In a world where most of the time, women view each other as competition, I find girlfriend relationships underrated. I love my girlfriends. Girlfriends are one of life's bedrocks. Watching movies like Sex and the City and Traveling Pants drives home this message. They're the friends who would take time off work to take you to Mexico because you need to get away after your groom didn't show up at the wedding. They're the friends who, though they're in Greece and can't be there for you physicially, will call up your other girlfriends to go over to your house and comfort you after you had empty sex for the first time with a stranger you met at soccer camp. HAHA, so my own life's not that dramatic, but you get the picture.
TOP MANY REASONS WHY GIRLFRIENDS ROCK
1. You can do your make-up in front of them without feeling embarassed. 2. You can ask them to go to the washroom with you--and it's perfectly normal. 3. They understand when you tell them you're having a bad hair day. 4. They hold your hair back for you when you're puking. 5. They always have lipgloss to share. 6. They understand when you just need to cry. 7. They'll tell you when a dress looks unflattering. 8. You don't feel so bad when you tell them your worst fight with your boyfriend, because they probably had the same thing, or worse. 9. They understand when you just need to pamper yourself with a massage, pedicure, etc--and they'll go with you! 10. If you ever need to crash at their house, their doors are wide open. 11. They're always up for watching a chick flick with you, even if it's a crappy one with a predictable ending (the couple either ends up together or they both die). 12. They understand when your cramps are so bad you can't function properly. 13. They'll take you to the doctor, or make you go to the doctor even though you hate going to the doctor. 14. It's OK to vent to them about the annoying chick who keeps showing off her ring or car, or new purse, or new boyfriend. 15. They understand why you spend X amount of money and time on skincare and hair. 16. They appreciate a really nice pretty washroom with cool sinks and lotion.
UCalgary Medicine's CAVEMAN (4D Mapping of Genomic and Medical Information) was featured on ABC's Good Morning America today. The Americans called Calgary a BLUE-COLLAR CITY! Sheesh.. don't know what happened, did they get us mixed up with Edmonton or something?
About CAVEMAN (I've toured the CAVE.. it is as cool as it looks!):
U of C scientists unveil the virtual human
CAVEman useful in studying genetic diseases, surgical training
May 2007: Scientists
at the University of Calgary have created the world’s first complete
object-oriented computer model of a human body. Unveiled today, the 4D
human atlas, dubbed the CAVEman by the team who created it, allows
scientists to literally get inside their experiments by translating
medical and genomic data into 4D images.
“This project is a major
breakthrough in medical informatics and systems biology,” says Dr.
Grant Gall, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of
Calgary. “My congratulations to Christoph Sensen and his team for
building a tool that will be useful not only to researchers studying
disease, but also to physicians exploring new pathways in surgical
planning.”
CAVEman resides in the CAVE, a cube-shaped virtual
reality room, also known as the “research Holodeck”, in which the 4D
human model floats in space, projected from three walls and the floor
below.
“Six years ago, we gathered a team of computer scientists,
biologists, mathematicians, and artists,” says Christoph Sensen, PhD,
director of the Sun Center of Excellence for Visual Genomics at the
University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine. “Our goal was to build a
model of a complete human, at 10 times the resolution of anything else
on the market. I am proud to say today, we have reached that goal.”
This
project first began as the brainchild of a small company in Red Deer,
Alberta. “Our initial goal was to make computer models that could be
utilized for our massage therapy training program,” says Brenda
Grosenick, co-owner of Kasterstener Inc. “We approached U of C with the
concept, and suddenly, we were working on something much more elaborate
than we could have ever imagined!”
The 4D human atlas is built
upon data from basic anatomy textbooks. Fundamental body systems and
organs were rendered into animated drawings by a graphic artist, and
converted into Java 3DTM to bring them to life in the CAVE environment.
“CAVEman is designed to look like a real human, but can also be sized
to any scale we want,” says Sensen. “We can display all or only a few
select components of the model at any given time.”
CAVEman is
designed to help medical researchers investigate the genetics of
various diseases, and new approaches to targeted treatments. “This
technology is a powerful tool for my research into how genetic
mutations lead to developmental problems such as cleft lip and palate,”
says Benedikt Hallgrimsson, PhD, associate professor of cell biology
and anatomy, U of C’s Faculty of Medicine. “As the technology grows, it
will be useful for diverse studies of growth and development, both for
creating predictive models and also for complex visualization.”
Sensen’s
team was awarded funding support to create the 4D human atlas from
Western Economic Diversification Canada, Alberta Advanced Education and
Technology, and the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial
Research Assistance Program.
It's not everyday you get to take a picture with such leading-edge technology. Brought to you by the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine, iCORE and CSI. Here's me with a CT scan of the brain on an iPhone. Check out the CTV story below. Photos by Calvin Sun.
Researchers say iPhone could save lives Updated: Wed Jul. 30 2008 17:33:07 ctvcalgary.ca
Researchers at the University of Calgary have developed technology
that will allow doctors to diagnose life saving treatment from the
field using an iPhone.
MRI's and CAT scans are important diagnostic tools but doctors say
sometime it takes too long before they can see them. That's where the
iPhone comes in.
"The patient could come in and get scanned. While I am outside the
hospital they can phone me on the iPhone and I could bring up that
patient and start looking at their scans right now," says Dr. Ross
Mitchell.
Being able to deliver a 3D image on the iPhone could mean
life-saving treatment, for things like strokes, could be delivered
sooner.
"The actual visual quality of this device is good enough that I
believe you could actually diagnose a stroke on this device. So that
means I could say start the treatment while I am on my way in instead
of -wait for me to get in before you start treatment - and that 10 -20
minutes could be all the difference for the patient," says Dr.
Mitchell.
The university is marketing the technology in partnership with
Calgary Scientific Incorporated. They expect it to show up in the hands
of Calgary doctors by the end of the year.
A surgical team at the Foothills Medical Centre has successfully
performed groundbreaking neurosurgery with a robot developed by a team
at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine.
Paige
Nickason, 21, is recovering after having a tumour removed from her
brain with the assistance of neuroArm, a surgical robotic system
developed by a team led by Dr. Garnette Sutherland, a Calgary Health
Region neurosurgeon and professor of neurosurgery in the University of
Calgary Faculty of Medicine.
neuroArm is the world's first
MRI-compatible surgical robot capable of both microsurgery and image
guided biopsy. The surgical robotic system is controlled by a surgeon
from a computer workstation, working in conjunction with intraoperative
MR (magnetic resonance) imaging. Dr. Sutherland developed the
intraoperative MRI machine with Winnipeg-based IMRIS Inc. The
technology allows a high field MRI scanner to move in to the operating
room on demand, providing imaging during the surgical procedure without
compromising patient safety
Using neuroArm in the operating room has significant advantages for both surgeons and patients.
"This
system has exceptional capabilities. This is a turning point in the
performance and teaching of neurosurgery," says Dr. Sutherland.
"neuroArm will improve surgical outcomes as it is less invasive and
more delicate in its touch."
neuroArm also aims to revolutionize
neurosurgery and other branches of operative medicine by liberating
doctors from the constraints of the human hand.
About the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary:
The
U of C's Faculty of Medicine is a national leader in health research
with an international reputation for excellence and innovation in
health care research, education and delivery. Through its educational
programs, the Faculty of Medicine trains the physicians and scientists
who will lead the next generation of health practitioners. Through its
clinical work, continuing medical education programs, and close
relationship with the Calgary Health Region, the Faculty of Medicine
moves new treatments and diagnostic techniques from the laboratory
bench to the hospital bedside efficiently and effectively, improving
patient care.
