KE Spotlight
Filter
-
HKU School of Nursing guides elderly to exercise with AI robots
HKU School of Nursing collaborated with the Hong Kong Housing Authority to host a health talk under the Healthy Ageing in Public Rental Housing Estates programme. Over 100 elderly people who participated in the talk worked out to strengthen their muscles with simple exercises under the guidance of two AI robots from the School of Nursing. The HKU team also conducted a hand-grip test to measure the muscle strength of elderly persons. The AI robots serve as fitness coaches to stimulate the elderly’s interest in exercise and help them remember the movements better, minimising the chance of sarcopenia and the risk of falls.
Read More -
HKU Studies the Prevalence of Viral Hepatitis in Hong Kong – The First Largest Population Territory-based Study
A research team of HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine performed a 19-month territory-wide study involving 10,256 individuals on the prevalence of five viral hepatitis in 2015 and 2016. It found the overall prevalence of hepatitis B in Hong Kong was 7.8%, yet 48% of infected participants were unaware of it. Since vaccine cuts the infection rate by 85% and many hepatitis B carriers were unaware of their situation, the HKU team called for a territory-wide screening for hepatitis and promotion for vaccination, especially if Hong Kong is to achieve the public health objectives of the World Health Organization in 2030.
Read More -
HKU and Imperial College London develop a new robotic platform technology for inexpensive diagnosis of reproductive disorder
HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and Imperial College London collaborated to develop a new robotic platform technology to measure hormone pulse patterns in reproductive disorder. The new biomedical technology enables repeated or even continuous measurement of hormone and other biomolecule concentrations. It is expected to be applied to a wide range of diagnostic scenarios in the future, with the cost largely reduced. The team expects the technology to be applied in clinical diagnosis in 10 years’ time.
Read More -
HKU and Ocean Park sign MOU to strengthen collaboration on Education and Research Programmes
HKU and Ocean Park signed a MOU to strengthen collaboration on innovative education and research initiatives. Innovation and knowledge exchange projects planned include the inaugural Ocean Park International STEAM Education Conference and Ocean Park x HKU DreamCatchers’ Hackathon in June 2019, and an International Conservation STEAM Competition with the theme “STEAM and Marine Conservation”. Public engagement initiatives such as Water Fun Fest will be hosted by Ocean Park and the HKU Faculty of Social Sciences from April 19 to May 1 to raise public awareness on water consumption and sustainability.
Read More -
Knowledge Exchange (KE) Excellence Award 2018
The university-level KE Excellence Award was introduced in 2015-16 to recognise the significant impact that our academic staff had made to benefit society. The KE Excellence Award 2018 was awarded to Ms Rebecca Wing Chi Lee and Professor Lusina Kam Shuen Ho of the Faculty of Law.
Read More -
HKU study suggests Hong Kong has a high volume and lucrative black market business
Ms Amanda Whitfort, Associate Professor of the HKU Faculty of Law, joined forces with members of the Hong Kong Wildlife Trade Working Group (HKWTWG) to publish a study focusing on the type and volume of seizures related to illegal wildlife trade in Hong Kong. The report suggested that HK$560 m worth of wildlife products was seized between 2013 and 2017, potentially equivalent to the deaths of 3,000 elephants, 65,000 pangolins and 51 rhinoceros. Ms Whitfort said the wildlife trade in the city remained under-policed and under-investigated. The authors urged the government to establish a wildlife crime unit and called for wildlife offences to be included under the same laws against organised crime.
Read More -
HKU microbiologists discover novel drug compounds for broad-spectrum antiviral therapy including SARS, MERs and H7N9
An HKU team led by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and Dr Shuofeng Yuan of the Department of Microbiology, has found a chemical compound called AM580 which is able to inhibit the activities of seven to eight types of virus, including the deadly SARS coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus and the bird flu H7N9 virus. The compound stops the virus from multiplying by making changes to the host’s cells. As the virus fails to duplicate, it will naturally be wiped out by white blood cells, causing a person to gradually recover from the infection. US provisional patent application has been filed for this important discovery. HKU hopes that clinical trials can be completed in five years and that patients can start using the drug in six to eight years.
Read More