March 9, 2016

Helping breast surgeons increase the success rate of breast-conserving surgery

Hi! My name is Ivan Kosik and I’m a PhD student in the Department of Medical Biophysics at Western University, working in the lab of Jeff Carson, PhD. You might have seen my first blog in January 2015 where I outlined our strategy to increase the success rate of breast-conserving surgery by developing an imaging system that can help surgeons ensure that complete tumour removal was achieved on the first try.

I’m pleased to say we’ve made great strides in the effort to translate our technology from bench to bedside, accelerating towards the day when we can directly impact patients’ lives. We’ve adapted our imager to fit within the OR and have been actively working with Dr. Muriel Brackstone. To date we’ve imaged 80 specimens with very encouraging results, and have even attracted the attention of a medical device company interested in commercializing our technology. This is very exciting because it represents a potential leap towards improving the standard of care for all breast cancer patients.

In the near future I hope to bring attention to our technology through conference presentations where I can reach a broader audience of surgeons and medical professionals.

Thank you to BCSC for your trainee support!
Ivan Kosik, PhD student
Pamela Greenaway-Kohlmeier Translational Breast Cancer Research Unit, London Health Sciences Centre

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