Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2002

Tripartite Collaboration to Develop Financial Software The University joined forces w i t h H o ng Kong- based Cluster Technology Ltd. (ClusterTech) and the HSBC to a p p ly artificial intelligence and optimization methods to forecast market m o v e m e n ts a n d c a p i t al f l o w s i n HSBC 's Internet-based foreign exchange business. ClusterTech w i l l develop a multi-faceted s y s t em f or HSBC t h at w i l l , a m o n g o t h er t h i n g s, p r o v i de v a l u e - a d d ed analysis a nd forecasting of capital f l ows w i t h i n the HSBC franchise. The system w i l l also be used for the modelling of the foreign exchange market, and to provide exchange rate forecasts. The n ew software w i l l be based i n part on software component libraries co-developed b y ClusterTech and C U H K u n d er a project sponsored by the H o n g K o ng Government's I n n o v a t i on and Technology Fund. Medical News New Clinic Offers One-stop Disease Prevention Service T he H e a l t h y A c t i v e L i v i n g C l i n ic o f the Faculty of Medicine was officially opened on 18th A p r i l 2002. The clinic was set u p w i t h d o n a t i o ns f r o m the C o n v o c a t i on of T he Chinese University to provide the public w i t h one-stop service i n h e a l th p r o m o t i on a nd prevention against diseases. Located at the School of Public He a l th i n the Prince of Wales Ho s p i t a l, the clinic offers a set of unified programmes to identify u n h e a l t hy lifestyles and p r o v i de n u t r i t i o n al and exercise-related consultation to i mp r o ve l i f e s t y le habits. O t h er services a v a i l a b le include cardiovascular risk prediction, cardiorespiratory fitness assessment, osteoporosis and fracture risk assessment, and assessment of n u t r i t i on a nd w ome n 's health. The clinic also provides a venue for exercise prescription for patients w i t h chronic diseases. The opening ceremony of the clinic took place i n the Postgraduate Education Centre of the Faculty of Medicine. Officiating at the c e r emo ny we re Ms. L i n a Yan, chair of the Co n v o c a t i on of C U H K , Dr. Charles Wang, convener of the fund-raising committee of the Convocation, Prof. Sydney Ch u n g, dean of the F a c u l ty of Me d i c i n e, Prof. Jean Wo o, director of the School of Public Health, a nd Prof. Chan Kai-ming, professor of orthopaedics and traumatology. Diagnosing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome via Ultrasound Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a disorder that is g a i n i ng prevalence amo ng k e y b o a rd workers and expectant mothers. Its incidence is about one i n a thousand persons per year. CTS can q u i c k ly escalate f r om a fleeting flare-up to cell degeneration and the risk of disability. The Fa c u l ty of Me d i c i ne has f o u n d a n ew a p p r o a ch u s i ng u l t r a s o u nd t r e a t me nt to a id i n the accurate d i a g n o s is a nd early treatment of the condition. A study conducted at the P r i n ce of Wales H o s p i t a l r e v e a ls significant differences between CTS patients and controls. It indicates that sonography is likely to play an increasingly i mp o r t a nt role i n the early diagnosis and treatment of CTS. The findings were published i n the July 2002 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism. Collaboration on Pharmacogenetics Pharmacogenetics, the s t u dy of h ow genetic differences influence the variability in patient responses to d r u g s, p r o v i d es the scientific basis for personalized d r u g t r e a t me nt a nd n ew d r u g development. A delegation f r om the Faculty of Medicine paid a visit to the Pharmacogenetics Research I n s t i t u t e, X i a n g y a S c h o ol o f M e d i c i n e, Ce n t r al S o u th U n i v e r s i ty i n H u n a n, f r om 28th to 31st M a y 2002. A m o n g the delegates were Prof. Thomas Y.K. Chan and Prof. Brian Tomlinson f r om the Department of Medicine News in Brief 6 3