
salam satu malaysia... my name is mohammad afif bin azhar..now i study at uItm kampus bandaraya johor bahru in business management..the main purpose of this blog established is for my subject MGT300...tuan syed mazlan is a lecturer of this subject...
Thursday, 11 August 2011
IMU Expands Credit Transfer Options for Biomedical Science Students 16 February 2011
International Medical University (IMU) recently provided another credit transfer
option for students who have applied for its biomedical science programme, giving
these students an exciting new option to continue their education in an overseas university.
Through this arrangement, credit transfer students from IMU will be required to complete
the first part of their studies in IMU before transferring to University of Strathclyde.
These students will receive academic credit for the subjects they have successfully
completed in IMU and use this towards the completion of their degree. The degree
will then be awarded by University of Strathclyde.
"We are pleased to be able to provide an additional credit transfer option for students
in the biomedical science programme. Providing students with this additional credit
transfer option is an affordable way for IMU students to gain access to a UK education
and towards obtaining an overseas degree," said A/Prof Chen Yu Sui, programme
coordinator of the biomedical science programme at IMU.
The University of Strathclyde was founded in 1796 and is Scotland"s third largest,
with some 14,000 students from more than 90 countries. The University is recognised
as a centre of teaching excellence in Scotland and stands among the best in the world.
A/Prof Chen Yu Sui added, "Without doubt, this arrangement would offer vast benefits
to them as it uniquely allows students to experience the learning environments
of two leading universities in Malaysia and the UK. Another benefit for the
students is the discovery and understanding of cultures from around the world
as this is a critical component for a
healthcare professional. This is certainly one of the reasons for us to continuously
look for additional transfer options for students and part of its ongoing mission to train
and promote excellence in the healthcare industry."
for more than 10 years. Prior to this, the university has collaborative and
credit transfer arrangements with IMU for its pharmacy and psychology
programmes. With this
collaboration, University of Strathclyde will be expanding the number
of IMU
programmes that the university is having collaborative agreements.
In addition to the credit transfer option with the University of Strathclyde, students
applying for the biomedical science programme also have the opportunity to transfer
the credits that they have earned in IMU to the University of Otago in New Zealand or
University of Newcastle in Australia after successful completion of the first part of their
course in IMU. Students also have the option to complete the entire biomedical science
degree in IMU and obtain a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Biomedical Science from IMU.
CUCMS field trips give students insight on biology
THE Biology syllabus offered in the Centre for Foundation in Science Studies at the Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences focuses on the best possible approach to help enhance learning experiences toward the Biology subject.
It also ensures that students are not overly buried or inundated with a smorgasbord of biological facts, theories, processes and concepts, without getting a full grasp of the key concepts and understanding of the subject learned.
While it cannot do away with the facts and theories embedded in the subject, the centre places great emphasis on student learning process such as infusion of Student Centered Team-based Learning and Project-Based Learning mode.
Through this, students learn to self-direct their own learning by sourcing for informative resources, conducting research and exploring reading materials other than their textbook for a given project.
In one of the lessons that used the Project-Based Learning approach, the students were acquired to apply cooperative learning and team work to design and construct a replica that illustrated the mechanism of the receptor-mediated endocytosis using any material available.
Materials used by students ranged from recycled materials, like mineral water bottle, tuna can, cotton swabs, pistachio nut shell, coconut shell and other household materials.
Some even sourced for edible substances and food colouring in constructing the pathway model.
Poster presentation was another example of group projects with the purpose being to expose the students to present their experimental results in a scientific way in the format of a poster, an alternative to their lab report.
Development of critical thinking and reasoning power are necessary for the students in their participation of the laboratory activities and poster presentation.
The centre also organised an educational outfield trip for students to allow them to learn with nature and echo their university theme of "Nurturing the Passion to Care" for the environment.
Recently, CUCMS students had an opportunity to visit Ulu Gombak Biodiversity Centre under the care of Professor Dr Rosli Hashim from the Institute of Biological Sciences, University Malaya.
A bird watching session was also led by Prof Rosli to expose the students to be alert of their chirping sounds, as their presence were normally obscured by the trees. The identification and knowing the medicinal values of the plants collected were certainly informative for both the students as well as the CUCMS staff.
SMIDEX 2011
Cyberview will be organising its 4th SME showcase at the SME Innovation Exhibition 2011 from June 7-9 at the Cyberjaya Pavilion, Booth No C10, Hall 4, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. ICT entrepreneurs will be showcasing local products including iPhone and iPad applications and content development, online business solutions and telephony devices, Exhibition is open from 10am to 6pm. For details, call 03-7493 5588.
ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
Loads of fun await children at Sunway Pyramid this school holidays with free art and craft activities, colouring workshops, sushi and pretzel and cinnabonmaking workshops, grand prix on feet and story-telling. The LG1 Pyramid Concourse is also decorated with Cars 2 set up with a huge Lightning McQueen for photography. For details, call 03- 7494 3100 or visit www.sunwaypyramid.com for details.
CHILDREN FOR UM 2011
The Children Forum 2011 entitled “Voices for Judicial Change” will take place on May 28 from 8am to 6pm at the Grand Seasons Hotel, KL. Those facing custodial issues or concerned about children affairs are welcome. For details or to register, e-mailinfo.childrenforum1@gmail.com or call 03-4297 1985/ 06-6516 616/ 012-224 2099.
FREE TALK
WIM College is hosting a free talk on “Breaking The Mind Barrier” by Indian national record holder for memory Anant Kasibhatla tomorrow from 9.30am to noon at 2nd floor, Wisma WIM, 7, Jalan Abang Haji Openg, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL. To register, call Evelyn at 03-7725 0268/88 or e-mail name and contact number to gkh@wimnet.org.my.
READ MALAYSIA 2011
In conjunction with “Read Malaysia 2011”, The National Library will be having programmes like children’s corner, meet the country’s first astronaut session, book launch and sales, starting today until June 5 at the library and Malaysia International Exhibition and Convention Centre, Mines Resort City, Seri Kembangan. For details, call 03- 2687 1700.
CHARITY WALK
JCI Petaling Jaya is organising “Fancy Hats Charity Walk 2011” in aid of its Leukemia Trust Fund on June 11 from 4pm to 11pm, at i-City Shah Alam. Registration fee is RM25 per participant. Family activities and lucky draws will also be held. For details or to register, e-mailjcipjfancyhats@gmail.com or call 019-319 7383/ 012-399 5495.
MASCOS 2011
Mamee Monster, Chicky from KFC, Mister Potato, Panasonic IA and Evolta, Kakashi Sensei from Naruto, Tifa and Cloud from Final Fantasy will be in action tomorrow at Mascos 2011 at The Summit Subang USJ. For details, call 03- 8023-3493/108 or e-mail hamae@summit-usj.com.
New Nottingham graduates join 200,000 global alumni
Successful students at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus who graduated at the recent graduation ceremony joins 200,000 alumni members of the university worldwide. Close to 700 students from engineering, business, computer science, management and other disciplines graduated at a ceremony hosted by Professor Christine Ennew, Pro Vice Chancellor of Internationalisation of The University of Nottingham and Professor Ian Pashby, CEO & Provost of The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.
“Our students are highly sought after by employers and I had the pleasure of meeting some students who have already secured employment in their chosen fields long before the results were announced,” said Professor Ian Pashby.
“A Nottingham graduate has a truly international qualification from one of UK’s leading universities and they form the next generation of knowledge leaders who will address issues we face today on climate change, food security and rapidly changing technology and customer needs
I am confident that our students are able to achieve and address the challenges of the working world. This year alone they have successfully organised two major student led initiatives the Charity Carnival and Green Week” Professor Pashby said.
Many prominent members of Malaysian society are Nottingham graduates, they include: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia; Former Kings, DYMM Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-lah, Sultan of Perak; and: the late DYMM Tuanku Ja’afar Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the former Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri, Sembilan and renowned senior members of the Malaysian judicial system.
At the recent graduation ceremony, Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred to Y.A.M Tunku Imran Ibni Tunku Ja’afar and Y.Bhg. Dato’ Dr. Michael O.K. Yeoh.
Y.A.M Tunku Imran Ibni Tunku Ja’afar
Tengku Imran, an alumnus of The University of Nottingham is the youngest of His His Royal Highness, Tuanku Ja’afar, the late Yang DiPertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan. He received his early education At the King's School Canterbury, UK and obtained an LLB Honours from The University of Nottingham in 1970.
Tunku Imran is the second son of His Royal Highness, Tuanku Ja'afar, the late Yang DiPertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.Tunku Imran was educated in the United Kingdom at the King's School Canterbury from 1956 to 1966, and Nottingham University from 1967 to 1970 where he obtained an LLB (Hons). He was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1971.
He joined the Malaysian National Corporation - PERNAS as its Representative in Indonesia and later the Group Company Secretary. He joined the Haw Par Group in 1973 as its Managing Director until 1976. He became the Chief Executive Officer of the Antah Group of Companies since its formation until February 2001. He is currently the Chairman of Syarikat Pesaka Antah Sdn Bhd.
He also the Chairman of public listed companies including Aluminum Company of Malaysia Berhad and Lafarge Malayan Cement Berhad.
Apart from business commitments, Tunku Imran is a Director of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, a member of the Court of Fellows of Malaysian Institute of Management, and the Malaysian-British Business Council (MBBC). He is also the immediate Past President of Badan Warisan Malaysia (Heritage of Malaysia Trust), the present Chairman of the Bankers’ Club of Kuala Lumpur and a founder member of the Board of Trustees of Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar.
In the field of sports, Tunku Imran is President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, a member of the Management Board of National Sports Council of Malaysia, Founding Chairman of the Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence (SportExcel), President of Taekwondo Malaysia (WTF) and Patron of the Malaysian Cricket Association of which he was President from 1990 to 2011
Tunku Imran is a member of the International Olympic Committee and its (IOC) Sport & Law Commission, and Sport for All Commission, sits on the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS), and is an Executive Council member of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). He is also Patron of the World Squash Federation and was its President from 1989 to 1996. He is a Vice-President of the Commonwealth Games Federation and Honorary Life President of the Southeast Asian Games Federation. He was an Executive Board Member of the International Cricket Council from 1997-1999 and again from 2001-2008. He was Malaysia's National Squash Champion in 1973 and also a member of the Malaysian cricket tour team to Hong Kong in 1971. He was Malaysia's Chef-de-Mission to the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. In June 1991, he was conferred the National Sports' Leadership Award by the King of Malaysia, in 1992 the Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) conferring the title of 'Tan Sri', and in 1999 the Darjah Seri Utama Negeri Sembilan (SPNS) conferring the title of ‘Dato’ Seri Utama’.
In April 2004, Tunku Imran was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Newport University, U.S.A., and in March 2009, he was awarded an International Honorary Doctorate from the United States Sports Academy (USSA) for his outstanding leadership and achievement in sports and sports-related professions.
In June 2009 he was selected as the Global winner of the Lifetime Service Award for the Pepsi ICC Development Program Annual Awards 2008 in recognition of his contribution to the growth of cricket as a global sport.
Y.Bhg. Dato’ Dr. Michael O.K. Yeoh.
Y.Bhg Dato’ Dr. Michael O.K. Yeoh is Co-Founder & CEO of the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI). As CEO of ASLI, he conceptualised and founded the World Ethics & Transparency Forum, the World Islamic Economic Forum, the World Chinese Economic Forum, the ASEAN Leadership Forum and the Asia Economic Summit. He also established the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) to undertake independent public policy research.
He helped set up the Malaysia-US Business Council, the Malaysian-British Business Council, the Malaysia-Russia Business Council and Malaysia-Indonesia Business Council where he serves as Executive Director of these Business Councils. He is also Joint Secretary-General of the Malaysia-China Business Council, the ASEAN Business Forum and the Corporate Malaysia Roundtable.
Dato’ Yeoh’s Boardroom experience includes sitting on boards of media, finance, property, tourism and education companies.
His management career covers over 10 years experience in the financial sector where he was Principal Adviser and Executive Vice-President of Southern Bank as well as 20 years consulting experience. He was also a Director of SB Venture Capital Corporation and SBB Capital Markets Sdn Bhd. He sat on the Board of SBB Asset Management Company (then Malaysia’s second largest fund management company managing over RM5 bill – USD1.5 bill assets, prior to the merger with CIMB Bank).
He was appointed by the Prime Minister and Government of Malaysia to be Malaysia’s Representative (with Ambassadorial status) on the new ASEAN High Level Task Force set up by the ASEAN Heads of States and Governments which developed the ASEAN Connectivity Master Plan focusing on ICT, Education, Human Capital Development, Transport, Power and Energy, adopted at the 17th ASEAN Summit. contributing his time to National Service, he served on the First and Second National Economic Consultative Council.
He was appointed by the Prime Minister to the National Unity Advisory Panel and the Royal Commission on Police. He was a Commissioner on Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) and served as Chairman of its Economic, Cultural and Social Rights Working Group. In April 2011, he was appointed by the Prime Minister in Malaysia’s new Competition Commission.
He was also appointed by the Minister of Finance Incorporated to sit on the Board of Directors of Malaysia’s National Heart Institute. He was a Co-Founder and Director of Prime College and MSC-Syme Business School (set up in association with Australia’s Monash University). He was also Executive Director of Sunway College and currently sits on the Council of the Wawasan Open University. He was Managing Director of Malaysian Strategic Consultancy (the then Malaysian Representative of Stanford Research Institute).
He also sat on the Board of Star newspapers.
He graduated in Economics & Accounting from Monash University and did his practical accounting training with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Melbourne. He has attended the Aresty Institute of Wharton School in USA, the Melbourne Business School and UCLA’s Graduate School of Management. A Certified Management Consultant, he specialises in Corporate Strategic Planning, Asian Strategy and Political Economy. He is Vice-President of Malaysian Institute of Directors, Member of the Institute of Directors, UK and Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Management.
Dato’ Yeoh has written several books on Management, Leadership and Malaysian Politics such as Vision & Leadership, Management Strategies for Malaysian Companies, Globalization and the New South and the Malaysian Chinese. A sought after speaker, he has addressed international conferences and forums organised by the Asia Society New York, World Economic Forum, Confederation of Indian Industry, China Development Institute, Young Presidents Organization, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Singapore, Michigan Business School, Wilton Park UK, the Monash Asia Institute Australia and the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN).
For more information on University of Nottingham Graduate Association, please consult:http://www.nottingham.org.my.
For more information on courses offered at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, please consult:http://www.nottingham.edu.my/Departments. Alternatively please e-mail us at enquiries@nottingham.edu.my for local students and international@nottingham.edu.my for international students.
MONASH university

They say things happen in threes. This has been the case in the prestigious Target 2030 Design the car of the future competition, with three budding Industrial Designers from Monash University taking the top prize in three of the award categories.
Monash Industrial Design graduates, Nigel Remedios and Daniel Munnink, and current Industrial Design student, Kirk Dyer, were recognised as talented and passionate next generation designers at the recent award ceremony.
The competition, now in its seventh year and run by the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC), is divided into three categories; model-making, design and essay.
Nigel Remedios, who is currently employed by Holden, was the winner of the tertiary model-making category for his Zero-One urban lifestyle commuter. He describes his design as a vehicle that provides a solution for sustainable personal commuting.
“The Target 2030 encourages you to be creative and out-there. The competition is great for students wanting to get into the industry, as they get the opportunity to directly interact with automotive designers,” said Mr Remedios.
Winner of the tertiary design category, Daniel Munnink, received an award for his Neos design, an enclosed motorbike with a modular sidecar system for the 21st century. Mr Munnink is also employed by General Motors Holden.
“Having Target 2030, one of the biggest Australian automotive design awards, on your resume is a definite advantage whether you are a participant or a winner,” Mr Munnink said.
Kirk Dyer, who won the tertiary essay category, explained that his work was about autonomous vehicles in the year 2030.
“My essay looked at how we will interact with vehicles in the future and how they will relate to our lifestyles, including automatic parking systems and sensory systems to avoid crashes,” Mr Dyer said.
This is not the first time Monash University has taken top prize at Target 2030. Last year they scooped first prize in all tertiary level categories with unique and innovative designs by students.
Mr Mark Richardson, Lecturer in Industrial Design, said this was an outstanding result for the Department of Design.
“This award shows that Monash University is leading within the industrial design industry. Our students produce extraordinary work during their time at the Faculty of Art & Design,” said Mr Richardson.
The Department of Design at the Faculty of Art & Design will open their doors to potential students at the Monash University Open Day on Sunday 7 August.
Intensive Linux Training Program at UNISEL
Open Source Systems Sdn Bhd (OSS) conducted a bootcamp-style Intensive Linux Training Program at Universiti Industri Selangor (UNISEL) from May 13, through May 17.
Professor Dr. Hidayat Bin Hussain, Dean, Information Technology Industry, UNISEL and Dr. Azman Firdaus Shafii, Chairman of Open Source Systems (OSS) Sdn Bhd gave the welcoming messages at commencement day. Dr. Hidayat emphasized UNISEL's strong commitment to Linux and Open Source software. UNISEL's Vice Chancellor himself, Professor Ir. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Ibrahim also took this opportunity to address the students with a short speech.
OSS's certified Linux trainers involved in the training were Teh Yong Wei, Debbie Yeow and Mohd Bahathir Hashim. Puan Sabariah Mohd Zain, Lecturer, Information Technology Faculty, UNISEL who was one of the students (over 20 students in total) of the course noted that she especially "liked the hands-on exercises". Another student Tuan Haji Roslan Nordin of UNISEL's Information Technology Faculty said that among the things that he liked about the training were "the friendly trainers."
Professor Dr. Hidayat Bin Hussain, Dean, Information Technology Industry, UNISEL and Dr. Azman Firdaus Shafii, Chairman of Open Source Systems (OSS) Sdn Bhd gave the welcoming messages at commencement day. Dr. Hidayat emphasized UNISEL's strong commitment to Linux and Open Source software. UNISEL's Vice Chancellor himself, Professor Ir. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Ibrahim also took this opportunity to address the students with a short speech.
OSS's certified Linux trainers involved in the training were Teh Yong Wei, Debbie Yeow and Mohd Bahathir Hashim. Puan Sabariah Mohd Zain, Lecturer, Information Technology Faculty, UNISEL who was one of the students (over 20 students in total) of the course noted that she especially "liked the hands-on exercises". Another student Tuan Haji Roslan Nordin of UNISEL's Information Technology Faculty said that among the things that he liked about the training were "the friendly trainers."

Some of UNISEL's participants at the Intensive Linux Training Program

Professor Dr. Hidayat Bin Hussain (left) and UNISEL's Vice Chancellor Professor Ir. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Ibrahim (middle) polishing up their Linux skills too

UNISEL's Vice Chancellor Professor Ir. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Ibrahim (fifth from left) and Open Source Systems Sdn Bhd's Chairman, Dr. Azman Firdaus Shafii (second from right) in a group photo

Open Source Systems Sdn Bhd's Certified Linux Instructor, Debbie Yeow conducting one of the course module
Masterskill Acquires 10,000 Lenovo ThinkPad X100e Notebooks


Lenovo Thinkpad X100e in Elegant Black
Hailed as the largest PC transaction in the private education sector, this purchase agreement is a part of MUCH's 'One Student, One Netbook Project' to equip its students with the right learning tool in their quest for knowledge and information. “We wanted a reliable platform that could assist our students to deal with the rapid changes and to manage knowledge efficiently, and still be cost effective in the next three to five years,” explained Dato’ Professor Dr. Nik Rahimah Nik Yacob, Vice Chancellor of MUCH.
To date, MUCH has received 5,000 units and Lenovo expects the rest to be delivered before the end of 2011. “This milestone reinforces Lenovo’s position as the trusted PC choice for corporate sectors. We are proud that the ThinkPad brand continues to be the premium leader in the Malaysia commercial PC space,” said Khoo Hung Chuan, Country General Manager, Lenovo Malaysia.
Security in a heartbeat

In the future, banks and Government agencies could have the option of imposing a higher level of security clearance as a measure of curbing illegal access by unauthorised individuals.
We are not talking about biometric solutions like fingerprint-, voice- or face-recognition. While these solutions are deployed commercially, they are subjected to physical damage such as dry skin, loss of voice, scars, etc.
Instead we are looking at verifying a person's identity based on his or her brain waves or heartbeat signals. This is the research project that four students of Multimedia University (MMU) have been working on since Aug 2009 and which is expected to be completed this May.
The four students are Muhammad Kamil Abdullah, 25, Syed Syahril Syed Ibrahim, 26, Justin Leo Cheang Loong, 24 and Lam Zheng Yan, 23. The project is supervised by Dr Khazaimatol Shima Subari, who is a lecturer and researcher at the engineering faculty in MMU.
The students have developed a multi-modal biometric system called Bio-Secure that uses a person's brain waves (EEG) and heartbeat signals (ECG) to verify or authenticate an individual. Like the name suggests, a multi-modal biometric system uses more than one biometric technology to identify and verify a person.
In layman's terms EEG(electroencephalogram) is a measurement of the electrical activity of the brain produced by the firing of neurons (within the brain).
ECG (electrocardiogram) is used to measure the rate and regularity of a person's heartbeat.
"We believe Bio-Secure is Malaysia' first EEG biometric system. As far as we know there are no biometrics system based on EEG and ECG signals being developed in Malaysia," said Muhammad Kamil, who is pursuing his Masters in engineering science at the university.
Syed Syahril, who is also pursuing the same Masters degree, said EEG and ECG signals are unique among individuals and are hard to forge. Therefore, they can be used as an ideal form of biometric security.
About Bio-Secure
The Bio-Secure solution is an identification and verification biometrics system. It offers two options: offline and online processing.
"You choose the offline option when you want to identify or verify a person using a pre-recorded signal," said Leo.
Verification means confirming or denying the identity claimed by a person. In this mode, the system will state how well the pre-recorded signal matches with the one in the database.
An application that uses the verification mode, for example, is when you want to log into a computer, smartphone or computer network. In this case, you know the username and password to log into the computer.
"Another example is the verification process at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The automated passport lane uses our fingerprint to verify our identity. In Bio-Secure, the verification process is done using the EEG and ECG signals," said Khazaimatol, who has been lecturing on signal processing at MMU for four years.
The online processing option is used when you want to identify a person using EEG and ECG signals recorded in real time.
In the online processing option, Bio-Secure records the EEG and ECG signals of a person for a few seconds and then immediately compares this signal with all the pre-recorded signals (of all persons) stored in the database.
The system will select the person in the database who best matches the signal.
This option is suitable for applications such as information retrieval from a police database or video surveillance in public places.
"The accuracy rates for the multi-model EEG and ECG system is approximately at 88% to 90%," said Khazaimatol.
Additionally, Bio-Secure also offers another option called Training.
"We use this option when we need to add a new person to the database for identification and authentication purpose," said Leo, who is also studying for his Masters in engineering science at the university.
"Currently, the database consists of 35 pre-recorded EEG and ECG signals, which are from students of MMU," said Nicolas Lim, who is a electronics engineering undergraduate at the university.
He helps to test the Bio-Secure biometrics system.

WIRED UP: Electrodes are placed on Syed Syahril's scalp and wrists before taking the measurement of his brain waves and heartbeat.
Getting the EEG and ECG signals
At a first glance, the Bio-Secure may seem like a straightforward system but it takes at least 20 minutes to prepare a person to record his or her EEG and ECG signal.
To measure a person's EEG signal, four gold-plated electrodes are placed on several locations on the scalp.
The electrodes are smeared with gel to ensure that the metal bands at the bottom of the electrodes come into contact with the scalp.
As for measuring ECG signals, one electrode is placed on the person's neck and another two are placed on the underside of the right and left wrists respectively.
To record the EEG and ECG signals, the individual electrodes are connected to a recording console. Here, the signals are transmitted from the console to the computer, where they are processed using the Matlab package for scientific and engineering computation.
During the entire process, the person also needs to be calm and relaxed.
Not yet perfect
The Bio-Secure solution in its current state is still not a practical system as the recording of a person's EEG and ECG signals still takes a long time.
"This is because preparing the electrodes and attaching them on a person's scalp, neck and wrists takes time. If we can shorten these processes that will be great," said Lam, who added that scientists are still working on how to overcome these challenges.
"Previously we experimented with several locations (using 64 electrodes) on a person's scalp. After months of experiments, we managed to locate four positions that gave the most accurate readings," said Muhammad Kamil.
Khazaimatol said EEG and ECG signals are unique but there are only so many features one can use in the signal. Therefore, the success rate depends highly on the algorithms as well as the quality of the signal.
"It is difficult to get a 100% accuracy rate unless the sample size is between 10 to 20 people. Therefore, we have to test the Bio-Secure system on a larger database," she said.
"A larger database refers to collecting EEG and ECG signals from different data subjects (different races, groups, etc) using different stimulus. At the same time, we will improve the algorithm to ensure higher accuracy rates," she added.
The next step
When the project first started in 2009, Bio-Secure was funded by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti).
The money went to the purchase of data acquisition devices, computers, and the hiring of research officers (ROs).
The ROs are the four students. Muhammad Kamil and Syed Syahril have worked on audio signal processing projects while Leo did a research on heart sound classification while Lam conducted research on ECG classification.
"The ROs involved in the Bio-Secure project can use their research findings in their Masters degree," explained Khazaimatol.
"Although Mosti has no more funding allocated for the Bio-Secure project this year, the ROs are still working on the project on part-time basis except for Syed Syahril, who is working on the project full-time," she added.
The students now want to develop their own biometrics hardware i.e. EEG and ECG data acquisition devices. This is because the current data acquisition devices used by the Bio-Secure system is from a company that sells medical equipment, and are not tailored according to their needs.
"This will be an entirely new project which will require further funding," said Khazaimatol.
More time needed
The Bio-Secure project is a good start towards developing our own biometrics system based on EEG and ECG signals.
However in its current state, the Bio-Secure is still not ready for commercialisation. More research, commitment and funding is still needed and the system may conceivably be a viable solution in the future.
If it takes off, the next time you walk in a bank you may very well be using a home-grown Bio-Secure biometrics security system.
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