Menu

Head and Neck Surgery Functional Assessment Laboratory (HNSFAL)

The Head and Neck Surgery Functional Assessment Laboratory (HNSFAL) was established at iRSM in 2000 to address treatment outcomes in patients with defects of the head and neck. Cancer surgery, adjunctive cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, or severe trauma of the head and neck may have considerable impact on an individual’s oral function (speech, chewing, swallowing) and senses (taste, smell), thereby affecting quality of life. Clinical activity and research within the Head and Neck Surgery Functional Assessment Laboratory (HNSFAL) address treatment outcomes related to surgical tumor removal and surgical reconstruction in the head and neck region, adjunctive therapy for patients with head and neck cancer, and prosthodontic rehabilitation for patients with defects of the head and neck. Work in the laboratory addresses clinically-driven assessment and patient-perceptual assessment. This approach is directed at treatment outcomes and the impact on quality of life.

Collaborative research is at the core of all activities within the HNSFAL. Collaborative clinical research associations have been developed with surgeons from both Head and Neck Surgery and Plastic Surgery at the University of Alberta Hospital, radiation oncologists from the Cross Cancer Institute, prosthodontists from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and speech scientists from the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta. Collaborative efforts with researchers from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta are vital in developing the future direction of the laboratory. Through the HNSFAL, several interdisciplinary research projects on functional outcomes after both prosthetic rehabilitation and surgical reconstruction in patients with head and neck cancer were completed. These research efforts have directed modifications of both surgical and prosthodontic interventions and have led to improvement of functional outcomes in our patient populations.

Bone Conduction Amplification Laboratory (BCAL)

In 2002, the business leaders, directors and research fellows at iRSM, in association with the Caritas Hospitals Foundation and the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta, secured funding to establish the Bone Conduction Amplification Laboratory (BCAL). Research and clinical directives of this laboratory are devoted to a better understanding of what makes an appropriate bone conduction amplification patient, what technical assessment tools are needed to best assess a bone conduction amplification device fitting, and what functional outcomes are necessary to understand the whole patient.

The laboratory is one of the only labs in the world dedicated exclusively to bone conduction hearing research. The BCAL is internationally recognized for bone conduction amplification research collaborating with centres in Sweden, the Netherlands. Canada, Denmark, and the United States. Most patients seen within the BCAL have difficulty getting sound through their outer and middle ears due to congenital malformations or chronic ear disease. Often, the patient’s inner ear (the organ that is actually responsible for hearing) is intact.  Bone Conduction Amplification (BCA) devices are designed to bypass the outer and middle ear and stimulate the inner ear directly by vibrating the skull.

Medical Modeling Research Laboratory (MMRL)

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.