Disorders of the brain and nervous system are among the leading causes of disability in Canada. Alzheimer’s disease, brain tumours, Parkinson’s disease, depression and multiple sclerosis are just a few of the health challenges on the rise. Thanks to donor support, Toronto Western Hospital is poised to find answers.

Together, Toronto Western Hospital and Toronto Western Research Institute comprise one of the largest neuroscience research centres in the country. With the planned addition of a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan facility, new innovations and discoveries are on the horizon.

A PET scan is a non-invasive test, similar to a CT. The PET scanner works with a computer to create two and threedimensional images of the brain, illustrating the function of neurons and tissues. With a single scan, abnormalities of brain function can be found that would otherwise go undetected.

"The addition of a PET scan facility at TWH will help improve the quality of life for thousands of patients," says Dr. Mark Bernstein, neurosurgeon at Toronto Western Hospital. "It would also help lay the groundwork for future discoveries and new treatments."

back | top

A recent report released by the Alzheimer Society reveals alarming new statistics about dementia in Canada, projecting the number of patients suffering from the disease will more than double in 30 years. Health care costs are expected to soar tenfold. The addition of a PET scan facility at TWH could assist with early detection of Alzheimer’s disease allowing patients to begin treatment sooner and potentially delay the loss of mental capacity, lessening the impact on families and our health care system.

back | top

We all know the health benefits of the blackberry fruit with its powerful antioxidants. But the BlackBerry device also has some important health benefits, as discovered in a recent pilot project by The Centre for Innovation in Complex Care at UHN.

The project saw key hospital staff equipped with BlackBerry devices to improve the flow of communication, reduce communication errors and deliver critical alerts by email. It was found that the use of BlackBerrys helped improve the efficiency of nurse-physician communication and allowed for more inter-team collaboration. Continued donor support will enable the team to build on this success, transforming health care communication and demonstrating that new models of care can save lives.

back | top

If you were to come into the Emergency Department with chest pains, you’d typically be taken for X-rays or a CT scan. Depending on your diagnosis, you’d be transferred to the operating room best equipped to treat your condition. In a life threatening situation like this, seconds count and the time between diagnosis and treatment is critical.

Enter the new R. Fraser Elliott Multi-Purpose Operating Room in the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital, a space so comprehensive patients can be both diagnosed and treated in one room — in record time.

The concept for the new operating room is simple: a one-stop shop providing advanced imaging equipment right in the operating room where it can help guide surgery. At 1,000 square feet, the state-of-the-art space is 50% larger than most operating rooms, big enough to house advanced x-ray equipment and perform angiograms, CT scans and specialized ultrasounds.

The R. Fraser Elliott Multi-Purpose Operating Room at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is one of the most advanced in Canada.

"The multipurpose OR gives us greater flexibility in the types of procedures and interventions we can do," explains Dr. Barry Rubin, Medical Director, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. "It will allow us to attract the best surgeons and do the type of procedures that state-of-the-art patient care demands."

One of the most advanced operating rooms in Canada, the multi-purpose suite is equipped to handle complex chest, heart and vascular procedures as well as other types of surgery that benefit from advanced medical imaging.

The R. Fraser Elliott Multi-Purpose Operating Room was named in honour of the late R. Fraser Elliott who left a generous gift supporting the stateof- the-art equipment purchased for this new operating room.

back | top

Dr. Vivek Rao - Alfredo and Teresa DeGasperis Chair in the Surgical Management of Heart Failure - and his Toronto General Research Institute colleagues have identified a pretreatment strategy that can improve the movement of blood and preserve cardiac blood vessel function following transplantation. Their study involved pretreating donor hearts with a simple salt solution immediately before transplantation. The team found that the pretreated donor hearts had limited injury to cells lining the interior surface of blood vessels and enhanced recovery in ventricles after transplantation. These findings could potentially lead to improved survival after cardiac transplantation.

back | top