Canada’s First Emergency Department MRI

Medical teams and patients at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax will soon have faster access to critical information needed for diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries.

A partnership between Nova Scotia Health Authority and Synaptive Medical Inc. will see the installation of a dedicated magnetic resonance imaging machine, commonly known as an MRI, in the emergency department.

MRI machines use powerful magnets and computers to take detailed pictures inside the body. The new machine has been designed specifically to screen the brain following traumatic injuries.

Over the next three years, the Biomedical Translational Imaging Centre at Nova Scotia Health Authority will work with Synaptive Medical Inc. to study the impacts of the MRI’s use in the emergency department. The results could determine a new standard of care in emergency departments across Canada.

“This project places Nova Scotia at the forefront of health care innovation in Canada,” said Labi Kousoulis, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education and Minister responsible for Research Nova Scotia. “Today’s announcement is an excellent example of how investments in research can have a real and lasting impact on the lives of Nova Scotians.”

The Research Nova Scotia Trust contributed $1.26 million to the project, which is being led by Nova Scotia Health Authority. Other funding partners include Synaptive Medical Inc., which has invested $1.4 million through in-kind contributions, and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), which provided $700,000 toward the purchase of the MRI.

“Nova Scotia is a hub of cutting-edge scientific research, learning and discovery,” said Gail Tomblin Murphy, vice president of research and innovation at the health authority. “Through the application of innovation and research in health and health care like this, Nova Scotia Health Authority is able to ensure that we are employing the benefits of technology breakthroughs for enhanced quality and safe patient care.”

The MRI is expected to be in place by September. The research project will take three years.

“This project supports ground-breaking work by some of the province’s leading researchers,” said Colin Dodds, trustee of the Research Nova Scotia Trust. “The trust is proud to support innovative research projects that allow us to attract and retain the very best research talent.”

Since its creation in April 2017, the Research Nova Scotia Trust has provided $20 million in funding to 53 research projects.