Dr. Stephanie Willerth has always been fascinated with how research intersects with technology. But, if someone told her fifteen years ago that she would be using 3D printing in research she says her response would have been "we have to finish sequencing the human genome first! I would also ask if I was using stem cells when printing tissues since I have been fascinated with them since high school."

Did you know that an estimated 95% of adults with SCI will experience at least one pressure ulcer/injury in their lifetime? It is also the most expensive and preventable secondary complication for people who sustain a SCI, and the health care systems that serve them. 

The Blusson Integrated Cures Partnership (BICP) is a collaboration between ICORD, and the Rick Hansen Institute, established to improve outcomes and health of people living with SCI by advancing research and improving the kind and quality of care available for people with SCI.

The Rick Hansen Institute is proud to support a Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) study to evaluate the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Initiative. This VCH article, originally published on their website, speaks to the multidisciplinary approach to addressing pressure ulcers in individuals who have sustained an acute spinal cord injury (SCI).
Author: Rennie Brown; Communications & Public Affairs, VCH.

The Rick Hansen Institute is fortunate to count among its many valued partners Dr. Dalton Wolfe, a Scientist at Parkwood Institute in London, Ontario and Assistant Professor at Western University. RHI recently sat down with Dr. Wolfe to talk about his current research.