Two student-led startups from the Faculty of Engineering are working to change this. PocketLab Testing and Silent Sentinel are developing smart, at-home tools that make it easier to screen for micronutrient deficiencies and monitor nighttime blood pressure. This will help Canadians take charge of their health before serious complications arise.
PocketLab Testing: Bringing micronutrient screening into homes
Micronutrient deficiency is a persistent issue in Canada. More than 40% of people experience at least one deficiency in nutrients such as iron, vitamin D or vitamin B12. Those most affected are students, low-income households, Indigenous communities and people in remote regions. These people are also the most likely to face long waits, travel barriers and missed lab appointments.
PocketLab Testing, created by four students (Rawan Sakalla, Saif-Dine Sahbani, J’afar Assaf and Mohammad Salem), is developing a reusable at-home screening system. It started with iron levels but is designed to expand to other micronutrients over time. The students have backgrounds spanning biomedical mechanical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer engineering. Using that knowledge, they came up with a device that pairs a compact optical cassette, single-use cartridges and a mobile app to provide semi-quantitative results from a small finger-prick sample. With this idea, users can get clearer insight into their health without needing immediate access to a lab.
Silent Sentinel: Monitoring nighttime blood pressure to reduce stroke risk
High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease. Nighttime blood pressure is one of the strongest predictors of future cardiovascular events. Yet most people never have their blood pressure monitored while they sleep, and existing tools can be uncomfortable, expensive or disruptive to sleep.
Silent Sentinel’s concept, Knight Pulse, is a non-invasive, sleep-based monitoring system focused on nocturnal cardiovascular health. The design combines soft textile ECG electrodes, a PPG (photoplethysmography) wristband and a thin under-mattress pad, all connected to an AI processor. This processor interprets signals across sleep stages to estimate nighttime blood pressure and identify abnormal dipping patterns.
Developed by Pavithra Raj Mohan, a third-year student in biomedical mechanical engineering, the product aims to make continuous, comfortable stroke-risk monitoring part of everyday life at home. By focusing on early detection during sleep, Silent Sentinel highlights how engineering innovation can support more proactive cardiovascular care.
Transforming ideas and concepts into actions
PocketLab Testing and Silent Sentinel show how engineering students are using technology to rethink how Canadians access preventive care. From at-home micronutrient screening to sleep-based blood pressure monitoring, both teams are designing tools that fit into everyday life and ease the pressure on traditional health-care systems.
The two teams presented their solutions at the fall 2025 edition of the Engineering Pitch Competition. PocketLab Testing won first prize in the Concepts category, while Silent Sentinel won first in the Ideas category.
