remember

more easily. I use practical, simple

examples from everyday life to explain new

concepts. I also make use of electronic

feedback forms and online quizzes to give

students the opportunity to ask questions

or leave comments anonymously and to

engage them outside of the classroom.

The best part about teaching is when,

after explaining the fundamentals to

students, I share with them aspects of

When I am not teaching or conducting research, I would most probably be at home, watching documentaries or catching up on my magazines (e.g., National Geographic, The Economist). When I choose the top ics for documentaries or magazines, I try to choose non-scientific ones.

Students would describe me as a caring and patient mentor. I hope that with the right training and inspiration, I can help students at NTU to grow and become good leaders in their fields.

my research and why it is impactful. I love

when they appreciate the challenges and

opportunities behind a research effort

and start thinking about how they would

contribute to it.

My advice to students is to find out what

gets you excited and follow it. It might be

a problem you want to engage and solve,

a discipline you want to specialise in, or

a project you want to undertake. No one

can promise that you will succeed. In fact,

sometimes you may fail catastrophically

but you will learn a great deal and will

have a lot of fun along the way. Also

and I know it’s hard, try to study for your

own sake and not for the sake of getting

good grades.

Any good method to connect with students? I try to memorise names of individual students during a semester if possible, and recognise them in class. Also, when they ask questions, I try to respond as soon as possible. Fast feedback really helps me connect with the students.

My advice to students is to be curious and be open to trying something new. In our highly competitive society, GPA or fast success is often used as a measure of a person’s capabilities. However, don’t judge yourself by any apparent outcomes. Instead, focus on what you can create based on what you’ve learnt. Even though you may appear to fail, as long as you don’t give up, eventually you can reach where you aim for. Also, please remember that failure is another type of learning, which makes you stronger once you move on.

CONVERGENCE 98 PEOPLE AND EVENTS PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Mr. Koh ChweeDirector, Technical Services Division of JTC and Co-Director of the NTU-JTC I3C

NOT YOUR USUAL CONCRETE

Led by Professor Yang En-Hua of CEE, a

team of researchers from the NTU-JTC

Industrial Infrastructure Innovation Centre

(I3C) has invented a new type of concrete

that is bendable yet stronger and longer

lasting than regular concrete which is

heavy, brittle and breaks under tension.

Named ConFlexPave, this innovation

allows the creation of slim precast

pavement slabs for quick installation,

thus halving the time needed for road

works and new pavements. It is also more

sustainable, requiring less maintenance.

ENGINEERING BEHIND CONFLEXPAVE

Typical concrete comprises cement, water,

gravel and sand. While this mixture makes

concrete hard and strong, it does not

promote flexibility. Thus concrete is brittle

and prone to cracks if too much weight

is applied.

Specifically engineered, ConFlexPave

comprises certain types of hard materials

mixed with polymer microfibres. The hard

materials give a non-slip surface texture

while the microfibres which are thinner

than the width of a human hair, distribute

the load across the whole slab, resulting

in a concrete that is tough as metal and

at least twice as strong as conventional

concrete under bending.

The key breakthrough was understanding

how the components of the materials

interact with one another mechanically

on a microscopic level. “With detailed

understanding, we can deliberately select

the ingredients and engineer the tailoring

of components so that the final material

can fulfill specific requirements needed

for road and pavement applications,”

explained Prof. Yang.

ConFlexPave has been successfully tested

as tablet-sized slabs at NTU laboratories.

It will be scaled up for further testing over

“The invention of this game-changing technology will not only enable the construction industry to reduce labour intensive on-site work, enhance workers’ safety and reduce construction time, it also benefits road users by cutting down the inconvenience caused by road resurfacing and construction works.”

Bend it. Flex it. Stress it. This new concrete does not crack under pressure.

New Flexible Concrete Doesn’t Crack Under Pressure

the next three years in partnership with

JTC – at suitable locations within JTC’s

industrial estates and in NTU where there

will be human and vehicular traffic.

Students Doing Us ProudWINNING BIG AT SEMBCORP-EMA ENERGY CHALLENGE 2016

CEE UNDERGRADUATES WIN THE SEMBCORP WATER TECHNOLOGY PRIZE 2016

SCSE TEAM SHINES AT THE ASC16 STUDENT SUPERCOMPUTER CHALLENGE

A team of four EEE undergraduates won

the 1st Prize under the Higher Education

Institute Category and was crowned the

overall champion for all categories in the

annual SembCorp-EMA energy challenge

(SEEC), held on 3 June 2016.

The Sembcorp-EMA Energy Challenge is

a national competition aimed at inspiring

and engaging the energy professionals of

tomorrow through a suite of programmes

comprising learning journeys, an energy

competition and internship opportunities.

Twenty-four teams from Institutes of

Technical Education (ITEs), Polytechnics

and Universities participated in the SEEC.

On the day of the energy competition,

the teams challenged one another in a

90-minute computer simulation game to

manage and develop a power ecosystem

while maintaining the profitability, reliability

and environmental impact of the plant. The

team from EEE fought hard to attain not

only the 1st prize in the higher education

category but also the overall champion

among the various education categories.

The winning teams walked away with

attractive cash prizes and will also be given

internship opportunities with Sembcorp.

Sponsored by Sembcorp and supported

by the Public Utilities Board (PUB), the

Sembcorp Water Technology Prize is a

national competition that allows student

participants to experience what it is like to

be water engineers for a day. Participants

were challenged to build and run the best-

performing, most efficient membrane

bioreactors (MBRs). They needed to configure

their MBRs for optimum life cycle cost, and

find the best strategy to operate their plants

with the lowest possible power usage.

Despite the difficulties faced during

the competition such as faulty pumps

and leaking pipes, the team from CEE

overcame the problems with their tenacity

and innovativeness in employing alternative

methods and impressed the judges with

their persuasive presentation that is

strongly supported by key experimental

data, graphs and reasoning. They beat 13

other tertiary teams to clinch the first prize

and were presented a cash prize of S$5,000

by Sembcorp Group President & CEO, Mr.

Tang Kin Fei at the Singapore International

Water Week on 12 July 2016. They also won

an internship opportunity with Sembcorp.

The f i f th annua l ASC16 Student

Supercomputer Challenge, the largest

student cluster competition in the world,

kicked off on 25 April 2016. It was hosted

at the Huazhong University of Science and

Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, the capital of

Hubei province, China.

From an initial pool of 175 teams,

representing 148 universities across six

continents, 16 teams advanced through

the preliminary rounds into the final round.

Participating teams had to design their own

supercomputing system within the constraint

of 3000 watts and apply it to various frontier

scientific and engineering projects, such

as an optimised benchmark test, ocean

simulation, materials science, life genes and

in-depth learning. This is the third time NTU

is competing in ASC Student Supercomputer

Challenge. Seven students from SCSE spent

5 days running these tests on their own

cluster, which contains 4 server nodes and

8 NVIDIA Tesla K80s, in total 80 CPU cores

and 512 GByte memory.

The team won the Application Innovation

Award on HPCG, an optimised benchmark

test and was awarded with the “Most

Popular Team” identified through online

voting on Twitter.

Members of the SCSE team

Mr. Tang Kin Fei, Sembcorp Group President & CEO (left) presenting the award to the team

The winning team from EEE with Mr. Chong Choon Lin, Senior Vice President of SembCorp (centre)

CONVERGENCEPEOPLE AND EVENTS 1110 SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Diagnosing Early Stages of Brain Disorders by Listening to the Sound of Light

POSTs is an iPhone sized Photoacoustic Oxygen SaTuration sensor that can measure the haemoglobin oxygen saturation of blood in the central veins (SvO

2)

non-invasively. This breakthrough could help doctors to diagnose brain disorders in their early stages for better treatment outcomes.

Photoacoustic Oxygen SaTuration sensor (POSTs)

Patients who suffer from stroke, shock

and other brain diseases can benefit in the

near future from POSTs (Photoacoustic

Oxygen SaTuration sensor) – a new

invention by researchers from EEE.

Led by Professor Zheng Yuanjin, this

breakthrough could help doctors diagnose

brain disorders in their early stages for

better treatment outcomes.

In hospital ERs, OTs and ICUs, it is a

matter of life to rapidly and accurately

detect the patient who is suffering from

shock, and to speedily institute treatment

to save their lives. Shock is a state where

there is a reduced delivery of blood and

oxygen to the tissues to meet metabolic

needs. There are typical clinical features

of shock, such as fast heart rates, low

blood pressures, altered mental status

and reduced urine output, but many

patients may not exhibit these features.

There are also biochemical measures of

shock, but they only begin to be raised

later in the disease process.

Haemoglobin oxygen saturation of blood

in the central veins (SvO2), however, begins

to fall early in shock even when blood

pressures appear normal. In patients

with shock, the SvO2 become lower than

normal (< 65%), reflecting a poor delivery

of blood to oxygen-starved tissues. On

the other hand, abnormally high levels of

SvO2 reflect a reduced ability of the tissues

to metabolise oxygen. Thus, SvO2 is an

invaluable parameter for shock diagnosing.

Conventionally, SvO2 can only be

measured invasively using catheters in

the right superior vena cava or in the

jugular vein. The insertions of such

catheters are by themselves risky, and

only performed in select patients. As a

result, measurements of these values

using catheters cannot be performed on

patients who are not suitable.

POSTs – NON-INVASIVE CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF SvO

2

POSTs is a novel iPhone sized sensor

that can detect SvO2 accurately in a non-

invasive manner. Prof. Zheng explained

that POSTs works by shining light of

different colours on the patient’s neck

and then ‘listening to’ the resultant sound

generated by the blood in the central

vein to infer the SvO2. “The result is very

accurate (~ 2%) since oxygenated and de-

oxygenated haemoglobin show distinct

signatures in absorbing different colours

of light and the generated sound waves

could be accurately localised (< 1 mm)

with high signal to noise ratio. The

measurement process is real time and

the device is portable, making it suitable

for continuous monitoring,” he added.

The results demonstrate that POSTs

has great potential in non-invasive SvO2

measurement and could be used in the

ICUs in the near future for early detection

of shock, which reduces the onus of

doctors and the pain of patients.

CONVERGENCE

СatchUs

Dean’s OfficeCollege of EngineeringNanyang Technological University70 Nanyang Drive Block N1.3-B1-01 Singapore 637457

Convergence TeamTel: +65 6316 8896Fax: +65 6896 8757Email: outreach-coe@ntu.edu.sgwww.coe.ntu.edu.sg

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