Dr. Jonathan Irish and augmented reality in cancer surgery

The renowned researcher at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN, and head and neck surgeon explains how AI helps surgeons get better results.

Air Date: November 9, 2022 | Length: 31:49 | Download the transcript

 

 

 

 

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Episode Description

When he was in Grade 12 at high school in Burlington, Dr. Jonathan Irish was one of 14 students chosen to take part in the highly competitive McMaster University Student Summership program. He was also a competitive canoe-er. But ultimately he chose medicine over sport.

Dr. Jonathan Irish was on a path to competing for Canada at the Olympics in the sport of canoeing before he decided helping patients conquer cancer was his chosen path. He reflects on his years as a pioneering researcher and head and neck surgeon, and explains how AI helps surgeons get better results. But, he emphasizes, nothing will ever replace the surgeon.

About Dr. Jonathan Irish

Dr. Jonathan Irish is Professor and Division Head of the Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery Division at the University of Toronto. He is a surgical oncologist and reconstructive surgeon with particular expertise in oral cancer, melanoma and skin cancer and thyroid cancer. He is Director, Research Faculty and Co-lead, Guided Therapeutics at Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health.

Dr. Irish served as the Chief of the Department of Surgical Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre from 2000 to 2016. Since 2004, he has been a major health policy advisor and responsible for access to care, quality improvement, and healthcare funding for the Surgical Oncology Program at Cancer Care Ontario. From 2008 until 2021, Dr. Irish was appointed as the Provincial Head of the Surgical Oncology Program at Cancer Care Ontario. As of 2021, he was appointed Vice President, Clinical, Ontario Health-Cancer Care Ontario. In this capacity, Dr. Irish is responsible for all cancer services in the Province of Ontario, Canada with a population of 15.5 million people.

As the Kevin and Sandra Sullivan Chair in Surgical Oncology at the University of Toronto Dr. Irish has over 420 peer review publications and over 30 book chapters which represent research interests in population-based outcomes and health services research in head and neck cancer, nanoparticle-guided therapeutics and quality-of-life in head and neck cancer.