The stories patients and caregivers tell of the difficulties managing day-to-day tasks stay top of mind for Dr. Alex Mihailidis, an award-winning scientist developing smart home systems to care for and promote the wellbeing of older adults. From robots who support common household activities, floor tiles that monitor blood pressure and sensors that can send a reminder to turn off the stove, Dr. Mihailidis is alleviating the responsibility of care from the patient and caregiver and putting it into the home.
On this episode of Behind the Breakthrough, Dr. Mihailidis journeys through his years of research into smart home technology, with early innovations such as ‘Ed the Robot’ and his current role as Scientific Director of the AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence. Dr. Mihailidis also tells the story of how he became a patient at the Toronto Rehab Institute, the hospital where he works, after surviving a 30 foot fall down a cliff. Having to regain his ability to walk and perform daily functions, the tragic event taught him the importance of integrating his research with clinical practice.
“If we can come up with a solution through technology that can help ease the issues older people face, even just a little bit, and make it better not just for the person but the family that supports them...then that’s why I continue to do this.”
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Dr. Taufik Valiante invents implantable computer chip designed to stop epileptic seizures
Dr. Stephanie Protze on turning stem cells into pacemaker cells
Dr. Brad Wouters on UHN's COVID-19 research, leadership during the pandemic, and anti-vaxxers
Season 2…coming soon!
Dr. Donald Weaver's lifelong quest to cure Alzheimer's
Using computers to understand cancer, with Dr. Michael Hoffman
Pioneering treatments to get spinal cord injured patients mobile, with Dr. Kristin Musselman
Reversing blindness and the serendipity of science, with Dr. Valerie Wallace
Repairing broken hearts with stem cells, with Dr. Michael Laflamme
Overcoming ‘impostor syndrome’ and helping the elderly live well, with Dr. Jennifer Campos
Meet the cancer code breaker, Dr. Mathieu Lupien
Robotics, rehabilitation therapy and learning from failure, with Dr. Milos Popovic
Challenging the meaning of palliative care, with Dr. Camilla Zimmermann
Chronic pain and scientific baseball, with Dr. Karen Davis
Heart failure, Artificial Intelligence and a near-death experience, with Dr. Heather Ross
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