Human-Centric Computing

ECAI is a part of International and Area Studies at UCB. It is an international association of scholars, librarians, and technicians who are researching ways to create, preserve, and use digital data relating to cultural studies. The research focus is on the ways to

The need for language aids is pervasive in today's world. Millions of individuals with language and speech challenges require additional support for language understanding and learning. Currently, however, these needs are not being met because there are not enough skilled teachers, interpreters, and professionals to give them the one on one attention that they need. Lipreading (speechreading because it involves more than just the lips) allows deaf and hard of hearing individuals to perceive and understand oral language and even to speak.

Healthcare is a $2 Trillion/year industry which amounts to 16% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. These numbers are expected to rapidly rise as the aging baby boomers will continue to increase the elderly age group population (people above 60 years of age) from the current 10% level to the 25% level in 2030. While the advances in hardware and software technologies for healthcare services have been remarkable, networking remains as the main hurdle in delivering much needed modern healthcare services in a timely and cost-effective manner.

One of the most basic yet powerful tools in all of medicine is the simple microscope. It is the first tool of evaluation for skin diseases, ear aches, and sore throats, as well as being central to diagnosis of blood diseases. However, only the discerning eye of a trained physician can filter images and provide effective diagnoses and treatment recommendations. We propose to link high-resolution microscopic imaging with clinical expertise through microscopy-enabled cell phones.