New cardiovascular chair welcomed

Sean Steels

PREACHING TO THE CHOIR Becher spoke to a crowd of fellow researchers and funders at the Timms Centre on Tuesday.

University President Indira Samarasekera and Dean of Medicine and Dentistry Philip Baker were on hand Tuesday at the Timms Centre to welcome a new addition to the University's cardiovascular stable.

Harald Becher, former professor of cardiac ultrasound at Oxford University and has written the Handbook of Contrast Echocardiography. He comes to the U of A from the United Kingdom to fill the University's Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Research.

The endowed chair is split evenly between the University and the Heart and Stroke Foundation, who also had a representative on hand to welcome Becher and his innovative thinking in the field of imaging diagnostics.

“I'm sure you've all heard the phrase, 'the definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting a different result.' [Dr. Becher] is our answer to the insanity of heart disease and stroke in this prolific country,” said Diana Krescy, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

“You have to believe that a healthier future is possible and desirable in this country. We have to invest in the big win, not the quick win.”

Becher's research focuses primarily on the use of ultrasound imaging in the detection of coronary heart disease and improvements to the technologies fuelling the field. Critical in this goal, he said, was speeding up diagnosis time.

“We have to make this technique much more efficient. We have to reduce the time and resources involved,” he said.

Two-dimensional ultrasounds, he explained, were time-consuming and a move towards three-dimensional imaging techniques could potentially cut wait times down to a few minutes.

“We also have to improve on the quality of images, and work on processing data sets. These data sets will be processed by new techniques, simplified imaging tools, and shorter processing times to help us succeed,” he said.

The way will continue forward with further clinical trials on Becher's work, bolstered also by current clinical trials being commenced for the work of Ken Butcher, who currently holds the University's Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut Professorship in Cardiovascular Research. His own research into blood pressure conventions in stroke patients has already proven fruitful.

“[My] professorship has had real, tangible effects on my colleagues and I in the stroke program. We've already been able to address some very important issues relating to blood pressure,” he began.

“The importance of an endowment position like this really can't be underestimated. It creates a certain type of position, which is protected for people interested in clinical research. These positions are far and few between, and have immense appeal. I was drawn back to Alberta from Australia, and I can assure you, it wasn't the weather.”

But Becher, it seemed, needed no introduction to the working climate of Edmonton, and expressed optimism towards accomplishing his goals.

"The [Mazankowski] Heart Institute is just amazing, when you look at the equipment, the setting, and the presence of the Heart and Stroke Foundation here, there is very good funding to initiate this research. I don't think there are many other places in the world where you can do that," he said.

"If we want to make an impact on health economics, we have to cut down the time needed for diagnostic ultrasounds by 50 per cent in the next five to ten years, and I'm pretty sure we can do it."