Saskatchewan-born Dr. Sumeer Lal didn't plan to become an inventor, but he's well on his way after being internationally recognized for helping to develop the "best new medical invention" in 2007.
"It's funny where life takes you," said Lal, a neurosurgeon who now lives in South Carolina.
Born and raised in southeastern Saskatchewan, Lal graduated from the University of Saskatchewan's college of medicine and then completed a residency in neurosurgery at the university before moving to the United States for further training. Since 2004, he has worked as a neurosurgeon in Greenwood, S.C.
Lal and co-inventor Ajay Mahajan were recently recognized for an invention that would improve a surgeon's accuracy in the operating room by mapping the brain or spine using ultrasonic waves. They won first place in the medical division of Create the Future Design contest, sponsored by several organizations including NASA through its technology magazine called NASA Tech Briefs. Individuals and groups from around the world submitted more than 1,000 entries in the competition for high-tech inventions.
Mahajan, a mechanical engineer in Illinois, is listed as the entrant even though the winning entry was the result of collaboration, says Lal.
The current technology that aids surgeons through their delicate and complex work is camera-based, he explained in an interview from his home. The optical system is expensive, large and dependent on a clear sightline between the camera and the patient.
Using sound waves, instead of an optical system, has many advantages, including price and size. Sightlines are not an issue either. The technology is similar to a global positioning system.
"This system uses sensors on the surgeon's probe that transmit ultrasonic signals to an array of receivers, which can pinpoint in real time precisely where the probe is in relation to the patient's brain," said Lal.
"Imagine a box. You have a probe, or pencil, in that box. With this instrumentation, you would be able to see the point of that pencil in the box even though you can't see in the box. That's the logic behind it."
The best part of receiving the award was not the dinner and ceremony in New York but the profile Lal and his partner are receiving.
"What did we get out of it? Credibility, credibility and more credibility," said Lal.
Shortly after an article appeared in NASA Tech Briefs, Lal and Mahajan were contacted by a multibillion-dollar company interested in their work.
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