Research Theme:
Research Interests:
biomechanics of mild traumatic brain injuries
Biography:
Dr. Lyndia Wu is a principal investigator at the International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries (ICORD) and an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia.
Her research program focuses on the biomechanics of mild traumatic brain injuries, known more commonly as concussions. In order to develop more accurate measures for the mechanisms of brain injury during head impact, Dr. Wu developed a mouth guard with sensors that can be worn during physical activities in her PhD work. This mouth guard captures both the translational and rotational kinematics of head motion and the skull, detects head impact and dangerous motions of the head with high sensitivity, and may enable the discovery of more accurate predictors of injury than traditional measures. In addition, Dr. Wu investigates the short- and long-term neurological effects of head trauma. Once she has established the link between the physical mechanisms of brain injury and the resultant neurological changes, she intends to further develop wearable sensors into a real-time injury screening device.