The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is pleased to announce the appointment of a new physician, Dr. Isabel Lafontaine. Dr. Lafontaine is the newest member to join the Nuclear Medicine Team.

Dr. Lafontaine was recently appointed as a Nuclear Medicine Physician at Regional Health in early fall. Isabel originally hails from Montreal, Quebec, and was raised in Papineauville, around the Ottawa region. She went through the International Baccalaureate of Geneva program, at the Jean-de-Brebeuf College in Montreal, as well as the Baccalaureate program in Psychology at the University of Ottawa. She decided that medical school was her next focus, and was accepted into the University of Montreal. After completing five years of medical school, Dr. Lafontaine moved to the University of Laval for three years of general surgery. In 1999, she was accepted into the Nuclear Medicine Program at the University of Sherbrooke, which provided her with training in a clinical atmosphere.

Upon completion of her residency in Sherbrooke, she worked for a year at Saint Georges Hospital in Saint Georges, a suburb of Quebec City. "After completing my year at St. Georges, my husband and I discussed our next steps, and began to look at different facilities across Canada," commented Dr. Lafontaine. "When I began to research the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, our decision was made. In my opinion, TBRHSC has the greatest potential in nuclear medicine and research in Canada, and with my hope of working towards a fellowship in Positron Emission Tomography (PET), I think that Thunder Bay is the perfect place."

Dr. Lafontaine has received a number of awards, including the Radiant Award in 2000, from the Canadian Society of Nuclear Medicine (CSNM). The Radiant Award is offered to encourage members of the CSNM to embark upon an original investigation or further research on a current study.

Nuclear Medicine uses radioactive substances, called radiopharmaceuticals, to image the body and treat disease. These materials are used to create radioactive tracers that can be ingested, inhaled, or injected into the bloodstream. Nuclear medicine looks at the physiology of the body in establishing diagnosis and treatment. Imaging techniques give doctors another way to look inside the human body. The techniques combine the use of computers, detectors, and radioactive substances. These techniques include Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), Cardiovascular imaging, and Bone scanning. The techniques are useful in detecting tumours, aneurysms, irregular or inadequate blood flow to various tissues, blood cell disorders, and inadequate functioning of organs, such as thyroid and pulmonary function deficiencies.

"We are very fortunate to have Dr. Lafontaine join our team," stated Dr. Blair Schoales, Chief of Staff at the Health Sciences Centre. "With TBRHSC affiliated with the Regional Cancer Care and the academic initiatives of Lakehead and the new Northern Ontario School of Medicine (N O S M), the possibilities for teaching and education are enormous. We will continue to evolve, and with physicians like Dr. Lafontaine on staff, our program is poised for growth."

The highly specialized area of Nuclear Medicine is an integral part of Medical Radiation Technology, which, along with Nuclear Medicine, includes areas such as Radiation Therapy, Magnetic Resonance, and Radiological Technology. "The professionals that populate these areas have to both maintain their professional standards on a consistent basis and reside at the cutting edge of technology," commented Michael Power, Vice President of Regional Cancer Services and Diagnostic Imaging. "The explosions and advancements in medical technology are very exciting, and enhancing patient care almost exponentially with every new treatment approach."

With the addition of highly specialized physicians and health professionals like Dr. Lafontaine, the opportunity to expand the "health sciences" aspect of TBRHSC is wide ranging and exciting. "We have been anticipating the growth of Regional Health from the moment we moved," said Ron Saddington, President and C E O of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. "When you begin to see the growth and interest in the facility and everything that we, as a community, have built, it all comes together, and continues to generate new opportunities for program expansion; I believe we are at the beginning of a new era of excellence in healthcare in Northwestern Ontario."