Download the calgary centre for engineered care

THE CALGARY CENTRE FOR ENGINEERED CARE
The healthcare services of the future will focus on significantly improving care, while reducing cost both
in the hospital and at home. Remote, wireless systems and sensors capable of vital sign monitoring,
movement monitoring, on demand drug delivery systems, and continuous near real-time blood analysis
are key components in providing this type of care. We are, however, not yet at the stage where this can be
done in a reliable, safe and cost effective way. At the University of Calgary (UofC), we have developed
not only the interdisciplinary skills but also the collaborative framework to undertake this ambitious
work. The Calgary Centre for Engineered Care (CCEC) at the University of Calgary, will take a major
leadership role in the development of the “engineered care” initiatives.
The university’s support has allowed us to create the first Centre for Health Engineering in Canada. This
unique centre brings together a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from science, engineering and
medicine, with the skills and background to create a host of new devices that will be tested and will find
applications in the healthcare environment. The centre will also add to the growing, globally recognized
leadership of Alberta in nano- and micro-fabrication capabilities. The potential benefits to the university,
city, province and country are huge, in terms of research leadership, commercial spin-offs and quality of
life benefits associated with our success.
A key component of the CCEC is the Advanced Microsystems Integration Facility (AMIF), a facility
that will enable the development and integration of novel microsystems devices. As an example, the new
Medical Ward of the 21st Century, constructed at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary, will incorporate
sophisticated biomedical sensors, attached to stationary and mobile devices, all connected to wireless,
self-organizing networks that will report vital signs to central sites, or on demand. The intent of the
Medical Ward of the 21st Century is to provide faster response to emergency situations, reduce costs,
eliminate errors and increase patient safety. AMIF is absolutely essential to realizing the ambitious goals
of this ward.
Our long-term vision for The Calgary Center for Engineered Care is to
“be world leaders in the design, fabrication and implementation of novel next generation
medical sensors and actuators, and in the training of highly qualified personnel able to
develop, implement and use these advanced technologies."
The CCEC and the Medical Ward of the 21st Century team offer a unique mix of engineering and
patient-centred healthcare. The Medical Ward of the 21st Century is a fully functional clinical ward
designed to deploy the most up-to-date medical technology. The Ward, housed at Foothills Hospital in
Calgary, includes:
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A four-bed observation ward with bedside retractable toilets and dedicated support space to house
the most acutely ill patients on the unit.
Moveable walls that can be used to isolate patients.
Duplication of gasses such as oxygen, air and suction at each bedside.
Dedicated education rooms.
Complete wireless access to patient data using laptops and handheld devices
The CCEC brings together the engineering, medical and nursing expertise needed to expand the ward’s
functionality to include:
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Monitoring of a patient’s vital signs using remote sensing technology.
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On demand monitoring of patient location and movement.
training of students in the resulting new equipment and protocols.
The ability of medical personnel to continuously monitor patient vital signs, combined with automatic
alarm systems triggering when vital signs fall outside of preset boundaries will dramatically improve their
ability to provide superior care to patients. Ultimately, this will be enhanced with in-building location
systems – a currently unresolved problem, where our team is confident we can be leaders. Further,
monitoring can be integrated with drug delivery, initially controlled from a central location but eventually
operating in a semi autonomous manner. The combination of these capabilities along with the other
attributes of the Ward will make this a truly unique facility in North America and, possibly, the world.
We believe that within the next five years, the CCEC will achieve the following:
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Design of unique low-cost, self-calibrating sensors using our microsystems integration techniques
to achieve devices not possible with a standard, single fabrication technology.
Development of the necessary wireless hardware and software tools.
Testing in a real hospital ward environment.
Training of postgraduate students in emerging technologies.
Patenting and possible commercialization of the new devices.
Improved and safer healthcare for all patients.
The CCEC will lead the way to profound changes in the way that hospitals are operated. These changes
will have substantial social impact on the way healthcare is provided – allowing for greater flexibility as
well as improved care.
In the coming years, there will be significant opportunities for large revenues to be derived from the
commercialization of the results of the research. The intellectual property (IP) generated will include new
low-cost and low-power sensors and actuators that are accurate, along with low-power radio frequency
transmission circuits that will substantially lengthen the battery life of the proposed devices as compared
to existing systems, possibly eliminating the need for batteries altogether. The potential for IP
contributions and commercialization in areas of importance to Alberta and Albertans is significant, as are
the social and health benefits associated with their actualization.
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Anticipated Impact of the Centre Research
In the short term, the impacts of the centre may be measured in terms of new knowledge, multidisciplinary trainees and intellectual property in the areas of the life sciences and information and
communication technologies. Examples of the markets1 that the research has the potential to support
include:
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The microelectronic medical implants market. This market, worth in the order of $11.9 billion in
2004, is expected to grow annually at 22.1% to $32.3 billion by 2009. (From a BCC report dated
September 2004)
The US market alone for patient monitoring devices is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8.1%
to $4.3 billion USD by 2008. (From a BCC report dated October 2003)
There is a real opportunity to make an early jump into the area of nano-scale devices and
molecular modeling. This market, worth an estimated $400 million worldwide in 2002, is
expected to grow to $1.37 billion by 2007. (From a BCC report dated September 2003).
The market for drug delivery systems is huge ($38.8 billion in 2002), and will continue with
double-digit growth to reach an estimated $74.5 billion by 2008. (From a BCC report dated
September 2003).
Forecasts for growth in the non-invasive and minimally invasive medical device market
worldwide suggest a value of $4.88 and $8.33 billion USD by 2007, respectively. (From a BCC
report dated May 2003).
This initiative has the potential to become
In the longer term (5-10 years), the proposed
a cornerstone of the provincial life
research will directly impact patient quality of life
sciences and information and
example: 1) creating flexibility in terms of the
communications technology strategies,
environment in which care is provided (home,
driving technology development and life
hospital, other settings); 2) permitting better
science opportunities.
monitoring of disease states and patient condition;
improving the capacity to respond to patient needs
novel drug delivery systems. These benefits have
potential to translate into savings in the healthcare
such as fewer beds and less care required due to better patient outcomes.
by, for
and, 3)
through
the
system,
This initiative is not only worthy in its own right but is also key to the development, testing and validation
of fundamental sensing, monitoring and tracking technologies that will find use in many other sectors,
including energy, finance, retail and manufacturing. For example:
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The technology developed in this project will be directly applicable to sensor networks in the oil
patch, in military and emergency services, as well as in forestry and agriculture – fundamental
sectors of Alberta’s economy.
The development of sophisticated micro-sensors, and the development technologies that allows
them to be fabricated, will lead to spin-off initiatives in the life sciences, nano- and microelectronics, communications, oil and gas, agriculture and forestry.
Low-power wireless communication systems for personal area networks, smart clothes,
automatic billing systems, object tracking and identification. These types of products will become
All Market figures are based on reports found at: http://www.bccresearch.com/biotech/
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ubiquitous in our society within the next few years, and the proposed research will have a direct
impact on the supporting technologies.
Novel MEMS devices can be used in communications systems, health diagnostics, display
systems, and in the automotive and aircraft industries.
The development of techniques to facilitate the integration of devices fabricated in diverse
technologies (such as MEMS, microfluidics and CMOS IC's) will find application beyond
instrumentation, healthcare, and environmental monitoring.
The successful development of indoor location of personnel will have a huge impact on society,
from location and monitoring of firefighters in burning buildings to deployment of paramedics to
heart attack victims, along with new location-based services. This global business is growing at a
rate of 50% per year.
Clearly, the research and development opportunities enabled by this initiative will spin-off diverse
benefits in many key economic sectors worth billions of dollars. We propose to proactively pursue
opportunities for commercialization, develop a strong network of industry partners, and assess our
designs for potential use in multiple economic contexts. This will be accelerated and facilitated by the fact
that many of the members of our team have experience in IP protection. It is, therefore, our expectation
that the UofC can leverage this opportunity into a strong development and commercialization thrust.
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