Two Lawson and four Western projects are one step closer in moving their research towards commercialization with awards from the Western Innovation Fund (WIF). The awards, launched in 2004 and distributed three times a year by the Office of the Vice-President (Research & International Relations) at The University of Western Ontario, provide incentive for researchers to explore the commercial opportunities for their research. Congratulations to the following Lawson researchers on their successful applications:

Dr. Rajni V. Patel, along with co-applicants/collaborators, Dr.Christopher Schlachta, Dr. Michael Naish, and Ana Luisa Trejos were awarded $10,000 for their project entitled, "Multi-screen, hands-free pointer system for training in minimally invasive surgery."

In minimally invasive surgery, both of the surgeon's hands are occupied with instruments, making it very difficult to point at a monitor in order to direct a trainee's attention to particular features. The goal of this project is to develop a hands-free pointer that can be simultaneously displayed on all video monitors in the operating room (OR) to facilitate training for minimally invasive surgery. The key requirements of the system are that it must be compact and easy to install, provide high accuracy at slow speeds on full resolution screens, and be very responsive to the surgeon's hands-free control actions. This project will involve the development and experimental evaluation of a prototype system.

Dr. Bryan Richardson, along with collaborators, Dr. Martin Frasch, Dr. Robert Gagnon, and Lynn Keenliside, were awarded $12,000 for their project entitled, "Fetal Electrocortical Monitoring for Predicting Fetal Health During Labour."

Electronic fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring is presently the most widely used means for assessing fetal health during labour in high-risk pregnancies. Normal FHR patterns are highly predictive for a healthy newborn; however, abnormal or non-reassuring FHR patterns are not as predictive for adverse outcomes leading to both unnecessary cesarean delivery of the healthy newborn and the occasional delivery of an asphyxiated infant whose abnormal FHR pattern went unrecognized. It has been shown in animal studies that electrocortical (ECOG) activity as a measure of the brain's functional activity is predictably altered with an 'adaptive brain shutdown' when oxygenation is sufficiently compromised and leads to worsening acidemia. This 'adaptive brain shutdown' is likely a protective mechanism occurring well in advance of asphyxia-mediated brain injury, and might therefore prove useful for signaling such, and clinically, the need for delivery. Researchers will now test and modify the scalp electrodes used clinically for FHR monitoring during labour for optimal acquisition of both FHR and electroencephalographic (EEG) signals under varying hypoxic conditions simulating that in human labour and their combined capacity for predicting worsening acidemia.

Lawson Business Development assisted the research teams of Drs. Patel and Richardson with the development of their commercialization funding applications and in the presentation of their pitches to the Western Technology Development and Commercialization Advisory Committee who adjudicates these applications. In addition, Lawson Business Development provides services to researchers and research groups in relation to identifying, protecting and commercializing Intellectual Property. For more information, please contact Todd Copeland at ext. 77722 or todd.copeland@lhsc.on.ca, or visit their web site.