Inspirational innovation: Meet Canada’s medical pioneers
Entrepreneurship is not typically associated with the field of medicine. Yet, integrating the two has led to much-needed innovations that have revolutionized and improved healthcare for millions. Many medical professionals have applied their ambition and creative visions to positively impact the medical field, including Canadian visionaries who have contributed to medical research for decades.
Read ahead to learn about some of Canada’s most influential medical pioneers who brought vital inventions to the public.
Dr. Henri Breault
Dr. Henri Breault of Tecumseh, Ont., was a pediatrician and father of two. In the 1960s, more than 100,000 childhood drug poisonings were reported annually in Canada, resulting in more than 100 deaths.
According to The Drive, Breault’s wife recalled the breaking point for her husband during an interview. After coming home from work at three in the morning, he said, “You know, I’ve had it! I am tired of pumping children’s stomachs when they’re taking pills that they shouldn’t be having! I’ve got to do something about it.”
To start, Breault attempted a public health campaign with limited success. The failed public health campaign culminated in 1967 when Breault invented the Palm N’ Turn — a child safety device to fit on drug bottles that requires pushing down and turning the lid to open the container. The Palm N’ Turn was a resounding success and reduced child drug poisonings by 91 per cent.
By 1974, Palm N’ Turns were mandatory on all drug bottles in Ontario and, soon after, throughout North America.
Frederick Banting and Charles Best
Building on decades of global research, Canadian visionaries at the University of Toronto extracted an insulin molecule from a pancreas in 1921. The discovery of this molecule has led to countless lives saved. According to Penn State University, It is viewed by experts as one of the most important breakthroughs of all time in treating diabetes.
The discovery was not without its challenges. Surgeon Frederick Banting and University of Toronto medical student Charles Best, the researchers who spearheaded the discovery, had many obstacles to overcome. One obstacle was that their discovery could not be reproduced. This meant that although Banting and Best had isolated the molecule, they could not do so reliably. In addition to the reliability issue, Banting and Best could not yet purify the insulin they extracted.
James Collip and John Macleod, Canadian university professors, helped purify insulin, and soon enough, diabetic patients could receive this life-saving treatment. Millions of people worldwide have diabetes, many of whom are insulin dependent and can be treated thanks to the contributions of Banting, Best and other Canadian researchers.
John Hopp
Born in Winnipeg, Man., in 1919, John Hopp is renowned as the father of biomedical engineering. One of his most important and well-known inventions was the cardiac pacemaker.
The cardiac pacemaker is a life-saving piece of equipment implanted in a person’s chest to help control their heartbeat. It is especially vital for people with an irregular heartbeat after a heart attack, drug poisoning or surgery. Pacemakers can improve a person’s quality of life without impacting their life expectancy.
At the Banting Institute in Toronto, cardiac surgeons John Callaghan and Richard Bigelow were researching how to slow the heart down for open heart surgery. One option they were exploring was using hypothermia. However, this caused issues because the heart could not pump blood when cooled to these temperatures.
Hopp, already well-established in biomedical engineering, was invited to the Banting Institute to assist in the research. His solution was introducing an electrical signal to the heart, which he discovered caused a contraction. From there, further iterations lead to Hopp building the first pacemaker prototype.
Through Hopp’s prototype, the current version of the implantable cardiac pacemaker was created, leading to countless lives being saved and improved.
Canadian inventors, global implications
Thanks to these forward-thinking inventors, the impacts of these discoveries have been felt globally for many decades. Between saving lives and improving well-being, it is hard to overstate the importance of these medical advances. Without Breault, Banting, Best, Hopp and other Canadian inventors, many more people would suffer from treatable conditions.