Khosrow Behbehani, chairman of the Bioengineering Department, has been named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Behbehani, also a bioengineering professor, was honored for his contributions to the development of respiratory therapy devices in chronic pulmonary diseases. He becomes the seventh UT Arlington faculty member to be elevated to IEEE Fellow.

“I’m honored for being named an IEEE Fellow,” Behbehani said. “I hope that more of the devices and techniques I’ve helped develop that led to this award find their way to commercialization where they can help many people.”

The majority of Behbehani’s work has focused on inventing devices and methods for diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea. In 1990s, he and his team developed a device for treating sleep apnea patients, which was commercialized and used for treatment on several hundred people. Behbehani and colleagues hold nine U.S. patents on devices and methods related to sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment.

Behbehani and his colleagues recently filed for another patent on an innovative, ultrasonic sensor system that can accurately detect whether a person suffers from sleep apnea without the inconvenience or cost associated with an overnight stay in a sleep center.