Yin Yu Rachel Zhang, P.Eng., CCE

Rachel Zhang is a clinical engineer at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario with a focus on developing specifications of clinical equipment. She is a key contributor in the development of the Ontario Neonatal Transport Incubator, a mobile intensive care unit specifically developed to transport newborns safely to the nearest acute care facility. Collaborating with multiple Ontario hospitals, the design and development of the transport system is equipped with the latest medical technology that meets Canadian air and ground ambulance transportation regulations. This project is viewed by professionals as the route to take when implementing this technology at their facilities.

Zhang also managed a hospital-wide patient monitor system upgrade and provided clinical training of nursing and physicians with an 80 per cent completion rate, and co-lead multiple teams on hardware and software installation and conversion. This has made a significant impact on the improvement of communication, collaboration and streamlined processes within departments, which resulted in improved patient care. Her achievements are internationally known in the clinical engineering field. She presented her approach at the European Medical and Biological Engineering Conference and won the Outstanding Teamwork Award by the IFMBE-CED for her Clinical Engineering Department.

​Understanding the importance of encouraging young professionals in the STEM field, she participates in conferences, gives guided tours to students at her workplace and mentors young interns into the field of clinical engineering. Zhang was also featured in an Engineering Dimensions article, “Reaching 30 by 30”, as an example of women working in engineering.