Events

[] To address the issue of limited accessibility to expert skin screening by skin specialists and alleviate the strain on the public healthcare system due to unnecessary invasive procedures, such as biopsies, we propose the development of a low-cost and hand-held probe device to accurately identify skin cancer non-invasively. The proposed device will reduce the pressure on the overall public health care system whilst specifically aiding underserved rural communities by providing an easy-to-use alternative for accurate skin cancer screening. To design the hand-held probe, the dielectric characteristics of healthy, benign and malignant (cancerous) skin tissue have to be known. Previous literature has reported properties for healthy skin and several benign and malignant pathologies (squamous and basal cell carcinoma; two types of skin cancer), but the dielectric properties of melanoma (another type of skin cancer) have only been reported below 8.5 GHz. Initial tests that our collaboration conducted show promising results for a significant contrast in dielectric properties of healthy skin and melanoma that would support the effort to develop a skin cancer probe. The first resonator for the hand-held low-cost prototype was designed in a simulation software that is specialized to study interactions of electromagnetic waves and biological tissues, such as healthy and cancerous skin. In parallel, we developed a laboratory model that can mimic the properties of healthy and diseased skin tissues. The developed probe has been validated on the laboratory model of skin. The goal of this research is to provide an easy-to-use, hand-held, low-cost device to allow for skin cancer screening in GP clinics in cities and rural communities. The innovation will allow for early detection and increased patient outcomes while relieving pressure on the public health system, by raising the accuracy of correct identification of skin cancer of a GP to that of a highly specialised dermatologist. Speaker(s): Lena, ***CANCELED*** Room: 321, Bldg: Duff Medical Building, 3775 Rue University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/543954

Abstract: Artificial intelligence and combinatorial optimization problems—such as drug discovery and prime factorization—remain challenging even for advanced computers. We are attempting to address these limitations by building photonic processors inspired by the brain—photonic neural networks—which utilize light for faster and more energy-efficient processing . We will discuss photonic networks, including Ising machines enabled by thin-film lithium niobate photonics , highlighting their applications in number partitioning, protein folding, wireless communications, and deep learning. Time permitting, we will briefly introduce a quantum photonic neural network that can learn to act as near-perfect components of quantum technologies and discuss the role of weak nonlinearities . Shastri, B.J. et al. Photonics for artificial intelligence and neuromorphic computing. Nature Photonics 15 (2021) Al-Kayed, N. et al. Programmable 200 GOPS Hopfield-inspired photonic Ising machine. Nature 648 (2025) Ewaniuk, J et al. Imperfect quantum photonic neural networks. Advanced Quantum Technologies (2023) . Co-sponsored by: Prof. Nicolas Quesada Speaker(s): Bhavin J. Shastri J. Armand Bombardier J-1035, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada, H3T 1J4

The IEEE Blockchain Forum is returning for the fourth time as part of (https://www.torontotechweek.com/). The goal of this compact one-day event is to congregate BUIDLers, researchers, academics, and engineers building blockchain protocols, infrastructure, and decentralized software applications. Note: (https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/469545) counted with 200 participants and speakers from JP Morgan, the Bank of Canada, Mastercard, the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, EY, Starknet, among others. [] Co-sponsored by: Toronto Tech Week and the Government of Ontario Speaker(s): Lawrence Ley, Ken Timsit, Manuel Badel, Srisht Fateh Singh, Revanth Reddy Airre, Ngozi Nora Agwu, Douglas Heintzman, Nisrine Labcir, Griff Green, Thomas You Agenda: Morning - Keynotes - Thought leadership talks from industry leaders - In-depth panels Lunch will be provided Afternoon - Technical talks - Workshops - Startups pitches and demos Ontario Investment and Trade Centre, 250 Yonge Street, 35th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5B 2L7