TAFETA Leadership
Dr. Frank Knoefel, BSc, MD, CCFP (CoE), FCFP, MPA, Physician, Bruyère Memory Program, Bruyère Continuing Care, is a physician trained in care of the elderly with extensive experience in geriatric rehabilitation. He holds appointments as Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering at Carleton University.
He is also a Clinical Scientist at the Bruyère Research Institute through a partnership between the University of Ottawa and Bruyère Continuing Care. Dr. Knoefel has previously held the roles of Chief of Staff, Vice-President of Medical Affairs, and Health Informatics at Bruyère Continuing Care.
Dr. Rafik Goubran, BSc
, MSc, PhD, P.Eng., is a leading expert in biomedical engineering, sensors, data analytics and digital signal processing. He is the Vice-Presient (Research and International) at Carleton University in Ottawa.
He is also a Fellow of the IEEE and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and a Clinical Scientist at the Bruyère Research Institute. Dr. Goubran has published over 150 journal and conference papers, filed 10 patents, and supervised 18 PhD and 62 Master’s students. He has participated in several committees, including IEEE guest editor,IEEE conference chair, CEAB visits, CITO board,and NCIT technical committee.
Program History
Spring 2003: TAFETA Smart Systems for Health (formerly known as Technology Assisted Friendly Environment for the Third Age) was co-founded by Dr. Frank Knoefel, the former Chief of Staff of the SCO Health Service (now Bruyère Continuing Care) and Ms. Barbara Schulman, former Vice-President, Planning and Partnerships of the SCO Health Service. Leveraging $80,000 in funding granted by The Change Foundation, Dr. Knoefel and Ms. Schulman brought together several public and private partners to conduct the program’s initial research studies.
June 2003: Research into remote monitoring of blood pressure using innovative telehealth technology was completed at Résidence Sacré-Coeur of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa.
April 2004: The pilot TAFETA Smart Apartment was opened at the Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital. The Smart Apartment was established as the program’s test site for the integration and testing of selected smart e-health technologies.
April 2005: Dr. Rafik Goubran, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Design at Carleton University, joined TAFETA as co-chair to bring expertise from the Carleton University engineering program to the research initiative.
Since 2005, more than 12 multi-disciplinary projects have been launched, and more than $1 million in peer-reviewed funding has been granted to investigators involved in TAFETA. Currently, more than 25 graduate students are involved in TAFETA research projects, and increasingly complex studies continue to be initiated.
Program Partners
Lead Organizations
Bruyère Research Institute
Faculty of Engineering and Design, Carleton University
Public Partners
Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County
Bruyère Continuing Care
Carefor Health and Community Services
Perley Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre Guest House
University of Ottawa: School of Rehabilitation Sciences
Private Partners
Acuity Research Group Inc.
Austco
Chartwell Retirement Residences
Dynamic Brain Inc.
Nortel Networks
SATECH Seamless Attenuating Technologies
Tactex Controls Inc.
Funding Partners
Bruyère Academic Medical Organization
Bruyère Continuing Care
Bruyère Research Institute
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Kiwanis Medical Foundation
Mitacs
National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Ontario Research Network for Electronic Commerce
Ontario Centres of Excellence
Ottawa Senators’ Alumni
The Change Foundation
