LONDON, ONT. -- Lawson Health Research Institute has received over $2 million from Ottawa for a project to develop better imaging tools for brain disease.
“Imaging technologies, such as MRI and PET scanners, have revolutionized our understanding and treatment of major neurological diseases, including dementia and mental illness, by allowing us to study disease mechanisms and their impact on brain health,” says Dr. Keith St. Lawrence, Lawson scientist and project co-lead, in a statement. “We are developing and testing two leading-edge systems that will enable imaging of key vascular, metabolic and molecular factors linked to disease.”
The project focuses on two medical imaging systems.
The first system is a head-only PET (positron emission tomography) insert that can be placed in any clinical MRI machine, greatly enhancing the possibilities for brain imaging.
The second system uses portable, state-of-the-art optical imaging to provide fast assessment of brain health in restrictive environments.
The research team at Lawson will study use of the system in surgical and intensive-care settings to monitor for cerebral ischemia and metabolic stress, which are the major causes of brain injury.
They will also monitor treatment in patients with schizophrenia and study dysfunction in the brain associated with negative symptoms, as cognitive impairment deteriorates with age for some people with the disease.
Another goal is to develop a brain-computer interface for patients who are incapable of physical communication.
“With this funding, we can develop a truly unique advancement that has the potential to test the limits of optics for brain applications,” says Dr. Jonathan Thiessen, Lawson scientist and project co-lead, in a statement.
The funding is part of a $518-million investment in research infrastructure support announced Wednesday through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and builds on previous federal investments in Lawson Imaging that now exceed over $40 million.
