Imaging Guided Interventions
Imaging guided interventions, such as High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), can be used to improve imaging guided surgical procedures that result in better outcomes and faster recovery for patients.
By using arrays of ultrasound transducers, a sonic beam can be created which, at its focus deep within the body, can ablate unwanted tissue without harming normal tissues, cutting the skin or requiring general anesthesia. Specially modified MRI’s help direct the beam focus and monitor the temperature of the thermal lesion, resulting in incision-less surgery.
Under this theme, Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute scientists will collaborate with Dr. Kullervo Hynynen at Sunnybrook Research Institute, an international expert on HIFU. Working with Philips Healthcare under a Master Research Agreement, the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute and its partners will together pioneer a new generation of commercial systems, the first of which is a system designed to eliminate uterine fibroids and lead to developments in cancer treatment.
For the past five years, Dr. Laura Curiel has been specializing in HIFU therapy, working at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre since 2006. As a scientist with the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute, Dr. Curiel will be responsible for the HIFU uterine fibroid clinical trial and then focus on liver cancer.