
The Lawson Research Institute of St Joseph’s Health Care London in Ontario, Canada, has received a C$65.75m ($45.82m) investment to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of workplace injuries and illnesses.
The investment from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will be used to establish Occupational Injury Prevention and Treatment Network, the first network of its kind in Canada.
This network will focus on innovating long-term solutions to prevent mental and physical injuries, expedite recovery, and ensure sustainable workforce health.
It will have access to a positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imagery (PET/MRI) scanner to advance research into the diagnosis of mental health conditions.
The network will also include a Computer-Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN), a virtual reality system designed to explore and address workplace injury, rehabilitation and chronic pain.
The investment will also fund three newly endowed research chairs and scientists who will use data science, artificial intelligence and virtual reality to make the network’s resources accessible to centres and workplaces across Canada.
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By GlobalDataIn addition, it will include a rapid-access research area for designing and testing assistive devices such as splints and mobility aids.
St Joseph’s Health Care London president and CEO Roy Butler said: “We know that discovery-driven, patient-focused research improves lives – that is the focus of our hospital-based research at Lawson, and we’re humbled that the WSIB has entrusted us to expand this vital work to minimise the effects of workplace injury, disease and disability.
“This significant investment will drive innovation opportunities that will translate into novel new treatments and tools that can be used to battle workplace injury and illness.”
Every year in Ontario, occupational injuries and illnesses lead to nearly 250,000 claims through the WSIB, with benefit payments totalling around C$2.5bn.
These conditions include chronic pain, physical disability and mental health issues and pose a challenge to individuals and businesses alike.