McCaig Institute’s new Centre for Mobility and Joint Health
The high accuracy dual fluoroscopy system in the Clinical Movement Assessment Laboratory allows researchers to investigate post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Photo by Don Molyneaux
Since its beginnings in 1978, the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health has connected basic research with patient care. For years, the goal of the institute was to build a clinical research facility where patients and members of the public could participate in research studies.
Three years ago, the McCaig Institute opened their new Centre for Mobility and Joint Health (MoJo) with $13.2 million in funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the province of Alberta and community donors. The new facility houses state-of the art imaging, movement assessment and biomarker analysis equipment, that allows researchers to study how to prevent, diagnose and treat bone and joint conditions.
McCaig Institute Director Steven Boyd talks with a research participant about the MoJo's CT scanner. Photo by Don Molyneaux
Located at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine, work in the MoJo is guided by clinical needs, with the goal of turning scientific evidence into health care solutions for Albertans. "The MoJo is designed to translate basic science into real-world clinical solutions," says Steven Boyd, PhD, director of the McCaig Institute. "We are a hub where physicians, basic scientists, biomedical engineers, patients and the Alberta health system, collaborate to keep Albertans moving."
Some equipment in the MoJo is only available in one or two other facilities in the world. Key imaging technologies include magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), dual fluoroscopy and a bi-planar X-ray (EOS).
The Mobility for Life Project
Researchers in the MoJo use Xtreme CT to study bone microarchitecture.
The McCaig Institute is about to launch The Mobility for Life Project – a longitudinal cohort study that expands existing research studies and includes exciting new research initiatives. The Mobility for Life project, will start within the next year and follow a large cohort of people with and without bone and joint conditions over many years. Much of the data will be collected in the MoJo. “We’re excited to engage Albertans in finding a solution for bone and joint conditions. It’s a huge undertaking, but I think it really builds on our legacy and the McCaig Institute’s tradition of linking basic science with patients,” says Boyd. “Though we’re calling this a “new” initiative, in many ways, the McCaig Institute has been working towards this for decades.” To learn more about the MoJo, visit our website.
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