The province is contributing $1 million to help the region’s hospital pay off its new MRI scanner.
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s new next-generation scanner comes with a $5-million price tag and is expected to enhance medical research while creating nine new jobs.
The regional hospital already has three MRI scanners, but scientist Jane Lawrence-Dewar believes the new equipment will drastically improve research in how the brain recovers after a stroke.
She said some patients are able to recover hand motions through rehabilitation, but so far doctors don’t know how that happens in the brain.
Having the new scanner will allow her to have a better picture of what happens to a person when they do experience a stroke.
“The MRI will give us a picture into what’s happening at the level of the brain,” she said. “A standard clinical MRI will give you a pretty picture of the anatomy but won’t tell you how the brain is working.
“This allows you to look at function and how that function changes.”
A number of factors can lead to strokes including having a poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking.
She said the long-term goal of her research is to understand targeted tools and techniques to improve rehab for stroke victims.
Michael Wood, CEO of Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute, said they hope to have the new MRI machine up and running soon but are still looking for one more partner to help cover the $5-million bill.
He said the MRI itself costs about half the total price with the remainder being construction and installation.
“We’ll get there,” he said. “Whether we have to draw a little bit more on our foundation or research institute to meet it. Hopefully we’ll find another partner to share in the benefit of this too.
“This million dollars is a godsend. Our old MRI scanner, which is being replaced, is from 1996 heritage and it’s going out pretty soon. This one will be installed in a matter of months.”
He added the jobs will be a part of Lawrence-Dewar’s lab. With more grants, she can hire more positions, which Wood expects could swell to 10 jobs.
MPP Michael Gravelle (Lib. Thunder Bay – Superior North) said the investment was about diversifying the city’s and region’s economy and advancing medical research.
“Thunder Bay is truly becoming a world centre,” Gravelle said.
“Our support through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is certainly very helpful to them. I also think it’s a great investment from the province. We continually see the benefits of that through the other projects we’ve investment in including the cyclotron.”
