Neuroscience News

Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, Brentwood ‘91, is currently one of Canada’s foremost neuroscientists. Ryan spoke about his pioneering work in the field during our TEDx event last fall and offered to show some students around his neurotech lab in Vancouver whenever we could make it.  This past week 15 students were given a tour of the facility which does cutting-edge rehabilitation and diagnostic work on people with severe neurological problems. As well as hear from a number of the scientists working there, students were able to get some hands-on experience of things like EEG machines and neurofeedback devices.  In addition to his medical work, Ryan has also set up a consortium of entrepreneurial groups drawn from universities and industry to develop products that will have an impact on day-to-day mental health issues such as concussion treatment, detection of dementia, and relaxation therapies.  Students visited the “City Centre” building which is the first in what will be an “Innovation Boulevard” that Ryan hopes will attract investment and foster something akin to the “Silicon Valley” of neurotech in Vancouver. His own company “Vital Signs” was actually launching a product the day we visited and so students were able to see the connections between research, computer science, and the business world. All agreed that it was a fascinating and worthwhile trip. We hope to return next year and see the progress being made on the use of some of the world’s most modern brain imaging machines. For more information check the link below http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/worlds-first-brain-vital-signs-revolutionizes-the-science-behind-brain-health-581556671.html Mr. Dave McCarthy, Director of Learning