Qatar University’s researchers develop new tech for early detection of visual impairments  

QATAR – A team of researchers from Qatar University (QU) has developed a new technology-driven device that has the potential to revolutionize the screening process for visual improvements in adults and children.

The QU’s research team has created a ‘smart hat’ that uses computer software systems, methods, devices, and products to help people with visual impairments.

This smart assistant device takes real-time images to aid sight-impaired users to know where they are and their direction thus enabling them to navigate around in the real world.

In a press statement, Qatar University said: “QU’s research activities are a key pillar of Qatar’s vision to transform into a knowledge-based economy.”

QU and the College of Engineering offer a distinguished research environment, state-of-the-art laboratories, equipment, and technical support, fund research, manage external funding, encourage innovation, and register patents.

Led by computer engineering Professor Sumaya al-Maadeed, QU’s research team has filed a patent for the novel smart assistant device designed to help visually impaired people navigate their environment.

The method involves sending the image to a single-board computer, processing the images, and providing navigation assistance to the user based on the processed image.

Moreover, the patented smart assistant device is a significant addition to the major technological breakthroughs pioneered by Professor Sumaya al-Maadeed.

Commenting on the patented systems, Professor Sumaya said: “We have submitted a number of patents funded by QU and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC).”

She pointed out that artificial intelligence (AI) is paving the way for computers to think like humans, noting that machine learning and deep learning are paving the way for major advancements in society by adding training and learning components.

Notably, Professor Sumaya holds several patents in various fields with her research on artificial intelligence (AI) and applying it to images in the security and medical fields.

She began by analyzing images of faces and fingerprints for use in the forensic identification of the owner of the image, in addition to using advanced methods of crowd management using drones.

In her role as a professor at the university, she encourages her students to do innovative research and collaborate with industry and local institutions.

She is currently supervising graduate students looking at smart methods and programs to analyze writing to identify dysgraphia and dysphasia from a young age, especially for Arabic speakers.

In her address, Professor Sumaya stated “Another research project that I supervised is the use of smart methods in education, and we have applied it in several schools in Qatar with the support of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.”

Led by Professor Sumaya, the QU’s research team has collaborated with Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy to develop and benefit from many research projects locally and globally.

These research projects include video surveillance systems based on deep learning and used in various tasks, such as crowd counting, detecting abnormal events, detecting objects, and recognizing human movements.

Speaking on the importance of the research projects, Prof. Sumaya said: “Recently, the development of automated video surveillance systems has become critical to ensuring the security and safety of the population, especially during events involving large crowds, such as sporting events.”

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the QU’s researchers developed several programmes to analyze medical images and the voices of patients to understand their infection and the stage of the virus.

Researchers at Qatar University developed an advanced rapid antibody test (RABT) that measures antibody titers, providing essential information about an individual’s level of protection and the necessity for booster shots.

Led by Professor Sumaya, the QU’s team also holds patents related to cancer detection using artificial intelligence-driven tools.

The scientists have recorded several inventions and systems for cancer detection that they seek to market in the future, in cooperation with Al-Ahli Hospital in Qatar and Hamad Medical Corporation.

Shedding a light on the eureka moment, Professor Sumaya disclosed: “In the fields of AI in medicine, I started with cancer detection research using microscopic images with multiple optical spectra.”

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