Shumit Saha

shumit dot saha at mail dot utoronto dot ca
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I am Shumit Saha, a Senior Scientiific Associate at the Centre for Digitial Therapeutics, University Health Network (UHN) and Assistant Profesor (Status) at Instiutite of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto. Previously, I received my PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of Toronto. My research interests lie in Technology Development for Healthcare application which include Wearable Device & Mobile Application Development, Acoustic Signal Processing, and Machine Learning.

In order to diagnose, treat and predict the heart failure and sleep related disorders, I have been developing several algorithms utilizing advanced signal processing, machine and deep learning techniques. I have profound expertises in working on various datasets including speech, snoring and breathing sounds, accelerometer, nasal airflow, oxygen saturation, ECG, and EEG.

Featured Research

A) Wearable Technology Based Assessment:

1. Automated Sleep Apnea Diagnosis:

Sleep Apnea is a chronic respiratory disorder, occurs due to intermittent collapse of the phaynx during sleep. Sleep Apnea is characterized by apnea (full collapse of the pharynx) or hypopnea (partial collapse of the pharynx). Sleep apnea is diagnosied by apnea-hypopnea index, which represents the number of apneas and hypopneas in per hour of sleep. Diagnosis of sleep apnea is commonly performed by Polysomnography (PSG). However, due to several challenges associated with PSG, a portable diagnosis of sleep apnea is necessary.
To address this gap, SleepdB has developed a simple werable device which contains a microphone and an accelerometer, and can be weared at the neck level. I have developed the core algorithm of sleep apnea diagnosis for our developed werable device. Currently, the device is in Phase-1 clinical trial by BresoTec. Inc.

2. Monitoring the Pharynx Anatomy by Snoring Sounds:

Understanding the underlying anatomical and physiological factors of sleep apnea is very important for administering appropriate treatment. Proper assessment of underlying anatomy can be done my MRI or drug induced sleep endoscopy. However, they are either costly or invasive. Therefore, one of my focuses has been to develop simple techniques to assess the pharynx.
I have shown that the acoustic features of snoring sound may have the ability to assess the amount of narrowing in the pharyx during sleep. Furthermore, the higher order signal processing has revealed that snoring sounds feature may have the capability to capture the change in the tissue mass surrounding the pharynx. The results of this project has lead us to submit an US Patent.

B) Mobile Application Based Assessment:

1. Speech Analysis to Screen Sleep Apnea and Assess Pharyx:

Successful screening of sleep apnea patients is essential before conducting a surgery. Currently, the screening process of sleep apnea is based on simple questionnaire which is subjective. Therefore, an accurate and easy screening of sleep apnea is necessary. I have developed machine learning algorithms in order to assess sleep apnea and phaynx size based on speech analysis. Currently, the mobile application to assess the sleep apnea using speech is being developed.

2. Automatic Algorithm for Heart Failure Management:

The Medly program was developed by an integrated public sector team of heart failure specialists, researchers, engineers, designers and human factors experts. Medly program empowers patients with with the tools to self-manage their heart failure. Currently, I am focusing on developing several algorithms to enhance the Medly program. My primary objectives are to develop: a) an automatic algorithm to administer the heart failure treatment through Medly App, b) a deep learning algorithm to predict the incident heart failure using Medly Data.

Publication

Peer-Reviewed Journals:

[11] S. Saha, M. Kabir, N. Montazeri, M. Hafezi, B. Gavrilovic, K. Zhu, H. Alshaer, A. Yadollahi, “Portable diagnosis of sleep apnea with the validation of individual event detection”, Sleep Medicine, 69C (2020) pp. 51-57 (IF: 3.36)

[10] S. Saha, A. Rattansingh, K. Viswanathan, A. Saha, R. Martino, A. Yadollahi, “Ultrasonographic measurement of pharyngeal airway dimension and its relationship with obesity and sleep-disordered breathing”, Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 46(11), 2998-3007, 2020 (IF: 2.51)

[9] X. Cao, T. D. Bradley, S. Bhatawadekar, S. Saha, S. M. Tarlo, M. B. Stanbrook, M. Inman, K.Rana, R. Dandurand, A. Yadollahi, “Effect of simulated obstructive sleep apnea on thoracic fluid volume and lower airways resistance in asthmatic subjects”, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2021, 0(ja) (IF: 17.45)

[8] N. Montazeri, M. Kabir, S. Saha, B. Gavrilovic, K. Zhu, B. Taati, H. Alshaer, A. Yadollahi, “Relative tidal volume and respiratory airflow estimation using tracheal sound and movement during sleep”, Journal of Sleep Research, 2021, e13279. (IF: 3.46)

[7] N. Montazeri, M. Kabir, S. Saha, K. Zhu, B. Gavrilovic, H. Alshaer, B. Taati, A. Yadollahi, “Automatic respiratory phase identification using tracheal sounds and movements during sleep”, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2021, 1-13 (IF: 3.32)

[6] N. Montazeri, S. Akbarian, M. Hafezi, S. Saha, K. Zhu, H. Alshaer, B. Taati, A. Yadollahi, “Sleep/wakefulness detection using the tracheal sound and movement”, Nature and Science of Sleep, 12, 1009-1021, 2020 (IF: 4.37)

[5] M. Kabir, S. Saha, B. Gavrilovic, K. Zhu, S. Mak, A. Yadollahi, “The effect of respiratory event related hypoxia on heart sounds during sleep”, Journal of Applied Physiology (Got Major Revision)

[4] M. Hafezi, N. Montazeri, S. Saha, K. Zhu, B. Gavrilovic, A. Yadollahi, B. Taati, "Sleep apnea severity estimation from tracheal movements using a deep learning model", IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 22641-22649, 2020. (IF: 4.09)

[3] S. Saha, Z. Moussavi, P. Hadi, T.D. Bradley, A. Yadollahi, “Effects of fluid accumulation in the neck on features of snoring sounds”, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2018;14(10):1653–1660. (IF: 3.39)

[2] S. Saha, T.D. Bradley, M. Taheri, Z. Moussavi, A. Yadollahi, “Development and validation of a subject-specific acoustic model of the upper airway for snoring sounds generation”, Nature-Scientific Reports, 2016; 6: 25730. (IF: 4.25)

[1] S.M.R. Islam, S. Saha, M.I. Khan, “FPGA based digital system for detection of dicrotic notch in the carotid pulse signal”, International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Research [ISSN 2223 - 4985], Vol. 2, No. 12, pp. 872 – 880.

Refereed Conference Papers and Abstracts:

[1] S. Saha, K. Viswanathan, N. Montazeri, A. Yadollahi, “Relationship between vowel sound features and pharyngeal airway cross-sectional area during normal breathing”, 42nd Annual International Conferences of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), Montreal, Canada, 2020 (Oral presentation)

[2] N. Montazeri, S. Saha, B. Gavrilovic, A Yadollahi, “Removing snoring sounds from tracheal breathing sounds using iterative wavelet filtering”, 42nd Annual International Conferences of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), Montreal, Canada, 2020 (Oral presentation)

[3] S. Saha, A. Rattansingh, K. Viswanathan, A. Saha, R. Martino, A. Yadollahi, “Utility of ultrasonography in the assessment of the pharyngeal airway”, ERS International Congress, Vienna, Austria, 2020 (Accepted)

[4] S. Saha, M. Kabir, N. Montazeri, B. Gavrilovic, K. Zhu, H. Alshaer, A. Yadollahi, “Sleep apnea diagnosis using tracheal respiratory sounds and movement”, World Sleep Congress, Vancouver, Canada, 2019

[5] S. Saha, G. Gruenspan, M. Kabir, M. Montazeri, M. Hafezi, T. Meisami, A. Yadollahi, “Investigation of the relationship between snoring sounds features and response to the mandibular advancement devices”, World Sleep Congress, Vancouver, Canada, 2019

[6] M. Kabir, B. Gavrilovic, S. Saha, K. Zhu, A. Yadollahi, “Automatic estimation of heart rate from heart sounds during sleep”, World Sleep Congress, Vancouver, Canada, 2019

[7] M. Kabir, B. Gavrilovic, S. Saha, K. Zhu, A. Yadollahi, “Increases in the intensity of heart sounds at the termination of respiratory events are positively correlated with the magnitude of hypoxia”, World Sleep Congress, Vancouver, Canada, 2019

[8] X. Cao, T. D. Bradley, S. Saha, S. M. Tarlo, M. B. Stanbrook, M. Inman, A. Yadollahi, “Influence of simulated obstructive sleep apnea on thoracic fluid volume and airways resistance in asthmatic and healthy subjects”, World Sleep Congress, Vancouver, Canada, 2019

[9] N. Montazeri, M. Kabir, K. Zhu, S. Saha, B. Gavrilovic, B. Taati, H. Alshaer, A. Yadollahi, “Estimation of Respiratory Signals using Tracheal Sound and Movement”, European Respiratory Society International Congress, Madrid, Spain, 2019 (DOI: 10.1183/13993003.congress-2019.OA3278)

[10] S. Saha, M. Kabir, N. Montazeri, B. Gavrilovic, K. Zhu, A. Yadollahi, H. Alshaer, “Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) estimation using breathing Sounds, accelerometer and pulse oximeter”, ERJ Open Research 2019 5: P63, ERS/ESRS Sleep and Breathing Conference, Marseille, France, 2019.

[11] M. Kabir, B. Gavrilovic, S. Saha, K. Zhu, and A. Yadollahi, “Investigating computed tomography imaging of the pharyngeal airway as a predictor of the effectiveness of maxillomandibular advancement to treat sleep apnea”, Chest, 152 (4), A1087, Toronto, Canada, 2017.

[13] M. Shokrollahi, S. Saha, P. Hadi, F. Rubzicz, A. Yadollahi, “Snoring sound classification from respiratory signal”, in Proc. of 38th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS 2016), Orlando, USA, 2016. (Doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7591413)

[14] S. Saha, Z. Moussavi, P. Hadi, T. D. Bradley, A. Yadollahi, “Investigating the effects of pharyngeal tissue content on snoring sounds features”, American Thoracic Society, 2017: A2610, Washington DC, USA.

[15] M. Shokrollahi, S. Saha, M. Taheri, Z. Moussavi, A. Yadollahi, “Development and validation of an acoustic model of the upper airway for snore sound generation”, American Thoracic Society, 2016: A5978, San Francisco, USA.

[16] S. Saha, M. Taheri, Z. Moussavi, A. Yadollahi, “Effects of changing in the neck circumference during sleep on snoring sound characteristics”, in Proc. of 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS 2015), Milan, Italy, 2015.

[17] S. Saha, M. Taheri, Z. Moussavi, A. Yadollahi, “Effects of changing in the neck fluid volume, neck circumference and upper airway during sleep on snoring sound characteristics”, World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering (Oral Presentation), Toronto, Canada, 2015.

[18] S. Saha, “Fuzzy logic analysis of physiological data for hypovolemia class level detection”, in Proc. of 3rd International Conference on Informatics, Electronics & Vision (ICIEV 2014), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014.

[19] S. Saha, M. Jahiruzzaman, C. Saha, R. Hosen, A. Mahmud, “FPGA Implementation of Modified Type-C PID Control System”, in Proc. of 2nd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Information Communication Technology (ICEEICT 2015), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2015.

[20] M. Jahiruzzaman, A.B.M.A. Hossain, S. Saha, "Implementation of 2D Torus Automorphisms for Image Encryption on FPGA", in Proc. of 2nd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Information Communication Technology (ICEEICT 2015), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2015

[21] M. Jahiruzzaman, S. Saha, A.K. Hawlader, “Dynamically Reconfigurable Parallel Architecture Implementation of 2D Convolution for Image Processing over FPGA”, in Proc. of 2nd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Information Communication Technology (ICEEICT 2015), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2015.

[22] S. Saha, K.H. Uddin, M.S. Islam, M. Jahiruzzaman, A.B.M.A. Hossain, "Implementation of Simplified Normalized Cut Graph Partitioning Algorithm on FPGA for Image Segmentation", in Proc. 8th International Conference on Software, Knowledge, Information Management and Applications (SKIMA 2014), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014.

[23] S. Saha, R. Islam, H. Rahman, M. Hassan, A.B.M.A. Hossain, “Design and Implementation of Block Cipher in Hummingbird Algorithm over FPGA”, in Proc. 5th IEEE International Conference on Computing, Communication and Networking Technologies (ICCCNT 2014), Hefei, China, 2014.

[24] S. Saha, N. Alam, R.K. Mondal, “Design and Implementation of FlexRAy Protocol with BIST Capability over FPGA”, in Proc. 5th IEEE International Conference on Computing, Communication and Networking Technologies (ICCCNT 2014), Hefei, China, 2014.

[25] S. Saha, M. Hossain, N. Alam, R.K. Mondal, “Fuzzy Logic Analysis of Knitted Fabrics Spirality”, in Proc. 5th IEEE International Conference on Computing, Communication and Networking Technologies (ICCCNT 2014), Hefei, China, 2014.

[26] S. Saha, S. K. Saha, I.S. Iqbal, A.K. Kundu, M.T.H. Khan, S.K. Pramanik, “Designing of an Air-Conditioning System using Fuzzy Logic with Advantage of Energy Saving”, in Proc. 2014 3rd International Conference on Informatics, Electronics & Vision (ICIEV), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014.

[27] S. Saha, M.A. Rahman, A. Thakur, “Design and Implementation of SPI Bus Protocol with Built-In-Self-Test Capability over FPGA”, in Proc. 1st IEEE International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (ICEEICT 2014), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014.

[28] S. Saha, N. Sarker, A. Hira, “Design & implementation of a low-cost blood glucose meter with high accuracy”, in Proc. 1st IEEE International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (ICEEICT 2014), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014.

[29] S. Saha, M.A. Rahman, A. Thakur, “Design and implementation of a BIST embedded inter-integrated circuit bus protocol over FPGA”, in Proc. 1st IEEE International Conference on Electrical Information and Communication Technology (EICT), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014

[30] S. Saha, M.A. Rahman, A. Thakur, “Design and Implementation of a BIST Embedded High Speed RS-422 Utilized UART over FPGA”, in Proc.4th IEEE International Conference on Computing, Communication and Networking Technologies (ICCCNT 2013), Tiruchengode, India, 2013.

[31] S.M.R. Islam, R. Sarker, S. Saha, A.F.M.N. Uddin, “Design of a programmable digital IIR filter based on FPGA”, in Proc. 1st IEEE/OSA/IAPR International Conference on Informatics, Electronics & Vision (ICIEV), pp. 716 – 721, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2012.