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Volume 106, Issue 68
Universities urged to commercialize research Cam Smith News Editor According to a report published last week by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, commercializing university research should be a priority for boosting Ontario’s economy. The report, Emerging Stronger 2013, outlined several strategies for encouraging business support of research and development, which included government mandating commercialization for academic institutions. “Ontario universities are world leaders in [research and development]. The problem is that far too little of their work gets commercialized,” the report stated. “Previous support programs have not meaningfully closed the commercialization gap. Government must make commercialization part of universities’ mandates.” At Western, commercialization of research and development is
already taking place. “Western is actually one of the more active universities in Canada. We rank in the top five in commercial income, and we rank number two in the creation of spin-off companies,” Paul Paolatto, executive director of WORLDdiscoveries, which is responsible for consolidating Western’s business interests, explained. “We’ve put 18 companies into the marketplace over the last five years. That is second in Canada. We’re punching well above our weight class.” According to Paolatto, the recommendations provided by the OCC are not new to Western. “The Ontario Chamber of Commerce isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know,” he explained. “I think industry involvement can enhance research. It can guide it toward a more favourable outcome.” Business affiliation with
academic research has always raised the question of if inherent bias would be brought on by financial affiliation. Yet, Paolatto said this was not a significant issue. “That’s always a difficult question to answer. I would suggest not,” he said. “It’s only one small piece. It’s never at a point where it could compromise academic freedom or the integrity of basic academic research.” Western and its business affiliates will continue to encourage commercialization of research and development, in line with the OCC’s recommendations for improving the province’s economy. “Western will always pursue a commercial agenda,” Paolatto explained. “Anything that fosters the knowledge economy gives us a competitive advantage. When we’re in an opportunity to move that to marketplace for economic and social gain, then that is a win for everyone.”
Andrei Calinescu Gazette
Researchers seek MR compatible medical devices Jesica Hurst News Editor
Courtesy of Blaine Chronik
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE. Blaine Chronik, a Canadian Research Chair in medical physics at Western, tests a 3T MRI machine for MR compatibility.
Researchers at Western are hoping to improve the quality of healthcare for those with implanted medical devices. As of right now, people with implanted medical devices—such as pacemakers or cochlear implants— are not eligible to receive an MRI, since these devices either cease to operate or could potentially be dangerous within the system. However, Blaine Chronik, a Canadian Research Chair in medical physics, and his team recently received a $705,911 Canada Foundation for Innovation award to facilitate a project that will create a comprehensive medical device testing and development facility to support companies and academic groups in the development of medical devices that are safe and operational within an MR
scanner. “A few years ago, a few companies inevitably wanted to sell products that could be used within the MRI, but didn’t know how to go about making it work,” Chronik said. “It was external people seeking us out at first, and then that made me realize it was going to be a big growing thing, so I kind of realigned our lab and our career to try and take advantage of it.” According to their project application, over 120,000 Canadians have implanted pacemakers, with 25,000 new implants per year. Because the number of MR scans is increasing each year as well, Chronik explained there are a significant amount of people who are not currently receiving the appropriate healthcare they need. “You have this dichotomy where you have people getting a very good standard of care on one hand,
in the sense that they can receive [an implant], but then it precludes them from normal access to MRI,” he explained. “As they get older, these patients need these scans more and more, but right now every single one of those cases causes a big problem for medical imaging.” Even though the grant has been awarded, Chronik and his team are still in the purchasing process. He estimated the new facility would be in place by this fall. “[This award] will put in place in our lab a series of test systems, and each one replicates a condition of the MRI in a simpler way,” Chronik explained. “This way I will be able to do the interactions independently, and once we know what we’re doing, we can do the final crash test with the device and the actual MR scanner.” “It should make our research faster, and it should make it cheaper. Ultimately, it will make it better.”