UBC Applied Science alum Dr. David Black has received a distinction of honour for his dissertation from the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies (CAGS).
The CAGS ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation is awarded every year in four distinct categories. Dr. David Black, a graduate of UBC's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was the winner for the Engineering, Medical Sciences and Natural Sciences Category.
His dissertation, Bilateral Human Teleoperation – A Mixed Reality System for Remote Ultrasound, introduces an entirely new approach to delivering healthcare in remote communities. Rather than relying on expensive medical robots or requiring patients to travel long distances for diagnostic imaging, Dr. Black developed a mixed reality system that allows an expert sonographer to remotely guide a person with no ultrasound training through a diagnostic-quality examination.
This system was already put to the test in a landmark clinical study conducted between Vancouver and the First Nations community of Haida Gwaii. Local residents with no prior ultrasound experience were able to successfully produce diagnostic-quality images in 92% of cases under remote guidance. This has the potential to transform access to healthcare for rural, remote and Indigenous communities in Canada and around the world.
“David Black’s thesis is extraordinary. It’s rare that I’ve read one with as ambitious a scope. Despite the breadth of its work (e.g. from mechanical design to control to human factors), each chapter meets the highest standards for research in its own field… The writing of the thesis material is very high quality. Difficult concepts are explained carefully and jargon (unavoidable!) is defined carefully at the right points in the exposition.” Dr. Blake Hannaford, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington
Dr. Black has rapidly emerged as one of Canada’s leading young researchers in medical robotics and telemedicine. His doctoral research resulted in eight peer-reviewed journal publications, two patents, numerous conference papers, and multiple international awards, including the MITACS Outstanding Innovation Award, the Hamlyn Symposium Best Paper Award, and the IEEE Conference on Telepresence Best Student Paper Award.
A Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar and recipient of an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dr. Black has already begun translating his research into practice by co-founding Coact Technologies, a startup dedicated to bringing mixed reality tele-ultrasound to remote communities. As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia, he continues to advance technologies that expand equitable access to expert healthcare while opening an entirely new field of research in human teleoperation.
To read the full release with the other winners, visit the CAGS website.