Kingston innovation sets new standard for brain cancer research

By Christena Lawrie, CFRC's Broadcast Journalist and Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

A team at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Queen’s University has developed a first-of-its-kind 3D-printed surgical biopsy capsule that could transform how scientists study glioblastoma—one of the most aggressive and difficult to study brain cancers. 

Co-designed by neurosurgeon-scientists Dr. James Purzner and Dr. Teresa Purzner, alongside Queen’s Engineering PhD candidate Kaytlin Andrews, the tool allows surgeons to collect more precise tissue samples than ever before.

This innovation opens the door to more targeted radiation treatments, more precise surgical planning, and new drug development grounded in the most detailed tumour mapping ever achieved. The capsule is already in use at KHSC, making Kingston the only centre in the world currently deploying this technology, with plans to expand to other hospitals and build a national brain-tumour tissue bank.

Listen to the full story to hear more from Dr. Teresa Purzner and Kaytlin Andrews.