ISyE 1 WINTER 2009-2010 NEWS DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING www.engr.wisc.edu/ie ISyE ailoring clothing to t a woman is a straightorward process: Take measurements and alter according- ly. Similarly , tailoring breast cancer screening to t a woman involves taking into account individual risk actors, like age and amily history, and altering a mammogram schedule. Assistant Proessor Oguzhan Alagoz is developing innovative techniques to t mammogramschedules to individual women, and his research has earned a prestigious 2009 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) and $430,000 grant. CAREER awards recognize aculty members who are at the beginning otheir academic careers and have developed creative projects that integrate advanced research and education. Alagoz is working to optimize breast cancer screening policies or various populations owomen and optimize ollow-up decisions, such as recommendations or biopsies or additional mammograms. He will explore whether a dynamic screening interval, such as testing younger women every six months (since breast cancer is more aggressive in younger women) and testing older women every two years, is a better strategy than the current static strategy that tests every woman every year ater age 40. Alagoz will also examine the eects ousing sensitive but expensive technologies like MRI. In addressing these issues, Alagoz may answer complex questions about why certain demographics owomen suer rom higher breast cancer mortality rates. Software tool helps web developers identifyseizure-inducing content n 1997, an episode othe popular Pokémon cartoon gained world- wide attention when more than 800 children in Japan with photosensitive seizure conditions were admitted to the hospital ater viewing the cartoon or the subsequent news coverage oit. Researchers rom the UW-Madison Trace Center have released a sotware tool that could prevent similar incidences omedia- triggered seizures in children browsing the Internet or using computer programs. The sotware, called the Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT), allows web developers to evaluate their site content and determine whether the content presents a danger to people with photosensi- tive epilepsy. PEAT is the rst tool developed or evaluating web-based content, and a beta version is available or ree download rom the Trace Center, a pioneering center that designs mainstream inormation technology acces- sible to people with disabilities. Proessor Gregg Vanderheiden (pictured)directs the Trace Center. “As web content becomes more dynamic and web pages begin to resemble television, it is important that we not start inadver- tently triggering seizures in people with photosensitive seizure disorders,” he says. “PEAT can help prevent that.” Approximately one in 4,000 people are diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy and are subject to seizures triggered by certain types ofashing in web, computer or TV content. The condition usually begins Tailored care: Breast cancer screening models earn Alagoz CAREER award T I The Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool(PEAT) allows web developers to evaluatetheir site content and determine whetherthe content presents a danger to peoplewith photosensitive epilepsy. A betaversion is available for free download athttp://trace.wisc.edu. beore age 20 and is most common between ages 7 and 19. Seizures are most likely to occur whenchildren or teenagers with the condition view content where large areas oa screen fash rapidly and ficker on and orepeatedly. PEAT allows developers to capture on video a web browser or application window and all othe actions that occur in the window. Develop- ers then can analyze the video or seizure risk. Developers can also use PEAT to determine iweb content meets the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. PEAT is the result osix years ocollaboration between the Trace Center and Proessor Graham Harding rom CambridgeResearch Systems. The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, which is part othe U.S. Department oEducation, unded the development oPE AT . (Continued on back page)
