A new system developed by Cameron Piron (BASc ’98) and his team at Synaptive Medical will give emergency patients access to MRI technology — when and where they need it.
“Big spending” is often seen as essential to health-care in the Western world. However, some communities can’t afford expensive new technologies. Leaders in the medical field are calling for a fundamental shift in our priorities. We need systems that require less infrastructure and less skill to maintain, so that essential resources are available to everyone.
For the last six years, my team at Synaptive Medical and I have been developing more accessible magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. We know that MRI is the most sensitive and specific way to identify neurological disorders – like stroke, cancer and trauma – but in urgent situations, this technology isn’t always available when and where patients need it.
MRIs take up thousands of square feet and weigh thousands of pounds, which means they’re extremely difficult to install in places like emergency departments. Patients who need immediate care are often assessed using other technologies. So we asked ourselves, “Can we make MRI smaller and easier to site so that it’s available to emergency patients?”
Consulting widely with health-care practitioners, we built a system dedicated to imaging the brain. By focusing on neurological disorders like strokes, which can do serious harm in a short time, we made the best use of our technology. We also created a smaller system that fit into just 250 square feet. It’s the first of its kind in our industry, and we call it Evry™.
We’ll be looking very carefully at Evry’s impact on clinicians, patients and the health-care system so that we can help medical professionals provide care when it’s really essential. I’m looking forward to continuing this work, but at the same time, I’m extremely proud to stand and celebrate this milestone with my team.
As a systems engineering alumnus, I’m excited by the impact that Waterloo can make on health technology. Waterloo exposed me to multi-disciplinary approaches to engineering, and it developed many of the engineers who have come through Synaptive’s doors in the last six years. As our organizations move forward together, I believe we’re going to radically change the nature of human care. I’m excited to dig in and contribute much more to this field. 
