Tools & Equipment

When you or a loved one are injured, you want the best minds in medicine to be equipped with the best tools for the job.

Your gifts have empowered our clinicians with state-of-the-art technology, so they can provide world-class care for the body’s most complex organ.

“We can now assess, diagnose and treat more patients than ever before in our expanded Seizure Investigation Unit (SIU), and do it in less time. Philanthropy has made that possible for epilepsy patients in BC.”

– Dr. Yahya Aghakhani, Medical Director, VGH Epilepsy Program

Breakthroughs in Imaging

A pivotal goal achieved by the Brain Breakthroughs campaign was to bring the very first 3TMRI machine to VGH.

This new machine was installed in early 2023 and has already greatly impacted patient care and ongoing research. Between February 2023, when the scanner went live, and early 2024 the 3T MRI unit has performed over 4150 scans, with more than half of those being neurology scans.

Read more about the many lives saved at VGH thanks to MRI technology.

How the 3T MRI is shaping care

Dr. Talia Vertinsky, Neuroradiologist and Clinical Professor of Radiology, has worked at VGH for over 15 years, and has seen first-hand how your generosity has impacted patient care. She shared some of the major impacts this new technology has already had on brain medicine:

• Stroke specialists now have significantly improved vessel wall imaging, allowing them to determine whether the cause of a stroke is atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in
  and around arteries) or vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels). These causes of stroke have very different treatment plans, and the 3T imaging capabilities allow neurologists to make this determination, which was nearly impossible before with the lower resolution imaging.
• For patients impacted by brain tumors, the 3T MRI provides improved imaging of their tumors, allowing their care team to better detect and more directly treat the tumor, whether through direct application of cancer therapies, or more precise surgery.
• The 3T MRI has been groundbreaking for the epilepsy team through the use of Functional MRI – a scan that can show which areas of the brain are most active and allow physicians to “map” brain activity. With a cutting edge technique, EEG-fMRI, they are getting closer to being able to pinpoint the centre of a seizure, which will not only drive advancements in research and care, but will give hope to patients suffering from therapy-resistant epilepsy.

Dr. Vertinsky’s enthusiasm for the new addition was palpable as she shared that this was the most significant contribution to the hospital in her time here. “I’ve been waiting for this 3T MRI for 16 years – my whole career. Donors have done a huge service to this hospital to provide it. And we never would have gotten it without them.”

The Brain Bolt

The Brain Bolt is a life-saving donor-funded brain monitoring device at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). VGH is currently the only hospital in BC, and one of only a handful in the world, with access to this innovative device.

Specialized catheters are placed into a patient’s brain for autoregulation monitoring. Their medical team receives vital second-to-second information, including oxygen and nutrient levels, blood flow and blood pressure. This allows them to tailor tweaks in treatment, completely personalizing care equipped with the best possible information.