In 2005, iRSM developed the Medical Modeling Research Laboratory (MMRL) with federal funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada and support from the Caritas Health Group, as a project extending into several faculties at the University of Alberta including Medicine and Dentistry, Engineering, and Rehabilitation Medicine, as well as the Department of Art & Design in the Faculty of Arts. The MMRL focuses on research and clinical services relating to the application of advanced digital technologies and surgical design and simulation in patient treatment. Clinical application, research, education, and technology transfer serve as the cornerstones of development in medical applications at MMRL.
Advanced digital technologies provide the building blocks for improving diagnostics, efficiencies and patient outcomes in treatment approaches. Digital images are translated into 3D virtual models, and used to visualize, plan and design the surgery of each patient. Patient specific surgical tools are virtually created using computer software and then sent to a device that “prints” three-dimensional models that can be held in the hand and used to guide the surgery in the operating room. Although iRSM specializes in surgical design and simulation to advance the care for head and neck reconstruction patients these technologies spans the full spectrum of health care, including cardiac surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, diagnostic imaging, biomedical engineering and many other disciplines.
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