Thanks to a generous gift of $100,000 from pharmaceutical company UCB Canada, the epilepsy program at the QEII is one step closer to expanding their epilepsy monitoring unit from the current two bed unit to a four bed unit.

The need for an expanded unit is backed by the data – at least 16,000 people are living with epilepsy in the Atlantic Region; approximately 16% of those individuals are potential surgery candidates, who require monitoring. The epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) is the only dedicated adult unit accepting referrals from all Atlantic provinces. “We are only able to study 40-42 patients per year given the limited number of beds and the lengthy admission of one to three weeks per patient,” explains Dr. Mark Sadler, co-director of the epilepsy program at the QEII. “The lengthy admission is required to record a sufficient number of clinical events to allow for precise diagnosis.”

UCB Canada‘s $100,000 gift marks the beginning of a promising long term relationship. “We are on the threshold of a really big opportunity thanks to the generous gift from UCB Canada,” says Dr. Sadler with excitement. 

Philip Godwin, electroneurophysiology technologist, observes a patient in the epilepsy monitoring unit from an office down the hall.