NDSU Helping Develop Wearable Smart Device To Predict Diabetes Onset

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FARGO - Three professors from North Dakota State University have received a grant to develop artificial intelligence technology that could one day predict the onset of diabetes.

More than $1.4 million in National Science Foundation grants have been awarded to Danling Wang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Jin Li, professor of computer science, and Christine Stephenson, professor of pharmaceutical science. .

The project, which aims to develop advanced health care technologies and improve the region's workforce, is a collaboration between six universities, including NDSU and the University of North Dakota, and several private industry partners in North Dakota, Alabama and Arkansas. .

The team is combining research expertise from sensor development, nanotechnology, 3D printing and the latest artificial intelligence to create a smart wearable device that monitors a patient's breathing and predicts the onset of diabetes.

Wang said the device probably wouldn't need the Internet or Wi-Fi for the watch to work.

NDSU faculty focuses primarily on sensor development.

"By reducing computing time, we allow the device to analyze and process data faster and more efficiently," he said.

Daily activity, food and glucose levels can be entered into the device, which is designed to help people avoid developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

The technology can be extended to other areas; For example, in agriculture, the occurrence of plant diseases can be predicted.

A lot of patents and intellectual property are expected from this effort, Wang said.

The project also provides hands-on learning opportunities for NDSU students and has received support from Sanford Health and John Deere.

"The workforce training program of this project will provide the society with high-quality and capable workers, and the proposed Edge AI technology can benefit local industries such as agriculture and manufacturing," he said.

The lead institution for the project is the University of South Alabama. Collaborating institutions are NDSU, University of Arkansas, University of North Dakota, Alabama A&M University and Noita Hidatasa Sahnish College.