Postdoc Dieter Bender Receives Early Career Investigator Award from American Heart Association
Dieter Bender 鈥�12 MSEE, 鈥�21 PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the 棉花糖直播 Center for Analytics of Dynamic Systems.
Dieter Bender 鈥�12 MSEE, 鈥�21 PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 College of Engineering, is a 2023 recipient of the American Heart Association鈥檚 Resuscitation Science Symposium Early Career Investigator Award.
Presented Nov. 10 in Philadelphia during the organization鈥檚 international symposium, the award recognizes the conference鈥檚 top-scoring abstracts related to cardiac and trauma resuscitation science. Dr. Bender鈥檚 paper, 鈥淧hotoplethysmogram Signal Characteristics as a Non-Invasive Surrogate of Diastolic Blood Pressure During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation,鈥� investigates data from the pulse oximeter, commonly used in hospitals, to determine whether the device could indicate the effectiveness of CPR, specifically in children.
鈥淯sing cardiac arrest data from 12 children, we developed a machine-learning model that decoded 268 five-second CPR epochs of these PPG signals,鈥� Dr. Bender says. 鈥淎stonishingly, our model detected CPR quality with a 91% accuracy. The developed interactive machine-learning algorithm determined a specific point in the waveform, the 鈥榙icrotic notch,鈥� especially telling. This suggests that the unassuming pulse oximeter might become pivotal in monitoring patients鈥� physiological response during active CPR and adjust lifesaving CPR accordingly.鈥�
Working alongside director C. Nataraj, PhD, the Moritz Endowed Professor of Engineered Systems, Dr. Bender is a researcher in the focusing on explainable artificial intelligence and interactive machine learning for pediatric critical care medicine. He calls the award not only an affirmation of his work, but also a motivation to continue building bridges between engineering and medicine.
鈥淐oming from an engineering background and diving into a realm largely led by health care and medical professionals, this recognition is particularly poignant for me,鈥� Dr. Bender says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more than just a recognition of personal achievement; it鈥檚 a reflection of the dynamic shift in medical research today, where traditional silos are blurring. Being acknowledged by an authoritative body like the American Heart Association reinforces the significant role that diverse expertise, like engineering, plays in progressing the field of resuscitation science.鈥�