Dr. Andres Lozano has been fixing people's brains for about 25 years.
And while he's one of the best neurosurgeons in the world, working on someone's brain always comes with risks, even for him. However, a recent game-changing breakthrough is dramatically reducing complications to the point where patients will be able to visit the hospital in the morning for non-invasive brain surgery and then go home that same day.
In some ways, the breakthrough isn't much of a breakthrough at all. Decades ago, researchers realized that ultrasound technology could be used to penetrate the human skull and destroy pathological tissue in the brain. The skull, though, is so strong that a normal jolt of soundwaves is essentially useless.
"The skull tends to block ultrasounds," says Dr. Lozano, a senior scientist at the Krembil Research Institute and a surgeon at Toronto Western Hospital.
The Krembil Research Institute and the Globe and Mail have teamed up for a special content project designed to highlight the tremendous accomplishments of our scientists and research programs at Krembil. The first of three of magazine in this series focuses on the success stories within the brain and spine program and is now available online.
