From Yew Tree to Yewtwist: A Nurse-Innovator’s Path to Changing Practice

📅 Date & Time: September 4, 2025 – 5:00PM to 6:30 PM
📍 Location: Breast Imaging Lecture Theatre, M6-502, Sunnybrook
🎟️ Price: $10 (Complimentary Admission for Sunnybrook Staff)

In this session of the Innovator’s Rx Series, oncology nurse and inventor Maria Plummer shares the inspiring journey behind Yewtwist—from a bedside idea to a tool now adopted across North America and beyond. Yewtwist is a groundbreaking tool designed to help nurses safely and efficiently disconnect tight intravenous (IV) and feeding tube connections, addressing a common challenge in clinical care with a simple yet highly effective solution.

Maria, a passionate advocate for nurse-led innovation, will explore how frontline insights can lead to meaningful change in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. The device’s name draws inspiration from the Pacific Yew tree, the original source of Paclitaxel (Taxol), a chemotherapy drug that has saved countless lives—mirroring Yewtwist’s story of impact rooted in compassion and ingenuity.

Join us for this engaging session to hear how one nurse’s idea is transforming care, one twist at a time.

🔹 Agenda:

• 20-minute talk: Maria Plummer shares the story of Yewtwist: from bedside frustration to a nurse-led innovation adopted across North America
• 10-minute Q&A: Ask Maria about the innovation journey, adoption challenges, and lessons learned
• Networking session: Connect with fellow clinicians, innovators, and med-tech enthusiasts over light snacks and coffee

This session is ideal for nurses, clinicians, researchers, and health innovators interested in practical, frontline-driven innovation and the power of nurse-led solutions to improve care.

Register here

AI in Medicine: A Physician’s Path to Innovation & Entrepreneurship featuring Dr. Alexander Bilbily, Radiologist & Co-Founder of 16Bit​

📅 Date & Time: May 27, 2025 – 5:00PM to 6:30 PM
📍 Location: Breast Imaging Lecture Theatre, M6-502, Sunnybrook
🎟️ Price: $10 (Complimentary Admission for Sunnybrook Staff)

Physicians are uniquely positioned to drive innovation in healthcare, yet the leap from clinician to clinician-entrepreneur comes with its challenges. In the first session of The Innovator’s Rx: Stories from Clinician Innovators series, we welcome Dr. Alex Bilbily, a radiologist at Sunnybrook and co-founder of 16Bit, to share his journey–not just in bridging medicine and entrepreneurship, but in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI. From developing cutting-edge AI tools to seamlessly integrating them into clinical practice, Dr. Bilbily is redefining the future of radiology.

Dr. Bilbily will discuss:

✅ From Clinician to Entrepreneur – What led him to launch 16Bit, the challenges of balancing a startup with clinical practice, and key lessons from his entrepreneurial journey.
✅ Navigating AI as a Physician – His experience integrating AI into medical imaging, overcoming skepticism, and driving adoption in healthcare.
✅ Advice for Physician Innovators – How clinicians can leverage AI and entrepreneurship to drive meaningful impact in healthcare.
✅ The Future of AI in Radiology – Where AI is headed and its role and impact on medical imaging and patient care.

This session is ideal for clinicians, researchers, and aspiring physician entrepreneurs eager to understand the evolving role of AI in medicine and the path to clinician-led innovation.