Sunnybrook Research Institute is a not-for-profit research and teaching hospital located in Toronto that was established in 1991 as the research enterprise of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. In 2007, the institute established the Centre for Research in Image-Guided Therapeutics, which leads world-class research and develops image-guided therapy technologies in southern Ontario.
In May 2012, FedDev Ontario announced a non-repayable contribution of up to $6.91 million through its Technology Development Program for Sunnybrook Research Institute to accelerate the development and commercialization of new types of treatment and monitoring systems that integrated features from existing image-guided therapy.
Today's non-repayable contribution of up to $20 million, towards total project costs of more than $41 million, will be used by Sunnybrook to expand the image-guided therapy cluster it initially developed. Participating collaborators are expected to include four universities (Western University, Ryerson University, University of Toronto and Queen's University) and 28 industry partners. Sunnybrook, along with its partners, will advance the commercialization of technologies in the following five areas:
- Focused ultrasound (FUS): Focused ultrasound is a unique non-invasive image-guided therapy with broad clinical potential. This proposal will support the creation of a low-cost portable focused ultrasound system, develop improved research tools for the field and expand the range of FUS uses.
- Cardiovascular interventions: Cardiovascular interventions are some of the most challenging procedures due to the difficulties of cardiac/respiratory motion and the limitations of traditional image guidance. Sunnybrook will develop platforms that will vastly improve the guidance of cardiovascular interventions to make procedures faster, more accurate and safer.
- Therapy response: Therapy response monitoring is a new aspect of image-guided therapeutics that determines the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in the very early stages of treatment. Sunnybrook will develop technologies capable of improving the therapy-feedback cycle.
- Musculoskeletal interventions: Musculoskeletal imaging is important for diagnosis, treatment planning and in-procedure guidance of injury- and disease-related disorders. Sunnybrook will utilize 3D imaging to improve diagnostics, safe and effective image guidance and optimized patient-specific solutions.
- Detection: Sunnybrook and partners seek to improve on existing breast cancer detection technologies by improving visualization of the disease to guide treatment decision-making.
FedDev Ontario's investment is through the Investing in Commercialization Partnerships Initiative, which aims to address the innovation and commercialization gap between the private sector and research institutions, post-secondary institutions and not-for-profit organizations. For more information and detailed guidelines, please refer to www.FedDevOntario.gc.ca/ICP.
