The demand for medical imaging is growing. It can be so central to a patient’s diagnosis that treatment can’t begin until after doctors have a scan to review.
Researchers like Neena Kanwar, co-founder and CEO of KMH Cardiology and Diagnostics Centres Inc., want to make sure that the capacity for in-demand technologies like MRI and PET/CT keeps pace so that patients aren’t stuck waiting for a scan.
“If your back is painful and you can’t move, and they’re telling you you have to wait three months or four months to get your MRI done, and before you can get your treatment started, it’s unreasonable in my mind,” says Kanwar.
Since opening their doors in 1988, KMH has grown to over 20 locations in North America. Its flagship location is in Mississauga, just west of Toronto. KMH has offered diagnostic services to over a million patients in Ontario, and they have continued to be involved in international research studies and clinical trials.
The wealth of information that imaging provides allows doctors to customize treatment to each patient. To obtain the best images and tease out the most information, contrast agents can be used to look for molecular changes that happen in disease. KMH is working on a particular agent to help provide a definitive diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease.
Medical imaging is also used to diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease and other neurological disorders.
“It is a privilege and an honour to be working with renowned researchers and research companies,” says Kanwar. “We always felt that it was important for us to participate in research so that we can help bring about new imaging agents, new medications, and new technologies to the market. We can then offer those services to the patients and the general community.”
