With communities across the nation experiencing a wave of COVID-19 infections, clinicians need effective tools that will enable them to aggressively and accurately treat each patient based on their specific disease presentation, health history, and medical risks.

For individuals with central nervous system paralysis, the effectiveness of neuroprosthetic technology — such as brain-controlled prosthetic limbs or muscle stimulation devices — makes a world of difference. If the process of implanting tiny electrodes in the brain were to be improved, allowing for stronger and longer lasting communication between neurons and external devices, it could significantly enhance quality of life.

The latest episode of Why Not Change the World? The RPI Podcast features conversations with two scientists whose work modeling the spread of COVID-19 is helping to inform and guide decision-makers in education, health care, government, and other industries.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute envision a day when surgeons will benefit from personalized training, rather than sheer practice repetition, thanks to novel neuroimaging and artificial intelligence methodologies. Under this method, surgeons would complete technical tasks while images of their brain activity reveal how well they have mastered critical skills.

Deborah McGuinness and Jamie McCusker were awarded the Semantic Web Science Association (SWSA) Ten-Year Award for a research paper which shed light upon how the use of the semantic concept owl:sameAs was being used and misused for linking data sets on the Web of data.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Rensselaer leaders prepared to bring students back to campus for the fall 2020 semester, they relied on a powerful algorithm to determine a testing schedule that, along with other tools, has helped maintain a safe environment on campus. That algorithm is now publicly available as a free online app.

Lucy Zhang, an associate professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Suvranu De, the J. Erik Jonsson ’22 Distinguished Professor of Engineering and head of the same department, have each been elected fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Armed with evidence that a specific site on heparan sulfate — known as the 3-O-sulfate group — is critical to the transfer of harmful tau proteins in the brain, a research program funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Aging is scrutinizing the interactions between heparan sulfate and tau, determining how misfolded tau spreads in the brain, and developing strategies to block it.

Bioimaging technologies are the eyes that allow doctors to see inside the body in order to diagnose, treat, and monitor disease.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide for men and women. The most common type of heart disease, coronary artery disease, is caused when plaque builds up along the walls of arteries that carry blood to the heart. It is often diagnosed through a cardiac computed tomography (CT) scan, which shows doctors if arteries are narrowing.