UM Researcher: Turning Song into Science
- UM Research
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Dr. Muhammad Imran Ramli
Senior Lecturer, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya
Area of Expertise:
Biomedical Engineering > Rehabilitation Engineering > Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Dr. Muhammad Imran Ramli is a rehabilitation engineer who treats singing not as a pastime but as a precise instrument for clinical change. At Universiti Malaya, he brings together mechanomyography (MMG), electromyography (EMG), and rigorous lung‑function assessments to map how accessory respiratory muscles behave when people with spinal cord injury (SCI) breathe, vocalise, and sing. The ambition is simple and bold: convert an accessible human activity into a scalable, evidence‑based therapy that improves breathing, quality of life, and participation for people living with SCI.
“As a biomedical engineer and researcher, I believe research should be centred on humans. It’s about giving back to the society by understanding how we can all live a better life. And that requires empathy and active engagement.” – says Dr. Muhammad Imran Ramli.
Distinctive Focus and Contributions
Imran’s program sits at the intersection of engineering, medicine, and the arts. His early peer‑reviewed work demonstrated how MMG and EMG can monitor breathing muscles during singing, establishing a non‑invasive window into respiratory biomechanics. Building on that foundation, he and collaborators recently characterised how different musical parameters influence accessory respiratory muscle performance among people with SCI—clarifying how tempo, phrasing, and effort reshape respiratory coordination. He has also translated insights into an invited book chapter that consolidates methods, signal‑processing considerations, and clinical implications for mechanomyography in respiratory assessment. Together, these outputs form a coherent arc: method → evidence → guidance.
Translational Edge: From Lab Bench to Impact
Beyond papers and chapters, Imran’s work is engineered for real‑world use. He co‑developed an invention for measuring respiratory muscle performance during singing using a vibration‑based muscle sensor, a design positioned for clinical adoption and community deployment. The approach earned a Gold Award at the 36th International Invention, Innovation & Technology Exhibition (ITEX 2025), signaling peer validation from engineering and industry evaluators. The translational thread is deliberate: robust signals and protocols that clinicians can trust, researchers can replicate, and communities can access.
A Program Built with People, Not Just for Them
Imran’s research is co-created with [FB1] [MIBR2] [MIBR3] patients and community organisations. Engagement with non‑governmental partners provides both access and accountability: recruitment pipelines, feedback on intervention design, and candid user perspectives on what singing therapy feels like in practice. Participants consistently describe perceived benefits for breathing patterns, mood, and confidence—insights that shape task design, session length, and follow‑up routines. This ground-truthing anchors the science to lived experience and shortens the path from pilot data to clinically meaningful guidelines.
Teaching That Multiplies Impact
As a Senior Lecturer, Imran designs courses that blend hands‑on laboratories, contemporary analytics, and human-centered practice. In Introduction to Biomedical Engineering and Statistics in Biomedical Engineering, he emphasises problem‑solving with real datasets and structured protocol design. In Above‑Knee Prosthetics and Industrial Prosthetics Design, he integrates industry stakeholders so students learn the technical and communication skills needed to prescribe prosthetic devices responsibly. As coordinator of the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, he ensures students experience electrical, mechanical, and biomedical modules and learn to build experimental protocols from first principles. He currently supervises undergraduate final‑year projects and doctoral candidates, cultivating a pipeline of researchers comfortable at the nexus of signal processing, clinical outcomes, and humane design.
What’s Next: The Five‑Year Horizon
Imran’s next phase is a disciplined scale‑up. First, a randomised‑controlled trial (RCT) of singing‑based pulmonary rehabilitation in SCI, designed with certified music therapists and pulmonary specialists. The trial will pair MMG‑derived muscle metrics with lung‑function outcomes to validate efficacy and durability across pre‑, post‑, and longitudinal follow‑ups. In parallel, he plans to train AI‑assisted signal‑processing models to automate quality control, extract robust biomarkers, and enable personalised training intensities. The clinical protocols will be documented with clarity and made available to partners, setting a path toward multi‑centre adoption.
Strategically, the program aligns with Malaysia’s national priorities—health innovation, inclusivity, and rehabilitation access—and resonates with global goals to improve well‑being through practical, non‑pharmacological interventions. Beyond SCI, Imran’s team is preparing to extend singing‑based and arts‑in‑health interventions to respiratory‑impaired populations such as COPD and post‑stroke, creating a family of protocols unified by data‑driven assessment, safety, and accessibility.
Evidence, Rigor, and Risk Management
A strong program is built not only on promise but on process. Imran handles recruitment realities by engaging ethics boards early, staggering enrollment, and running pilot work to keep momentum while approvals are pending. Technical risks—noise and artefacts in MMG, sensor reliability—are managed through redundant hardware, calibration time, and pilot testing on healthy participants. Longitudinal attrition is addressed with flexible scheduling, accessible transport options where possible, short session designs, and close participant communication. These practices ensure data integrity and participant safety while sustaining throughput for analysis and iteration.
Institutional Fit and Capacity Building
Imran’s agenda strengthens Universiti Malaya’s comprehensive health and engineering mission. It develops local expertise in biomedical signal processing and clinical research design, equips students and collaborators with transferable skills, and positions the university as a regional node for arts‑in‑health innovation. The program’s practical outputs such as datasets, code templates, and protocol manuals - accelerate adoption for clinicians and allied health professionals. Workshops, open‑access publications, and public‑facing activities are built into the plan to widen participation and invite new collaborations across Malaysia and the region.
A Compact Case for Support
For funders and partners, the case is compelling:
Clear problem: Respiratory dysfunction in SCI limits health, independence, and participation.
Novel yet pragmatic solution: Singing‑based training, measured with robust engineering tools and coupled to clinical outcomes.
Evidence and IP: Peer‑reviewed studies, a consolidated methods chapter, and an intellectual‑property footprint oriented toward clinical use.
Translational pipeline: Community participation, trial‑ready protocols, and alignment with national and global health priorities.
Scalable vision: From SCI to broader respiratory‑impaired populations; from manual analysis to AI‑assisted monitoring; from single‑site pilots to multi‑centre trials and clinical guidelines.
Closing Perspective
Imran’s work is disciplined, human, and ambitious. It treats a familiar act—singing—as an engineered pathway to stronger breathing, sharper confidence, and better days for people with SCI. The science is careful, the methods are reproducible, and the direction is unmistakable: from signals to standards, from pilots to protocols, from promise to practice. For collaborators who value rigorous translation and for funders who invest in impact, this is a program ready to grow—and designed to deliver.
#PulmonaryRehabilitation #RespiratoryHealth #SpinalCordInjury #SCIRehabilitation #NonPharmacologicalTherapy #BiomedicalEngineering #Mechanomyography #Electromyography #MMG #EMG #BiomedicalSignalProcessing #MusicBasedTherapy #SingingForHealth #MusicAndMedicine #CreativeHealth #TherapeuticMusic #CommunityBasedResearch #AssistiveTechnology #MedicalInnovation #ITEX2025 #UniversitiMalaya #UMResearchers #PersonalisedRehabilitation #AIInHealthcare #SmartHealthSystems
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Researcher featured:
Dr. Muhammad Imran Ramli
Senior Lecturer, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya
For inquiries, please contact:
Author:
Ms Tan Wei Nie
With a keen interest, Tan Wei Nie, a PhD candidate in law, enriches her studies by fusing science with narrative, uncovering connections between the two fields. Her passion for nature and staying active fuels her enthusiasm for life and learning, infusing her journey with unexpected thrills and excitement.
Copyedit:
Siti Farhana Bajunid Shakeeb Arsalaan Bajunid, Assistant Registrar, UM
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