Research summary
Accessing health-care resources is increasingly challenging for people living in Canada and other countries around the world. This fact makes it difficult to reach the global goal of enhancing patient outcomes and overall population health. One powerful avenue to improve health care is to provide diagnostic and genetic tests “on the spot,” in non-laboratory settings. This is referred to as point-of-care testing.
Dr. Hubert Jean-Ruel, Canada Research Chair in Advanced Photonic Sensing Components and Systems, aims to develop sensing technologies that are amenable to point-of-care testing. He and his research team are tapping into the probing power of photonics to investigate complex samples and develop advanced fibre optic components and systems that can dramatically augment the point-of-care arsenal. The innovative biochemical sensing technologies they develop will deliver unprecedented performance and enhance health-care capabilities. They will also significantly decrease the cost of using point-of-care techniques.