Trade.Information

Topic Name: Neurosurgical Robotic Program to reach Cape Breton

Category: Robotics

Research persons: Dr. Ivar Mendez, John Malcom, Mr Joe Shannon

Location: The QEII Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE, United Kingdom

Details

Neurosurgeons at the QEII Health Sciences Centre and patients in Cape Breton have much to celebrate today after the announcement of funding for a Remote Presence Neurosurgical Robot for the Cape Breton Regional Hospital through a gift of almost $400,000 from donor Joe Shannon of Cape Breton to the QEII Foundation. The remote presence robot will enhance patient care by linking physicians and patients in Cape Breton with neurosurgeons at the QEII who will provide emergency neurosurgical consultation for the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.

"This is good news for our District," says John Malcom, CEO of the Cape Breton District Health Authority. "We are very grateful to Mr. Shannon for his generosity. We are also thankful that he recognizes that this is a valuable tool to support the delivery of emergency care here on the Island. It's an exciting innovation and another example of technology complimenting our health care services. It effectively reduces the distance between a patient here in Cape Breton and the Neurosurgeon in Halifax."

Dr. Ivar Mendez, Head of the Division of Neurosurgery at the QEII, and Chairman of the Brain Repair Centre, lauded the remote presence robot as a significant technological development. "This technology will allow us to provide neurosurgical expertise in real-time where neurosurgeons are not available. This will enable us to save crucial time in making decisions for patients who require urgent neurosurgical care in remote locations."

The remote presence robot serves as the neurosurgeon's eyes and ears. From any location with an internet connection, neurosurgeons can connect to it via a laptop computer to assess and diagnose a patient, provide instruction to local physicians and monitor recovery. The QEII Health sciences Centre and the Cape Breton Regional Hospital have the only two telepresence robots in Canada.

The remote presence robot for Cape Breton will impact people like Gerry Gray, a recent neurosurgery patient at the QEII Health Sciences Centre whose access to a remote presence robot was life changing. On September 16, 2007 the robot at the Halifax Infirmary was part of a consultation for surgery to correct a tremor Gerry had experienced in his hands for 39 years. "The nurse came in and said Dr. Mendez was there. In wheeled the robot with Dr. Mendez's smiling face on the screen. He greeted me with a 'good evening Gerry,'" said Gerry. "After about 30 seconds, the strangeness of it was gone. It didn't matter physically where the doctor was." Through the use of the robot, Dr. Mendez was able to display a photo and illustrate for him where the neurostimulator implant was destined. "My wife was so amazed. She had some questions and Dr. Mendez was able to answer them right then and there and allay her nervousness. It was an incredible experience," recounts Gerry. Gerry is now tremor free, from a neurological condition which has plagued his father and several brothers. "Other than a battery change every four to five years, I'm good to go."

About Researchers & Contacts:

Dr. Ivar Mendez,

M.D., Ph.D., UWO,
Division Head, Divison of Neurosurgery
Director of Research, Department of Surgery
Director of Neural Transplantation Laboratory
Chair, Brain Repair Centre

Research Activities

Functional Neurosurgery
Neural cell Transplantation
Pain
Robotoics in Surgery

Web-Site of Research Interest:
http://neurosurgery.medicine.dal.ca/imendez.htm

John Malcolm

John Malcolm is the author of the highly popular Tim Simpson mysteries, as well as a number of books on art and antiques. A former Chairman of the Crime Writers Association, John Malcolm lives in a Sussex village in the south of England.

Joseph Scott Shannon
Wilmington, Delaware
Associate
Phone (302) 552-4329
Fax (302) 651-7905
Email jsshannon@mdwcg.com

Jos. Scott Shannon, an Associate in the Professional Liability section of the Wilmington Office of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, is a graduate of the University of Delaware. Immediately after graduating from college, he entered the United States Marine Corps in which he was commissioned as an officer serving variously as an infantry platoon commander and assistant logistics officer in the First Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, and with the Second Marine Division Schools at Camp LeJeune during the First Gulf War.

Some Important Notes:

Neurosurgery : Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating those central, peripheral nervous system and spinal column diseases amenable to mechanical intervention.

For more information: 

http://www.neurosurgeon.com/
http://www.aans.org/young_neurosurgeons/
http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/findaneuro/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Breton_Island
http://www.capebretonu.ca/
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ns/cbreton/index_E.asp
http://countries.dadesf.com/
http://www.technotouch.com/TechMilestones.htm
http://www.inboxrobot.com/news/robotics