General News
17 March, 2026
Wheelbarrow funds help patients
FUNDS raised during last year’s Great Wheelbarrow Race has paid for a new neurology diagnostic service for Far North Queensland patients.
The Down Under Movers and Shakers team in the 2025 race was inspired and led by long-time neurology patient Brian White, who lives with Parkinson’s Disease, with the support of the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
Cairns Hospital Neurology Director Dr Ian Wilson said the new electroencephalogram (EEG) machine was being used for patients to take home to diagnose epilepsy and other neurological disorders.
“Previously this service was occasionally offered in hospital but as you can imagine, it’s a lot harder to be relaxed enough to sleep in the hospital environment to get an accurate reading, so it’s much better to do that in the home,” he said.
“Patients having recurrent seizures and collapses can suffer a very difficult time trying to get a diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Seizures occur briefly and randomly, and patients are often back to normal by the time they can seek medical help.”
An EEG is a test that records the brain’s electrical activity using small electrodes attached to the scalp and can help diagnose the cause of seizures.
Previous hospital-based EEG rarely provided the ability to capture sleep, when electrical activity might be more active. It also did not allow clinicians to capture EEG activity at home in the patient’s usual environment, where seizures often occur.
“The new system consists of a small suitcase and a wearable device which can combine video and EEG monitoring,” Dr Wilson said
“The technology enables the recording of brainwaves for prolonged periods of time and enables patients to take the equipment to their own homes while the recording is being conducted.”
Mr White said the new equipment had already proven its worth, diagnosing patients who would otherwise have had ongoing uncertainty about their condition.
“People might ask why I don’t stay at home and swallow my pills and watch TV but Michael J Fox has lived with the disease for 39 years. I was only diagnosed when I was in my 70s and I’m 84 now,” he said.
“I’ve had it for 13 years and I’d really like to get to 20. Besides, I have a special reason in my wife, who I’d like to be around for.”
Fellow Wheelbarrow Race runner Max Bryant and son Chris took part in support of their wife and mother Wendy, who also has Parkinson’s Disease.
Foundation Fundraising and Marketing Manager Jenny Coates said it was a powerful example of what the community could achieve when people rallied together for better health care.
“Ten determined runners, a wheelbarrow and 140 kilometres have helped deliver life‐changing technology that will make a real difference for patients across Far North Queensland,” Mrs Coates said.
