What iRSM has planned might sound like science fiction, but it’s real.
Patients
with a massive loss of tissue can look to a future when the planning,
and design of their reconstructive components is done in the virtual
world. Their team of technicians and surgeons will have a plan that is
designed specifically for the individual. Some parts will be built
using regenerative medicine to generate tissue for the person.
“It’s
personalized medicine,” Dr. Wolfaardt says. “We have the potential to
provide people with outcomes we can’t even anticipate today.”
Dr. Wolfaardt says it’s not an accident that Alberta is at the helm of these important developments.
“We
work with really multidisciplinary activities, which we couldn’t
undertake without the depth of talent in Alberta,” Dr. Wolfaardt says.
“We work with people in surgery, engineering, rehabilitation medicine,
computing science, graphic designers and industrial designers. Whatever
it is, the infrastructure is such that we can usually find someone.”
He
adds that it is unusual to see the kind of collaboration he has
encountered. As well, he credits the Government of Alberta for having
the vision to set up the test facility for patients, a precursor to
iRSM.