A Nobel Prize-winning technology described as ‘transformational’ won the $500,000 top prize in the Medical Dragons’ Den competition.
The high-resolution microscope was pitched by three doctors at Saturday night’s event — Jean-François Légaré, Keith Brunt and Sohrab Lutchmedial.
Dr. Lutchmedial says it’s designed to help doctors decide which treatments will work best for individual patients suffering from multiple chronic conditions.
“We clearly see that being able to do that in an efficient manner, in a sensible manner, that doesn’t require trial and error, is the way to do things, but it’s impossible with the type of science that we have today,” says Lutchmedial. “This is transformational.”
An estimated one-in-five New Brunswickers fall under the category of having multiple chronic conditions.
Lutchmedial says it’s not just about treating one person, but also their entire family.
“When we’re treating one individual, that person is generally responsible for all sorts of things in the home,” he says, “and we need to get that person back home, back to their job, back to an ability to take of not just themselves, but their children or their father or their relatives.”
Dr. Brunt says equipment like this also has broader benefits in terms of research and economic development.
“We are in a significant trade deficit when it comes to healthcare,” says Brunt. “We’re importing almost everything — we’re importing talent, we’re importing solutions. We have to start creating our own solutions that fit our population best for them, and then we can export those solutions.”
Congratulations to the 2018 Medical Dragons’ Den winning team, Dr. Jean-François Légaré , Dr. Keith Brunt, Dr. Sohrab Lutchmedial. pic.twitter.com/e8URRevRHW
— SJRHFoundation (@SJRHFoundation) April 8, 2018
The microscope costs between $350,000 and $500,000, but Brunt says it will kick-start a research project that will attract investors and doctors to New Brunswick.
The four ‘Dragons’ — Scott McCain, Anne Mclellan, Steve Douglas and Dr. David Elias — donated the $500,000 top prize.
Dr. Christopher Chin and Cr. Morgan Langille won the audience award of $166,000 for their minimally invasive sinus surgery project.
