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Awards: 2005 Circle of Honour Recipients

Dr. Tom Chau – Research – 2005

Tom Chau is revolutionizing the way technology enables children and youth with disabilities. With his focus on intelligent design, Tom’s technology adapts to the child’s desires and needs rather than limiting the child to the scope of the technology.

Tom has emerged as a leader in pediatric rehabilitation engineering. He is Assistant Professor in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair in pediatric rehabilitation engineering. Within
Bloorview Research Institute, Tom is a scientist and theme leader in innovation research.

Tom’s intelligent technology can interpret the sounds muscles make to open and close a prosthetic hand; interpret the communicative intent behind a child’s eye blinks and head or hand movements; and read signals from a child’s throat that warn of aspiration, prompting parents to intervene. Another innovation is a virtual musical instrument that allows children who are unable to play conventional instruments to make music.

Tom has published in many peer-reviewed journals and received numerous salary awards and funding from national and international agencies. He willingly shares his expertise and is a role model for many students at Bloorview MacMillan and the University of Toronto.

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