Bridging skills gaps

Each year, more than 100,000 women in Canada experience intimate partner violence (IPV), and up to 90 per cent of these survivors will experience a concussion resulting from physical IPV trauma, according to Canadian statistics. As concussion is an invisible injury, proper recognition, diagnosis and treatment remains a challenge for survivors and medical professionals.

But what if there was a way to make an unseen injury visible?

Researchers from Algonquin College’s Victimology Research Centre (VRC) have partnered with Neurovine, an Ottawa-based leader in concussion recovery technology, to develop wearable smart technology that will provide live feedback on brain activity. This data can then be shared with health-care providers to develop concussion treatment and recovery plans that are customized to the individual.

The VRC’s team is helping Neurovine gather survivor-led feedback to expand and improve the company’s existing technology, which includes a smart electroencephalogram (EEG) headband that measures brain activity and an app that visually displays the EEG results.

“We’ve designed this study to learn more about the intersection of concussion and IPV while providing survivors with an accessible and affordable recovery option,” said Diana McGlinchey, principal investigator at the VRC. “Using survivor-led feedback, we’ve worked with [Neurovine] to design an app that works with or without their wearable EEG headset that [will help] women understand their brain health.”

In addition to Ms. McGlinchey, the VRC’s research team includes Algonquin College faculty members Alyssa Ferns and Pasan Fernando as well as a number of student research assistants from the college’s Victimology Ontario College Graduate Certificate program, which provides learners with specialized knowledge and skills in victimology and in the provision of victim services. The team is working in conjunction with Women’s Shelters Canada, the SOAR Project and DAWN Canada to collect essential data on the experiences of those who have experienced IPV.

“The Algonquin side of the team is working directly with survivors of intimate partner violence to collect data through surveys that ask about experiences of violence, symptoms and engagement with the app,” said Ms. McGlinchey.

This project is one of many facilitated by the college each year. In 2023-2024 alone, Algonquin College hosted 163 applied research projects and collaborated with more than 160 industry partners, a group that includes the likes of CHEO, Canada Post and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, among others. In 2023, the college ranked third in Canada for its number of research partnerships and was listed as one of the top 50 research colleges in the country.

For prospective applied research partners, Algonquin College offers state-of-the-art lab facilities, expert guidance and cost-effective strategies that can help drive long-term success. For more information, visit the college’s applied research website.

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