Queen’s professor to create new brain scanner
Dr. DJ Cook has teamed up with medical professionals to create a handheld scanner capable of detecting bleeding in the brain.
An assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, Cook, a team at Kingston Health
Sciences Centre (KHSC), Providence Care and Queen’s have begun working on an accessible method to identify and monitor damage caused to the brain. The group partnered with Kingston medical technology company, ArcheOptix, to create and test the success of the new device.
The team aims to create a device that allows primary care doctors to quickly address and diagnose traumatic brain injuries. They hope the device will make healthcare more accessible to the public.
The device plans to address neurological damage more efficiently and affordably, and to reduce the need for additional CT scanning in patients.
To detect damage to the brain, the device will be passed over the head and recognize signs of bleeding within three centimetres.
Neurological damage such as brain bleeding is a significant issue in populations of elderly patients. According to Cook, many seniors have no choice but to undergo surgery and post-operative follow ups.
The scanner Cook and the team are working on might change that. Since the project, he’s received funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence and the Centre for Aging and Brain Health.
The studies are currently in progress, and are to be finalized by Summer 2019.
