THUNDER BAY — His development of a low-dose radiation breast imaging device has won recognition for Lakehead University researcher Oleksandr Bubon.
Bubon will receive an award Tuesday in Ottawa from Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization that's supported research projects and delivered training programs since 1999.
It's funded by the federal government and provincial governments, and works with more than 70 post-secondary institutions.
Bubon–a postdoctoral fellow studying at Lakehead under Professor Alla Reznik–developed novel solid-state imaging technology that exposes patients to 10 to 15 times less radiation than traditional PET (positron emission tomography) scans.
At the same time, it delivers accurate images that can detect small tumours in the earliest stages of breast cancer, especially on women who have dense breast tissue.
The technology is now being tested by Radialis Medical, a joint venture of Lakehead University and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute which Bubon and Reznik co-founded in 2016.
"It is an honour to receive this award and have my research recognized in this way," Bubon said. "There is a huge need for this...and we're only just beginning to see the incredible potential this technology has."
The latest prototype is in clinical trials at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital.
Validation results are expected by the end of the year.
Radialis Medical expects to be firmly established as a medical device manufacturer ready to seek Health Canada and United States FDA approval by mid 2020.
Bubon said the equipment is compact, and could be installed in the office of any qualifying physician.
He said it offers another important benefit for women in that "it doesn't require any squishing" during the procedure "and it is very comfortable for the patients."
The Mitacs award is for Outstanding Commercialization.
It goes to a Mitacs intern for an idea that is either on the market or soon to be commercialized.
Seven other recipients will receive awards at the Ottawa ceremony for innovation or leadership in other areas of research.
