Research studies of both healthy children and children with long-term health issues and/or disabilities
The Clinical Research Centre of the Centre for the Study of Complex Childhood Diseases is a specialized clinical research facility designed for research studies of both healthy children (and adults) and those with long-term health issues and/or disabilities. To ensure the safety of research subjects, the centre is staffed with skilled and experienced registered nurses, respiratory therapists, exercise physiologists and technicians. There are clinical investigation rooms where registered nurses perform oral glucose-tolerance testing and therapeutic infusions and collect information on anthropometry, body composition, nasal potential difference, etc., on all ages and stages across the life cycle. An Infant Pulmonary Function Laboratory, a service that is unique to SickKids, specializes in a variety of lung-function testing in children, from infancy to early childhood. The centre also contains a state-of-the-art Exercise Medicine Research Laboratory for measuring cardiopulmonary function, muscular strength and power, activity monitoring, etc. The dedicated space plus equipment for research purposes enable us to perform quality prospective clinical research within the strict time constraints of research protocols.
- General research patient assessment and treatment procedures such as growth measurement / specimen or blood collection / administration of medications and monitoring of vital signs
- Metabolic testing includes open-circuit calorimetry under hood (measurement of O2 uptake and/or CO2 production) / respiratory quotient / resting energy expenditure / bioelectrical impedance)
- Whole body composition measurements using air-displacement technology (BodPod and Peapod testing)
- Cardiopulmonary exercise includes assessments of pulmonary function, maximal aerobic power (max VO2) / steady state or progressive exercise cardiac output / running economy (treadmill) / anaerobic power (sprint bike) / body composition (skin fold, bioelectric impedance) / exponential CO2 rebreath techniques to allow progressive exercise testing
- Infant pulmonary function testing for children
- Nasal potential difference testing
- The research kitchen is used to prepare experimental diets / either food-based or chemically based / and includes a fridge / a microwave, an analytical balance and blenders
- Healthcare and social services
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized Lab | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiopulmonary exercise testing | SensorsMedics VE229 exercise system with treadmill
| For measuring static and exercise pulmonary function as well as respiratory muscle strength |
| Cardiopulmonary exercise testing | Ergometers (Lode Corival, Corival Recumbent, Corival Pediatric)
MRI-compatible Ergo Pedal
Accelerometers | Accurate stress-test analysis
|
| Cardiopulmonary exercise testing | Leonardo Mechanography | Automatic, objective and software-based motion analysis and performance diagnosis for the early diagnosis of movement disorders and the objective and reproducible assessment of achievement potential and mobility |
| Cardiopulmonary exercise testing | iSTAT blood analyzer | Hand-held blood analyzer |
| Cardiopulmonary exercise testing | Near-infrared spectrometer (NIRS) | Monitor muscle-tissue oxygenation |
| Cardiopulmonary exercise testing | Innocor | Non-invasive measurement of cardiac output during exercise by inert-gas rebreathing technique |
| Specialized metabolic testing | Vmax Encore VE29n metabolic systems (2)
| |
| Specialized metabolic testing | Bioelectrical impedance analyzer | |
| Infant pulmonary function testing | Amis 2000 respiratory mass spectrometer
| A powerful mass-spectrometer-based unit for the comprehensive routine determination of a wide range of pulmonary and cardiovascular parameters utilizing advanced gas-exchange techniques |
| Infant pulmonary function testing | Exhalyzer D infant and pediatric pulmonary function system | Multiple breath washout test analyzer |
| Body composition tracking systems | Bod Pods (2) Tod Pod Pea Pod | Fast, safe and easy-to-use tools for measuring body composition |