Diagnostics

MONTREAL – Researchers from Montreal’s McGill University, Université Laval, in Quebec City, and the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, have teamed up with Montreal-based iMD Research to create an affordable, user-friendly bracelet that monitors vital signs of patients in real-time. The device can detect abnormal vital signs and dispatch life-saving medical attention, if needed. Read More

KELOWNA, BC – People living in the interior of British Columbia will now have easier access to specialized cancer care services with a new, state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner suite at BC Cancer – Kelowna. “The new PET/CT scanner in Kelowna will be a game changer for patients in our region. It will support better care and shorter waits for people right here in the Interior by providing faster diagnostics, closer to home,” said Susan Brown (pictured), president and chief executive officer, Interior Health. Read More

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Dynacare has validated a new collection method for testing to detect the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19, using saliva obtained from a patient’s mouth. This method offers an easy, safe and effective alternative to the more commonly used nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) method, in which the sample is collected from patients through their nasal passage. Read More

TORONTO – Addressing the need for greater insights into patient disease processes such as stroke, cardiovascular disease, or most recently COVID-19, Bialogics Analytics Inc. (Bialogics) announced the launch of a new deep learning-based natural language processing (NLP) engine that seamlessly integrates into radiology and cardiology PACS workflows. Read More

LONDON, Ont. – In service of the people across southwestern Ontario, the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PaLM) team at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has reached a critical milestone in testing volumes for COVID-19. The hospital-based laboratory first began processing COVID-19 test swabs in mid-March with the goal of building from an initial 50 tests per day volume to 3,000 tests per day. The PaLM team has now surpassed that initial milestone as they continue to expand testing capacity. Read More

EDMONTON – To prepare for the return of children to the classrooms, Alberta Health Services is escalating its COVID-19 testing capacity. That includes the use of a new testing technique where samples from multiple Albertans are combined and processed at the same time. Read More

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – Mackenzie Health, in partnership with healthcare technology leader Philips, became one of the first hospitals in Canada recently to implement a new digital pathology platform designed to help diagnose patients quicker and ultimately improve care. With the implementation of Philips’ IntelliSite pathology platform, Mackenzie Health aims to enhance lab performance, increase access to specialists and improve diagnosis time. Read More

KITCHENER, Ont. – In Waterloo Region’s largest lab, the first of two new processing instruments has arrived and will help Grand River Hospital (GRH) greatly increase the number of COVID swabs it processes each day. With the capacity for each machine to test 94 swabs every 2.5 to 3 hours, it means GRH will be able to test up to 1,500 COVID swabs per day for faster results. Read More