Sunnybrook

The day has come! Today we officially unveiled Sunnybrook’s new Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre which will open to patients in early 2025. The new state-of-the-art 121,000-sq.-ft. facility focuses on physical and mental health, bringing together experts from the field of brain sciences under one roof and providing patients with a full spectrum of care. This innovative centre would not have been possible without the support of our generous donor Garry Hurvitz, whose vision and passion for improving brain health mobilized our donor community and paved the way for major investment from the Government of Ontario. Thank you to Robin Martin, MPP Eglinton-Lawrence for attending today’s unveiling and for your continued support in enabling Sunnybrook to invent the future of health care. Read more about the new Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre: https://bit.ly/4eMBxZi

Today, staff in our Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program got a sneak preview of their program’s new home in the Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre, being unveiled this week before opening to patients in early 2025. Staff went on self-guided tours of this first of its kind in Canada facility, and applied what they learned on a trivia scavenger hunt. The Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre unites our interdisciplinary teams under one roof, providing research and clinical care across the spectrum of brain sciences and mental health, accelerating collaboration to improve lives and change outcomes.

Today our president and CEO, Dr. Andy Smith, moderated the “Accelerating Innovation in Canada’s Health Systems—Planning Beyond Regulatory Approvals & Navigating Health System Market Access” panel at The MedTech Conference. The panel examined Canada’s highly complex health care and medical technology sector, and included engaging conversations on opportunities for collaborative engagement between technology companies, ministries of health, clinical experts, and key health system stakeholders to improve opportunities for market access. Thank you to panelists Karen Cross, CEO of MIMOSA Diagnostics, Sudha Kutty, executive vice-president of evidence, products, & services at CADTH, Gary Ryan, executive lead at CAN Health Network and Ally Dhalla, MMC’s senior vice-president of pharmacy, clinical services & innovation at Mohawk Medbuy Corporation.

As we recognize #OCDWeek and prepare for the unveiling of the new Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre, the results of a Sunnybrook-led clinical trial provide evidence for the first time to suggest that MR-guided focused ultrasound is a safe therapy at long-term for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). The ability to focus ultrasound energy non-invasively, through the human skull was largely pioneered by scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute and advanced through clinical trials at the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation. Our internationally recognized researchers in the Harquail Centre will continue to advance brain health in a new home at the Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre, which will bring together experts under one roof, providing patients with a full spectrum of care. Read more: https://bit.ly/4h5ZaNW

In 2015, Sunnybrook scientists and clinicians performed a world-first: They successfully and non-invasively opened the blood-brain barrier to deliver chemotherapy into the brain tumour of a patient using MRI-guided focused ultrasound (FUS). Nearly 10 years later, those same researchers are once again approaching a new breakthrough, this time with the potential to bring the technology to more patients and more clinics, and to revolutionize the treatment options for many neurological and brain diseases. We sat down with global FUS pioneer and vice-president of research and innovation at Sunnybrook, Dr. Kullervo Hynynen and scientist and chief of the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Dr. Nir Lipsman, to learn some of the latest developments and most promising potential of the next-generation FUS helmet. As we prepare to unveil our new Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Centre, we’re looking ahead as we continue to innovate treatment and care for people living with brain disorders. Read more about the new technology: https://bit.ly/3zYz5zD

Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay and we asked people across Sunnybrook what they do to prioritize their mental health. Check out their answers! Let us know in the comments what you do to promote mental wellness! 🧠💚

What a night! A huge thank you to everyone who organized, attended, and participated in the inaugural Chefs’ Circle Gala on October 5, raising an impressive $1,012,888 for Sunnybrook! Your commitment truly makes a difference in the lives of our patients and their families. A big thank you to William Cheng for his inspiring vision and leadership in creating this exceptional event, which brought together award-winning Michelin-star chefs from around the world to lead a team of talented chefs for an incredible celebration of food, culture, and support for Sunnybrook. Looking forward to seeing you next year! #ThisPlaceIsSpecial

Sunnybrook Research Institute spin-off company, Arrayus Technologies Inc., recently announced Health Canada | Santé Canada approval of its MRI-guided focused ultrasound (FUS) system for the ablation of uterine fibroids. Following the success of its first-in-human clinical trial, led by Dr. Elizabeth David, affiliate scientist and interventional radiologist at Sunnybrook, this approval paves the way for Canadian health-care providers to offer a safe, non-invasive alternative to traditional surgical options for this common gynecological condition. Arrayus was founded by Dr. Kullervo Hynynen, vice-president of research and innovation at Sunnybrook. Dr. Hynynen is a global pioneer in FUS research and was the first to combine FUS with MRI to guide and monitor treatment. Read more: https://bit.ly/4dHxEU2

Today, Sunnybrook welcomed MPP Robin Martin to celebrate the Government of Ontario's expanded base funding for Ontario's Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT). We have operated EMAT since 2009 through our Centre for Prehospital Medicine. EMAT is a flexible, modular team that can be deployed anywhere in Ontario with road access within 24 hours to provide specific medical services. As home to Canada’s first and largest trauma centre, Sunnybrook appreciates the role EMAT plays in providing emergency medical care. Thank you, MPP Martin, for joining us today to celebrate this expanded funding. This support will improve operations and access to training, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Ministry of Health to support this essential resource.

Last month, the Toronto Regional Arthroplasty Collaborative (TRAC) program was recognized by the Ontario Health System Quality & Innovation Awards and received the Improved Value and Sustainability Award. TRAC is a cross-hospital partnership between Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Michael Garron Hospital, Sinai Health and Unity Health Toronto. It aims to reduce backlogs in hip and knee replacement surgery by leveraging unused weekend operating room capacity. TRAC celebrated its one-year anniversary and has helped over 1000 patients avoid long wait lists and get the surgeries they need. Sunnybrook is honoured to be a part of a meaningful collaboration among its partners, and we look forward to the continued success of the TRAC program in supporting patients. To learn more visit: https://bit.ly/3ZVQHqD