๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ: ๐
๐๐๐ณ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฒ๐ข, ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ!
Join us in congratulating Fadzai Saravoyi on submitting her MSc thesis!
Her thesis is titled:ย "๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ-๐๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ด๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ช๐ณ."
Fadzai's research focused on developing and evaluating a portable EEG device designed to improve contact impedance in hair-bearing regions of the scalp. Her work included designing an adaptive electrode mechanism to reduce contact impedance, incorporating it into a portable device designed for inclusivity. The ultimate goal is to provide accessible diagnostic technology for rural areas across Africa where clinical EEG access is limited.
Reflecting on the most surprising aspect of her research, Fadzai noted an unexpected discovery in the validation process:
"๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ด๐ถ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐."
The hardest part of the process was designing a validation method that accounted for hair while avoiding the need for human participants. Since hair significantly affects electrode contact, this required extensive experimentation and iteration to ensure the device performs reliably across various hair types.
Fadzaiย was supervised by Prof. Sudesh Sivarasu, Dr. MV Gule, and Prof. Tingting Zhu.
Special thanks to merSETA, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, and The National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) for their vital support and funding.
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