Walking through the halls between her office and lab, Prof. Janice Jenkins explains how she has just bought the perfect condominium on Chicago’s lakefront. “It’s perfect. I’m on the 29th floor and I have a perfect view of the harbor.”
- Paul Wong
- – Photo and text by David Katz.
On sabbatical in Chicago for the year, Jenkins travels to the University’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building a few times a month to oversee her medical computing laboratory and digital design laboratory. It is clear that Jenkins is equally as enthusiastic about her work as she is about her new “baby” on Lake Michigan.
Recognized as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Fellow and an American College of Cardiology Fellow, Jenkins latest work is a combination of her expertise in engineering and cardiology. Currently, she is focused on the design of computer algorhythms for detecting abnormal heart rhythms, specifically for implantable cardioverter/defibrillators or ICDs. These devises reverse sudden cardiac death by automatic shocks directly to the heart. While abnormal heart rhythms used to be treated with drugs, researchers discovered these drugs had adverse affects. In the past few years ICD has become the major therapeutic treatment for abnormal heart rhythms. Well over 150,000 ICDs have been implanted in the U.S. at a cost of over $75,000 per patient.
– Photo and text by David Katz.