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Heart and circulation

Vision

Cardiovascular diseases constitute the largest segment of the health care economy. Ontario is home to leading academic programs engaged in cardiovascular imaging research for disease assessment and treatment monitoring. Our aim is to harness this expertise through coordinated growth of these programs and their partnerships with both world-leading and locally emerging companies. The resulting synergy will establish Ontario as an international centre for the commercial development of information tools serving the patient and their health care team.

Commercial opportunities

  • hardware and software for image acquisition and analysis for assessment
  • hardware and software for image guidance/monitoring of interventions
  • information management software
  • tools for evaluation of new therapies (drugs and intervention)

Groups in focus

Centre for Vascular Imaging Research (Existing)
Contact: Brian Rutt brutt@imaging.robarts.ca

Upcoming proposals in focus

Cardiac Imaging
Contact: Graham Wright

Cardiac imaging proposal

Impact

Near-term technologies:

  • new methods for rapid 3-D cardiac imaging - MR/CT/US
  • myocardial perfusion imaging - new MR and US methods
  • coronary artery imaging - MR, digital X-ray, intravascular ultrasound methods

Emerging technologies:

  • functional/metabolic imaging
    • PET - new radiopharmaceuticals
    • MR methods for myocardial metabolism characterization
  • noninvasive blood pressure measurement methods with MR
  • monitoring/guiding intervention

Related information management technologies:

  • computer tools for functional measurements, cardiac image analysis, and multi-modality image registration and comparison
  • database management tools for cardiac patient information

Spinofff benefits:

  • expanded industry evaluating new drugs or interventions

Potential industrial partners

  • instrumentation: GE, Siemens, Marconi, ATL Canada, Boston Scientific
  • pharmaceuticals: Berlex Canada, Schering, Nycomed, Nordion, Bracco, Amersham
  • information management: Cedara

Potential participants

  • Toronto: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Wright, Burns, Foster, Wood, Fort), University Health Network (Merchant), Hospital for Sick Children (Yoo), St. Michael's Hospital (Robert), DCIEM (Stergiopoulos)
  • London: John P. Robarts Research Institute (Drangova, Rutt, Cunningham, Steinman, Slomka), Lawson Research Institute (Prato, Thompson, Wisenberg, Lee)
  • Ottawa: Ottawa Heart Institute (De Kemp, Beanlands, Ruddy, Firnau)
  • Hamilton: Hamilton Health Science Centre (Coates, Nahmias)

Budgetary focus of application

Strong emphasis on personnel.

Timescale

Cardiac imaging proposal was submitted in May 2000. The proposal was approved and the Ontario Consortium for Cardiac Imaging created. The project ended in 2007.