Dr. Neal Shahidi and SPARC are one of only a handful of teams selected by the Ministry of Health to appraise the status of novel technologies in British Columbia, specifically minimally invasive endoscopic resection techniques. 

Currently, upwards of 20,000 colonoscopies are performed annually due to fecal immunochemical test positivity through the BC Colon Screening Program.

It is estimated that approximately 1 large polyp will be identified in every 13 colonoscopies.

However, current endoscopy unit funding models do not take into consideration the beneficial role of minimally invasive endoscopic resection techniques, nor the resources required to perform such procedures. Economic analyses are underway appraising the benefit of minimally invasive endoscopic resection techniques for British Columbians.