Clarkson University alumnus Thomas Conroy ‘19 has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Conroy, a Rochester, NY native who graduated from Clarkson with an Electrical Engineering degree from the Honors Program, is now pursuing a Ph.D. at Cornell University in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The Graduate Research Fellowship from NSF will provide three years of funding support for Conroy to pursue the research he outlined in his proposal, titled “Continuous Ambulatory Vital Sign Monitoring using Near-Field Coherent Sensing.”
“This research involves detailed, non-invasive heart and respiratory monitoring using low-cost, wearable radio-frequency antennas,” Conroy said.
Conroy has been involved in biomedical and cardiology research since his first year at Clarkson. Under the guidance of his honors thesis advisor, Paynter-Krigman Endowed Professor in Engineering Science and Director of the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) Stephanie Schuckers, Conroy’s undergraduate honors thesis focused on “Detection of Atrial Fibrillation Using an Earlobe Photoplethysmographic Sensor and Prototype Implementation into a Hearing Aid.”
Schuckers described Conroy as a hard worker during her time as his advisor.
“His focus for his Honor’s thesis was on using pulse oximetry to detect atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a heart arrhythmia that is under‐diagnosed since symptoms are not always present. However, it is vital that atrial fibrillation is diagnosed as it could lead to serious problems such as a stroke,” Schuckers said.
In his work, Conroy used a pulse oximeter, a relatively inexpensive device that measures heartbeat and blood oxygen content through the use of LEDs and photodetectors. Pulse oximetry is already integrated into some smartphones to detect the heartbeat. Conroy showed that through detecting irregular heartbeats that occur during atrial fibrillation, it is possible to diagnose atrial fibrillation.
“Thomas also focused on the feasibility of the approach for a wearable device placed on the ear, such that it could be worn continuously such that an atrial fibrillation event would not be missed,” Conroy said. “This work is a great example of technology serving humanity, which Clarkson espouses.”
Conroy attributes his passion for research to his time spent at Clarkson and is excited to get back to his work.
“Clarkson and the Honors Program definitely steered me towards a career in research, especially through the Honors Thesis and the Research and Project Showcase (RAPS) conference, coupled with the experience of working as a research intern at University of Rochester Medical Center,” Conroy said. “It’s definitely encouraging to know the NSF deemed my research valuable enough to support me to complete it, and I’m eager to get back in the lab as soon as possible to continue it.”
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