Saveetha IEEE Photonics Society Chapter under the Madras Section was started in May 2019 formally by Dr. M.Moorthi, Professor & HOD/Biomedical Engineering Department, as a founding chair. At that time there were approximately 20 members and now the Chapter has more than 40 members. The IEEE Photonics Society Student Chapter has been instrumental in organizing an impactful event that caters to a diverse audience, ranging from school students and teachers to members of the IEEE and non-IEEE communities, undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. students, as well as foreign and industry experts. Each year the activities of the Chapter have increased, including organizing the IEEE Workshop, FDP, STTP, and Seminar. The financial support provided by IEEE for these endeavors is acknowledged and put to optimal use for the betterment of society. The funds are channeled into organizing events, securing expert speakers, facilitating lab visits, and ensuring the overall success of the initiatives undertaken by the chapter.
Five days of Faculty Development Program on “Advanced Green Computing Technology in Healthcare” were organized from December 26-31 by Saveetha IEEE Student Branch in association with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Electronics sponsored by IEEE Photonics Society. 11 eminent experts from various domains were invited to share their wisdom and experience on the topic. 82 participants from various institutions were registered for the event; Dr. K. Porkumaran, Chairman, IEEE Madras Section, and Dr. Mani, Scientist-E, Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology, Dept. of IT, Gov. of India, Hyderabad. The key Speaker of the opening day session was Dr. Mani, Scientist-E who went through the role of Nano Electronic materials and devices in healthcare to the gatherings. Followed by Dr. P. Sivasankar, Associate Professor, Dept. of Electronics Engineering, NITTTR, Taramani who delivered a talk on Intelligent Systems in Healthcare.
Day 2 started with a speech from Dr. T. K. Senthil Kumar, senior data scientist, NYBL, Chennai on Python programming in Biomedical Healthcare systems. Followed by the lecture on Fuzzy logic control in telemedicine was delivered by Dr. Sathish Kumar S, Program Leader – Telecom. Engg, Asia Pacific University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via Google Meet. On day 3 of the program, the participants were engaged in Hands-on training on Fundamentals and Innovative applications of IoT by the resource person Dr. B. Ezhilavan, Managing Director, VEI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The next day, on the forenoon session Dr. M. P. Gopinath, Associate professor from the Dept. of Information security, VIT, Vellore gave a talk on Applications of Machine learning techniques in healthcare. Followed by Dr. S. Poonguzhali, Professor, Centre for Medical Electronics, Anna University who delivered a speech on Human Movement Analysis for Augmentation and Rehabilitation. Post lunch, Dr. S. Ramkumar addressed the participants with the Fundamentals of Biomedical Nanotechnology and Synthesis of Nanomaterials. On the last day Dr. Dhanasekaran, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SRM University discussed the Impact of predictive data analytics in the healthcare industry. Followed by Dr. T. Asokan, Professor, Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras who addressed the faculty members on the Significance of Telerobotics in healthcare.
Technical Guest Lectures and Webinars: Organizing technical Guest Lectures and webinars on emerging topics can provide valuable educational opportunities for members. These activities allow participants to learn from experts in the field, exchange knowledge, and stay updated on the latest advancements. Inviting guest speakers from the industry and abroad to share their experiences and insights can provide valuable industry perspectives to chapter members. This helps bridge the gap between academia and industry and exposes members to real-world applications of photonics.
In September, The sessions of the three-day IEEE Sponsored Program on “Emerging Computational Intelligence and Optimization Techniques in Healthcare” were organized from September 25 to 27 by Saveetha IEEE Student Branch in association with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Electronics. Eminent experts from various domains were invited to share their wisdom and experience on the topic. 100+ participants (both online and offline) from various institutions were registered for the event. The Welcome address was delivered by Dr. Srigitha S Nath, Professor and Associate Dean, Saveetha Engineering College delivered the Presidential address. She emphasized the value of such a fantastic workshop for professors and students in the present. She also stressed the necessity of dealing with the education sector’s rapid development and shifting paradigms. Additionally, she expressed her gratitude to the event’s organizers for accepting the challenge of planning it and urged that it should be as engaging as possible.
Our beloved Vice Principal Dr. R.Senthil Kumar, gave the Vice Principal’s address. He discussed how the faculty should focus on developing their aptitudes in numerous areas to meet the needs of society. He appreciated our HoD Dr. Moorthi, for making such thoughtful and beneficial efforts to plan these kinds of activities. He also mentioned that students should take advantage of these opportunities so that they can more easily achieve their objectives.
Dr. T.D. Subash went through the roles of emerging computational intelligence and optimization techniques in healthcare. He also discussed the benefits of IEEE membership and the grants students can avail of. The session was very informative to both the students and the faculty members.
The chief guest for the afternoon session was Dr. R. Rajkumar Professor/Department of DSBS, School of Computing, SRMIST, In various ways, he highlighted the chief guest’s landmarks and accomplishments. Additionally, he discussed the significance of Technology. The resource person took over the session and shared the knowledge on the importance of 3D modeling, processes, and technologies involved in 3D modeling. It was an interactive session with students interacting with their doubts to the resource person and gaining informative knowledge.
The second day’s session started with a speech from Er. B.Ezhilavan, Software developer and trainer at VEI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Then, the Guest speaker, Er.P.Shobana Pritha, software developer and trainer, offered a comprehensive insight into the application of machine learning in healthcare using Python. The morning session provided a strong foundation for understanding the potential of machine learning in the healthcare sector. It highlighted its transformative impact on patient care and medical research. She mentioned the various resource software freely available on the web and mentioned how logic and machine learning are related to healthcare. In the afternoon, participants engaged in hands-on training, gaining practical experience in implementing machine learning algorithms with Python. This event facilitated a valuable learning experience, bridging the gap between theory and application in the healthcare industry. The session was very informative and interactive and the participants gained knowledge about the latest technology.
This workshop mainly focused on training the staff with the basic knowledge of IOT and the operations of Arduino Uno board in medical applications. In this workshop, staff learned various IOT-based medical projects like:
- Patient health monitoring system using Raspberry Pi – IoT.
- Smart patient monitoring system using Arduino or Raspberry Pi.
- Real-time wireless health monitoring system using Android smartphone.
Dr.M.Moorthi, Professor and HoD, BME&Medical Electronics, Saveetha Engineering College, the speaker of the day delivered the lecture about the importance of IEEE Membership in education and celebrated the IEEE DAY on March 10, the event was very interactive.
In October, Resource Persons Dr. Liew Tze Wei and Dr.Siow Chun Lim, Senior Lecturer/Faculty of Engineering, Multimedia University, Malaysia delivered a lecture with a brief introduction on “Human-Computer Interaction Design for Health-Information Agents”.
The following points were discussed in the session.
- Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI):
The lecture likely began with a general overview of Human-Computer Interaction, emphasizing its significance in designing user-friendly systems.
- Focus on Health-Information Agents:
The specific focus of the lecture was on Health-Information Agents, indicating a specialized
application of HCI principles in the healthcare domain.
- Definition and Role of Health-Information Agents:
The speaker provided a clear definition of Health-Information Agents and discussed their role in facilitating the interaction between users and health-related information.
- Importance of Design in Healthcare Systems:
Emphasis on the critical role of design in healthcare systems, particularly when it comes to user interaction, ensuring that the design is intuitive and supportive of the user’s needs.
- Challenges in Human-Computer Interaction for Health Information:
Discussion on the unique challenges faced in designing interfaces for health information, considering the sensitive nature of the data and the diverse needs of users in a healthcare context.
- User-Centered Design Principles:
Introduction to principles of user-centered design, where the user’s needs, preferences, and limitations are central to the design process, fostering a more effective and user-friendly interaction.
- Technological Aspects of Health-Information Agents:
Explanation of the technologies involved in Health-Information Agents, such as natural language processing, machine learning, and other AI components that contribute to the system’s functionality.
- Case Studies or Examples:
The speaker shared real-world examples or case studies illustrating successful applications of HCI in the design of Health-Information Agents. This could provide practical insights and demonstrate the impact of good design.
