Objectives
To highlight new innovations in healthcare robotics.
To build and foster new collaborations and partnerships to develop and implement these technologies into clinical practice.
Location
MaRS Auditorium
101 College Street . Toronto . Ontario
M5G 1L7
Schedule & Speaker Bios
Below is the event schedule for Techna 2014: Robotics for Healthcare. Here you can view the agenda and speaker bios by clicking the event times below. Video recordings of individual speeches will be available on this page after the event within each segment. The Techna 2014 Symposium will feature a live tweeting system for participants to add comments in parallel to the discussions and presentations.
Videos of the Day
To view the video playlist of the full day at Techna Symposium please click the button below.
Agenda
8:00-8:40 – Breakfast and Registration
8:40-8:45 – Welcome Message
Executive Vice President, Technology & Innovation, UHN; Director, Techna Institute, UHN
Dr. David Jaffray graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Sc. in Physics (Hons.) in 1988 and completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Western Ontario in 1994. Following graduation, he took a position as Staff Physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan where he instigated a direction of research that garnered funding from the NIH and from congressionally-directed funding programs. Dr. Jaffray became a Board Certified Medical Physicist (ABMP – Radiation Oncology) in 1999. In 2002, Dr. Jaffray joined the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto as Head of Radiation Physics and a Senior Scientist within the Ontario Cancer Institute. David holds the Fidani Chair in Radiation Physics, is the Director of the Techna Institute for Health Technology Development at the University Health Network and recently became the Executive Vice President of Technology and Innovation at the University Health Network. He is a Professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology, Medical Biophysics, and Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. His primary area of research has been in the development and application of image-guided therapy. He has over 5 patents issued and several licensed, including, kilovoltage cone-beam computed tomography for image-guided radiation therapy. Dr. Jaffray has >200 peer-reviewed publications in the field, >100 invited lectures, and holds numerous peer-review and industry sponsored research grants. He sits on numerous scientific and research boards and has contributed to the NIH and CIHR grant review process for several years. He is an active member of the AAPM and teaching role in workshops and annual meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). He has an active interest in commercialization and led the development of a variety of commercial products including software and hardware for QA and the development of small animal irradiator systems for basic research. He has successfully supervised over 20 graduate students and fellows.
Dr. Jaffray has won each of the major prizes in the field of the medical physics, including, the Sylvia Sorkin-Greenfield Award, The Farrington Daniels Award, and the Sylvia Fedoruk Award. In 2004, Dr. Jaffray was identified as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and was recognized by The University of Western Ontario with their Young Alumni Award in 2004. His current research interests focus on the development of imaging technologies and methods with a focus on image-guided interventions, including radiation therapy, drug delivery, and surgery.
8:45-9:00 – Opening Remarks
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Mary Gospodarowicz is the Medical Director of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada and Regional Vice-President of Cancer Care Ontario for Toronto South. She recently completed a 10 year term as Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto and Chief of the Radiation Medicine Program at Princess Margaret.
Mary Gospodarowicz received her medical degree from the University of Toronto and holds specialty certifications in internal medicine, medical oncology, and radiation oncology. She has an active clinical radiation oncology practice in which she treats patients with malignant lymphomas and genitourinary cancers. She has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and letters. Her academic interests include clinical trials evaluating the role of radiation therapy in lymphomas, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and testis cancer. She is past chair of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group Genitourinary Committee. Currently, her major interest is in developing and implementing image guided precision radiotherapy at Princess Margaret. With long standing involvement in late effects research, she is very interested in fostering the newly established survivorship clinical programs and research.
Mary Gospodarowicz has a long track record of service on various provincial, national and international committees. She is currently member of the Board of Directors of the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group and the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Lymphoma Foundation of Canada.
9:00-10:00 – Session 1: Sensing and Mechatronics
Techna Institute, UHN / University of Toronto
Professor J. Paul Santerre has published 150 peer reviewed publications and is a listed inventor on 55 patents. He is a co-founder of Interface Biologics Inc (formed in 2001 with medical technologies being sold and developed in Canada, Europe and the US) and currently the director for Physical Science Faculty in Techna at UHN/UoT. He has been appointed an International Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE) (2004), a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2009), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2011), and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2013). He has received several awards for his innovation and industry related activity including the Julia Levy Award from the Canadian Society for Chemical Industry for translation of knowledge to product and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Synergy Award in 2012.
University of Toronto
Milos R. Popovic received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1996, and the Dipl. Electrical Engineer degree from the University of Belgrade, Serbia in 1990. Dr. Popovic is the Toronto Rehab Chair in Spinal Cord Injury Research. He is also a Professor in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto, as well as Senior Scientist and the Neural Engineering and Therapeutics Team Leader at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network. Both institutions are located in Toronto, Canada. In 2011, Dr. Popovic established the Centre for Research in Advanced Neural Implant Applications (CRANIA) at the University of Toronto. Dr. Popovic’s fields of expertise are functional electrical stimulation, neuroprostheses, neuro-rehabilitation, brain machine interfaces, modeling and control of linear and non-linear dynamic systems, robotics, and signal processing. His interests are in the areas of neuro-rehabilitation, physiological control systems, assistive technology, and brain machine interfaces. In 1997, together with Dr. Thierry Keller, he received the Swiss National Science Foundation Technology Transfer Award – 1st place. In 2008, Dr. Popovic was awarded the Engineering Medal for Research and Development from the Professional Engineers of Ontario and Ontario Society of Professional Engineers. In 2011, he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. In 2012, company MyndTec Inc., which Dr. Popovic co-founded in 2008, won the 1st Prize and the Best Intellectual Property Award at the annual TiEQuest Business Venture Competition. In 2013, he received the Morris (Mickey) Milner Award for outstanding contributions in the area of Assistive Technologies from the Health Technology Exchange. Also, in 2013, together with Drs. Prodic, Lehn, and Huerta-Olivares, and Mr. Tarulli, Dr. Popovic received the University of Toronto Inventor of the Year Award. Dr. Popovic is also one of the co-founders of the Canadian National Spinal Cord Injury Conference, and the Advances in Neurorehabilitation Conference, which is part of the Festival of International Conferences on Caregiving, Disability, Aging and Technology, established in 2004 and 2007, respectively.
Novadaq
Rick Mangat, PhD is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Novadaq Technologies Inc., a Canada Corporation with offices located in Ontario and British Columbia. Dr. Mangat co-founded Novadaq in April 2000 and is a co-inventor of the Company’s globally patented and innovative SPY® imaging system. Dr. Mangat received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto and his PhD from the University of Manitoba. The research element of Dr. Mangat’s PhD thesis in Pharmacology and Therapeutics performed at the Winnipeg Research facilities of the National Research Council of Canada Institute for Biodiagnostics (NRC-IBD) formed the foundation for the intraoperative fluorescent imaging SPY technology that allows surgeons to visually assess coronary circulation and confirm the quality of bypass grafts in CABG procedures. As VP and General Manager, Dr. Mangat led the research, product development and commercialization teams within Novadaq to move the SPY System from bench-top through clinical use. He is now responsible for the general management of the Company’s commercial business unit, including Sales and Marketing. Dr. Mangat’s major research interests include coronary artery bypass graft surgeries, pediatrics and the unexplored areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery. He has served as a motivational speaker on several panels, including the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and is an active mentor and speaker for small businesses and entrepreneur workshops. A keen golfer who enjoys travelling and spending time with his family, Dr. Mangat continues to support several community workshops, charitable events, research endeavours and academic programs.
ACMIT
Graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the Vienna University of Technology in 1991; 1991 – 1995: Employed with Business Consulting Company “Unseld+Partner”, Vienna – Special subject: project management, simulation studies; 1995: Cum-laude doctors degree in Technical Sciences – Special subject: Robotics; 1995 – 1996: Employed with “Department of Systems Engineering and Automation” at the Scientific Academy of Lower Austria, Krems / Austria; 1996 – 1999: Teaching Assistant at the “Institute for Handling Devices and Robotics” at the Vienna University of Technology; 2000 – 2007: Employed with ARC Seibersdorf research GmbH – Special subject: Robotics for Service Applications; 2007-2010: Employed with PROFACTOR Research and Solutions GmbH; Head of Department “Advanced Service Robotics”; Since 2010: Employed with ACMIT GmbH; Scientific Director of the “Austrian Center for Medical Innovation and Technology” and head of the research area “Instruments and Robotics”. Lecturer at several “Universities of Applied Sciences” (“Fachhochschulen”). More than 140 papers and presentations at scientific conferences.
10:00-11:00 – Session 2: Control
University of Toronto
Timothy Chan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Director of the Centre for Healthcare Engineering at the University of Toronto. His primary research interests are in optimization under uncertainty and the application of optimization methods to problems in healthcare, medicine, global engineering, sustainability, and sports. He received his B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from the University of British Columbia, and his Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before coming to Toronto, he was an Associate in the Chicago office of McKinsey and Company, a global management consulting firm. During that time, he advised leading companies in the fields of medical device technology, travel and hospitality, telecommunications, and energy on issues of strategy, organization, technology and operations.
Techna Institute, UHN
Dr. Thomas Purdie graduated from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario,Canada with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in the Medical and Health Physics program of the Department of Physics and Astronomy in 1997. He then completed his Ph.D. inthe Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada in 2002. Following graduate school, he completed a medical physics residency and research fellowship at Princess Margaret Hospital (Toronto, Ontario Canada) in 2005. He is currently as Staff Physicist in the Radiation Medicine Program at Princess Margaret Hospital. Dr. Purdie became a Board Certified Medical Physicist (CCPM – Radiation Therapy Physics) in 2007. Dr. Purdie’s research focuses on developing automated methods for breast intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMR) treatment planning, implementing breast radiation therapy on multi-modal imaging platforms and using machine learning for improving radiation therapy quality assurance (QA) processes.
MDA Robotics
Tim is a Product Development Manager at MDA Robotics and Automation in Brampton, Ontario. He has over 15 years of experience working on complex, safety critical robotic systems for both the space and terrestrial markets. Tim’s current work is related to the application of MDA’s robotic technologies to the medical field. He led the development of an image guided robotic system with the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation to facilitate precision placement of surgical tools based on intraoperative medical imagery. Prior to this, Tim worked with the University of Calgary on Project neuroArm, an experimental MR compatible robotic system for neurosurgical applications. Outside of the medical field, Tim has worked on development projects for several tele-operated robotic systems. Projects included robotic systems for the International Space Station, satellite servicing missions and an inspection system for the nuclear industry. Tim has a Bachelor of Engineering Science from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters of Applied Science from the University of Toronto. He is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.
Queen’s University
Gabor Fichtinger received the University Doctor Degree in Computer Science from the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary, in 1990. Presently he is a Professor at Queen’s University, Canada. His primary appointment is in Computer Science and has cross appointments in Surgery, Mechanical and Material Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is an Adjunct Professor in Radiology and Computer Science at the Johns Hopkins University, USA; Adjunct Faculty of the Techna Institute of the University of Toronto, Canada; and Adjunct Research Professor of Medical Biophysics at Western University, Canada. Professor Fichtinger is also the director of the Laboratory for Percutaneous Surgery (http://perk.cs.queensu.ca), where his research specializes on medical image computing, computer assisted interventions and medical robotics, primarily for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer and musculoskeletal conditions. He has authored and co-authored over 300 refereed publications in these subjects. His Perk Lab also develops open-source software platforms for prototyping surgical navigation applications, used by over fifty research groups on four continents. Prof. Fichtinger is a Marie Curie Fellow, Senior Member of IEEE, Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE EMBS, and a Fellow of MICCAI. He holds a Level-1 Cancer Care Ontario Research Chair in Cancer Imaging. He serves on the Boards of the International Society of Computer-Assisted Surgery (ISCAS) and the Board of Directors of the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) Society as General Secretary.
11:00-11:15 – Break
11:15-12:00 – Keynote Speaker
University of Calgary
Dr. Garnette Sutherland completed his residency in Neurosurgery at the University of Western Ontario. His first appointment was at the University of Manitoba, in both the Departments of Surgery and Pharmacology. There, in addition to his clinical work, he established an experimental laboratory, one of the first of its kind, for the study of neurological disease using MR imaging and spectroscopy. In 1993, Sutherland was appointed the head of Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Calgary. In collaboration with NRC-Canada, he developed the world’s first intraoperative MRI system based on a moveable 1.5T magnet. With MDA, Sutherland also developed neuroArm, an image-guided MR-compatible robotic system. In 2004, Dr. Sutherland received the Manning Award of Distinction for this work, in 2007, the Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation award and in 2008, the City of Calgary Signature Award. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal 2012 and in 2013, the American Astronautical Society and NASA for the earth applications of space technology. He received the CIHR-CMAJ Top Achievements in Health Research Award in 2013 for his scientific accomplishments. He has given over 260 national and international lectures and published 183 manuscripts, 13 patents and 27 book excerpts. In 2011, Sutherland was appointed to the Order of Canada for his lifetime achievement in healthcare innovation and in 2014, was indicted into the Space Technology hall of Fame for neuroArm.
12:00-1:00 – Lunch and Expo
1:00-2:00 – Session 3: Intervention
Queen’s University
Gabor Fichtinger received the University Doctor Degree in Computer Science from the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary, in 1990. Presently he is a Professor at Queen’s University, Canada. His primary appointment is in Computer Science and has cross appointments in Surgery, Mechanical and Material Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is an Adjunct Professor in Radiology and Computer Science at the Johns Hopkins University, USA; Adjunct Faculty of the Techna Institute of the University of Toronto, Canada; and Adjunct Research Professor of Medical Biophysics at Western University, Canada. Professor Fichtinger is also the director of the Laboratory for Percutaneous Surgery (http://perk.cs.queensu.ca), where his research specializes on medical image computing, computer assisted interventions and medical robotics, primarily for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer and musculoskeletal conditions. He has authored and co-authored over 300 refereed publications in these subjects. His Perk Lab also develops open-source software platforms for prototyping surgical navigation applications, used by over fifty research groups on four continents. Prof. Fichtinger is a Marie Curie Fellow, Senior Member of IEEE, Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE EMBS, and a Fellow of MICCAI. He holds a Level-1 Cancer Care Ontario Research Chair in Cancer Imaging. He serves on the Boards of the International Society of Computer-Assisted Surgery (ISCAS) and the Board of Directors of the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) Society as General Secretary.
Polytechnique Montréal
Prof. Sylvain Martel, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, is Director of the NanoRobotics Laboratory at Polytechnique Montréal, Campus of the University of Montréal. He pioneered several biomedical technologies including platforms for remote surgeries and cardiac mapping systems when at McGill University, and new types of brain implants for decoding neuronal activities in the motor cortex when at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Presently, he is leading an interdisciplinary team involved in the development of navigable therapeutic agents and interventional platforms for cancer therapy. Prof. Martel is internationally known as the pioneer in a new paradigm in drug delivery known as direct targeting where therapeutics are navigated in the vascular network towards solid tumors using the most direct route in order to enhance the therapeutic index.
University of Toronto
Dr. Geoff Fernie is a professional engineer and Institute Director for research at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-UHN. He has a primary appointment at the University of Toronto as Professor in the Department of Surgery with cross appointments that include the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, Departments of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Dr Fernie is recognized as a world leader in the application of engineering to create solutions for problems commonly encountered by people with disabilities. He is the principal investigator on a major infrastructure award from CFI which funded the most advanced design, prototyping and testing facilities for rehabilitation technology and assistive devices in the world. He is focused on the development of technology to help people continue to live in their own homes. He has 9 commercialized products and several currently in clinical trials. He has helped launch 4 successful companies. He has published over 141 peer reviewed journal papers and book chapters and has 22 awarded patents and an additional 13 filings. Dr Fernie’s achievements have been recognized by the Jonas Salk Award, MEDEC Award, the Mickey Milner Award, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, by admission to the Terry Fox Hall of Fame and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Most recently he was awarded the inaugural 2014 Honourable David C. Onley Award by the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons in recognition of his enormous contribution to the disability movement.
University of Toronto
Alex Mihailidis, is the Barbara G. Stymiest Research Chair in Rehabilitation Technology at the University of Toronto and Toronto Rehab Institute. He is also the Graduate Coordinator for the Clinical Engineering Program. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (U of T) and in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (U of T), with a cross appointment in the Department of Computer Science (U of T). He has been conducting research in the field of pervasive computing and intelligent systems in health for the past 15 years, having published over 150 journal papers, conference papers, and abstracts in this field. He has specifically focused on the development of intelligent home systems for elder care and wellness, technology for children with autism, and adaptive tools for nurses and clinical applications. He currently holds several major research grants from internationally recognized funding agencies to support this work (including both the Canadian and American Alzheimer Associations, NSERC, and CIHR). He is also a CIHR New Investigator. His research has been completed through collaborations with other researchers in this field from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and with various industrial partners. Dr. Mihailidis has also co-edited two books: one from CRC Press entitled “Pervasive computing in healthcare”, and the other from IOS Press entitled “Technology and Aging”, which resulted from him being the conference chair for the 2nd International Conference on Technology and Aging. Dr. Mihailidis is also very active in the rehabilitation engineering profession, currently as the President for RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America).
Intuitive Surgical
Engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 1995. He completed the M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Canada, in 1998 and 2003 respectively. His dissertation work focused on the development of needle insertion models and novel needle steering methods for medical applications. Dr. DiMaio completed a postdoctoral fellowship and later held an appointment as Instructor of Radiology at the Harvard Medical School, as a member of the Surgical Planning Laboratory at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. In 2007, he moved to industry and now leads an Advanced Product Development team at Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Sunnyvale, California), makers of the da Vinci Surgical System. In addition to R&D efforts, he is also involved in the development of academic relationships and programs. He has experience in topics ranging from signal processing to robotics and control systems. Selected research interests include: medical robotics, image-guided surgical systems, human-machine interfaces, medical simulation and the modeling of physical systems.
2:00-2:10 – Break
2:10-2:55 – Debate: Will robotics save medicine?
The Hospital for Sick Children
Dr. James Drake is Professor of Surgery, Division Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children and holds the Harold Hoffman Shoppers Drug Mart Chair. He is a Senior Associate Scientist in the Sickkids Research Institute, and leads the Centre of Image Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention and co-lead of the Centre of Excellence in Image Guided Care. He is also Co-Director of the Centre of Mathematical Medicine at the Fields Institute at the University of Toronto. He was educated at Princeton University (1969-1974), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (1974), University of Toronto (1986-1987), and Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (1987). Training included a research fellowship funded by the Medical Research Council of Canada (1986-1987) in Hydrocephalus. Dr. Drake assumed his appointment in the Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery in 1988, and has been on the surgical staff at The Hospital for Sick Children in the Division of Paediatric Neurosurgery since then. Dr. Drake’s primary research and clinical interests relate to engineering applications to neurosurgery including image guided surgery and robotics. This encompasses the main themes of CIGITI which is broadened to include applications of imaging, robotics, and simulation for all pediatric surgical disciplines. He is on the executive of the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network, and head of the Medical Advisory Board of the Spinal Bifida and Hydrocephalus Assocation of Ontario. Dr. Drake has over 230 peer reviewed publications, holds major grants from CIHR/NSERC, and Brain Canada. His clinical interests relate to the investigation and management of hydrocephalus including the use of endoscopy, image guided surgery for brain tumours and epilepsy, and the management of complex spinal disorders.
Johns Hopkins University
Russell H. Taylor received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford in 1976. He joined IBM Research in 1976, where he developed the AML robot language and managed the Automation Technology Department and (later) the Computer-Assisted Surgery Group before moving in 1995 to Johns Hopkins, where he is the John C. Malone Professor of Computer Science with joint appointments in Mechanical Engineering, Radiology, and Surgery and is also Director of the Engineering Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology (CISST ERC). He is the author of over 350 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, a Fellow of the IEEE, of the AIMBE, of the MICCAI Society, and of the Engineering School of the University of Tokyo. He is also a recipient of numerous awards, including the IEEE Robotics Pioneer Award, the MICCAI Society Enduring Impact Award, and the Maurice Müller Award for Excellence in Computer-Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery.
UHN
Gary Rodin is the Joint University of Toronto/University Health Network Harold and Shirley Lederman Chair in Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care and is Head of the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Rodin is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a clinician-investigator who has published widely on the psychiatric and psychosocial aspects of cancer and other medical illnesses. Under his leadership, the Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care Program at PMH has now achieved an international reputation for its academic and clinical excellence. Dr. Rodin has authored texts on Depression in the Medically Ill, and on the Psychiatric Aspects of Transplantation and is currently leading research on the psychological impact of advanced and terminal disease in affected patients and their families.
2:55-3:25 – Post-Debate Commentary
The Hospital for Sick Children
Dr. James Drake is Professor of Surgery, Division Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children and holds the Harold Hoffman Shoppers Drug Mart Chair. He is a Senior Associate Scientist in the Sickkids Research Institute, and leads the Centre of Image Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention and co-lead of the Centre of Excellence in Image Guided Care. He is also Co-Director of the Centre of Mathematical Medicine at the Fields Institute at the University of Toronto. He was educated at Princeton University (1969-1974), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (1974), University of Toronto (1986-1987), and Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (1987). Training included a research fellowship funded by the Medical Research Council of Canada (1986-1987) in Hydrocephalus. Dr. Drake assumed his appointment in the Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery in 1988, and has been on the surgical staff at The Hospital for Sick Children in the Division of Paediatric Neurosurgery since then. Dr. Drake’s primary research and clinical interests relate to engineering applications to neurosurgery including image guided surgery and robotics. This encompasses the main themes of CIGITI which is broadened to include applications of imaging, robotics, and simulation for all pediatric surgical disciplines. He is on the executive of the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network, and head of the Medical Advisory Board of the Spinal Bifida and Hydrocephalus Assocation of Ontario. Dr. Drake has over 230 peer reviewed publications, holds major grants from CIHR/NSERC, and Brain Canada. His clinical interests relate to the investigation and management of hydrocephalus including the use of endoscopy, image guided surgery for brain tumours and epilepsy, and the management of complex spinal disorders.
Ontario Deputy Health Minister
Dr. Robert Bell was appointed Deputy Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, effective June 2, 2014. Prior to this role, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of University Health Network for nine years. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer at Princess Margaret Hospital and Chair of both Cancer Care Ontario’s Clinical Council and the Cancer Quality Council of Ontario. Dr. Bell received his Doctor of Medicine from McGill University and a Master of Science from the University of Toronto. He also completed a Fellowship in Orthopaedic Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University. Dr. Bell is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Surgeons and an Honourary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. An internationally recognized orthopedic surgeon, health care executive, clinician-scientist, and educator, Dr. Bell brings more than 30 years of health care experience to his current role.
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, UHN
Dr. Catharine (Cathy) Craven is a Physiatrist with a Clinician Scientist role at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute’s Lyndhurst Centre within the Brain and Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Craven’s clinical and research expertise is in the prevention and treatment of secondary health conditions among people living with spinal cord injury (SCI), with a focus on sublesional osteoporosis (SLOP), the interrelationships between body composition and chronic disease, and health service provision. Dr Craven and her clinical and research teams have evaluated a number of rehabilitation technologies for clinical deployment among patients with spinal cord injury including Functional Electrical Therapy (FET) for grasping and walking, and Whole body vibration for amelioration of adverse changes in body composition, Body Weight Support Treadmill Training, diaphragmatic pacers for those with high tetraplegia and exoskeletons. Dr. Craven has been the Scientific Co-chair of the 1-6th Canadian National SCI Conference. Dr. Craven led production of the Rick Hansen Institute sponsored E-scan atlas “Capturing Capacity in Canadian SCI Rehabilitation”. She was awarded the inaugural 2013 Division of Physiatry Achievement Award and the 2011 Innovator of the Year Award from the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto. Dr. Craven has authored over 90 articles and spoken internationally on related topics.
3:25-3:30 – Closing Remarks
Executive Vice President, Technology & Innovation, UHN; Director, Techna Institute, UHN
Dr. David Jaffray graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Sc. in Physics (Hons.) in 1988 and completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Western Ontario in 1994. Following graduation, he took a position as Staff Physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan where he instigated a direction of research that garnered funding from the NIH and from congressionally-directed funding programs. Dr. Jaffray became a Board Certified Medical Physicist (ABMP – Radiation Oncology) in 1999. In 2002, Dr. Jaffray joined the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto as Head of Radiation Physics and a Senior Scientist within the Ontario Cancer Institute. David holds the Fidani Chair in Radiation Physics, is the Director of the Techna Institute for Health Technology Development at the University Health Network and recently became the Executive Vice President of Technology and Innovation at the University Health Network. He is a Professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology, Medical Biophysics, and Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. His primary area of research has been in the development and application of image-guided therapy. He has over 5 patents issued and several licensed, including, kilovoltage cone-beam computed tomography for image-guided radiation therapy. Dr. Jaffray has >200 peer-reviewed publications in the field, >100 invited lectures, and holds numerous peer-review and industry sponsored research grants. He sits on numerous scientific and research boards and has contributed to the NIH and CIHR grant review process for several years. He is an active member of the AAPM and teaching role in workshops and annual meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). He has an active interest in commercialization and led the development of a variety of commercial products including software and hardware for QA and the development of small animal irradiator systems for basic research. He has successfully supervised over 20 graduate students and fellows.
Dr. Jaffray has won each of the major prizes in the field of the medical physics, including, the Sylvia Sorkin-Greenfield Award, The Farrington Daniels Award, and the Sylvia Fedoruk Award. In 2004, Dr. Jaffray was identified as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and was recognized by The University of Western Ontario with their Young Alumni Award in 2004. His current research interests focus on the development of imaging technologies and methods with a focus on image-guided interventions, including radiation therapy, drug delivery, and surgery.