Sick Kids and Sunnybrook plan to commercialize pioneering incisionless surgical technique

Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre are teaming up with Philips to commercialize an incisionless surgical technique that destroy tumours without piercing the skin. The procedure was recently used on a 16-year-old boy to destroy a benign bone tumor (osteoid osteoma) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high-intensity ultrasound.

The procedure — which is being positioned as a superior alternative to traditional orthopaedic surgery and minimally-invasive surgery —took 30 minutes and the patient was released the same day pain free.

The multidisciplinary breakthrough was a North American first and was led by Sick Kids' Centre for Image-Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Innovation with support from Sunnybrook's MRI and Radiation Oncology staff. The procedure emerged from Sick Kids' research program which brings together surgeons, radiologists, software developers and engineers to develop robotics and minimally-invasive surgical techniques.

"This is another example of how basic research becomes very applied," says Dr Reza Moridi, minister of Research and Innovation and Training, Colleges and Universities. "We heavily support research and innovation in our universities and hospitals."

Since 2006, the Ontario government has provided $3.4 million to the centre and $147.6 million in research funding to Sicks Kids overall. Sunnybrook received $39.8 million over the same period.

"There's great potential for this technology. It's huge," says Moridi.

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