An exciting first-in-North America research project is coming to Dartmouth General Hospital and it will improve future health outcomes for dialysis patients across Nova Scotia, Canada and worldwide. Thanks to an incredible gift of $1,000,000 from the Van Wart Family, DGH will be home to an innovative research project that will utilize leading-edge virtual reality technology, developed at Harvard University, to measure the cognitive and cardiac effects of hemodialysis on patients. The newly funded research project, spearheaded by Dr. Karthik Tennankore, Interim Division Head, Nephrology, will focus on enhancing dialysis care through wearable technology in the form of heart rate monitoring devices, oxygen saturation detectors and virtual reality (VR) tools. Results gathered will assist with diagnosis and help drive behavior change and self-monitoring.
The Van Wart family are wonderful champions for Dartmouth General Hospital and beloved members of our DGHF family. They brought us Holiday Magic four years ago and now they have stepped forward to make an impact for the more than 30,000 patients in Canada who undergo weekly life-preserving dialysis.
“Nancy and I and our family are honoured to be able to make this investment in kidney health research at the Dartmouth General. DGH feels like part of our family, so it’s extra special that it will be the home of this research project. Like many others in Canada, kidney disease has touched our family in a profoundly personal way. We’re excited by the promise of Dr. Tennankore’s research project and what it will mean for families like ours going forward.” Robert Van Wart
Our deepest thanks to the Van Wart family for their generosity and commitment to the Dartmouth General. We are extraordinarily grateful to Robert and Nancy for supporting Dartmouth General’s culture of innovation, its can-do attitude, and its pioneering spirit. This exciting research project will have a tangible impact for dialysis patients in Nova Scotia and beyond.
